Four Minutes Left: NU hoping to finish off the 40
Coach Joe McKeown has been preaching to his team to play 40 minutes ever since Northwestern lost a six point lead late to Kansas State a few weeks ago. The Wildcats will get their chance to follow their coach’s mantra tonight against Marquette.
NU held a 14-point halftime lead, but takes a tenuous 52-44 lead to the final four minutes.
Both teams have not helped themselves in the half.
Marquette can definitely close this gap as the team has crashed the offensive glass for second-chance opportunities and limited the turnovers that cause it so much problems in the first half. But the Golden Eagles have not been able to quite close the gap — turning the ball over or missing an open shot or committing a foul with a chance to really put a scare into the Cats.
NU to its credit, has taken all of Marquette’s runs in stride. The team has not let Marquette get enough momentum to really threaten the lead and have continued to attack the basket and get to the foul line. That has been the Cats saving grace as they have shot 27 percent from the floor in the half.
All they need to do is hold on to secure the upset win.
