Less than 48 hours ago, No. 12 Northwestern found itself in an unexpected battle with a two-win Loyola team on the road. Even though a big fourth quarter would eventually lead the Wildcats to victory, many of the starters looked exhausted by the time the final buzzer sounded.
Fast forward to Tuesday morning and Northwestern welcomed Alcorn State, a 1-5 team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, to Welsh-Ryan for an 11 a.m. start. With such a quick turn around, an inferior opponent and a huge game against No. 15 DePaul on the horizon, one could wonder if this was perhaps a trap game for the undefeated Wildcats.