With the NCAA tournament almost over, college basketball will be a footnote in the sports world for the next five months. While attention from the outside world will focus on baseball, along with the hockey and basketball playoffs, teams will start preparing for next season.

On the campus of Northwestern University, the preparation will start in order to send the 'Cats to their first NCAA tournament in program history.

Finding a way to beat in-conference powerhouses without the services of point guard Michael "Juice" Thompson will be a challenge. However, the baby-faced assassin, power forward John Shurna, will look to carry the team on his back.

Drew Crawford and the new-found diamond in the rough, Alex Marcotullio, both will have a larger role in the Princeton offense next season.

There is one man though that could be labeled as the proverbial "X-factor" on the 2011-2012 team.

Over the course of the history of Northwestern University basketball, there is one position that has put the team at a disadvantage.

With the exception of Evan Eschmeyer, Northwestern has never had a center that could handle the physicality that comes with playing down low in the Big Ten. While other teams sent out future lottery picks, the 'Cats had scrawny players that were afraid to use their body. This is seen by the fact that Northwestern has never out-rebounded its opponents this century.

In the Princeton offense that Northwestern features, the center is never seen as a scoring threat, but still must have the ability to rebound. What has to change to finally send this program over the hump is that a dominant center, who can score as well as rebound, must emerge.

Enter Luka Mirkovic.

Mirkovic comes across as a stereotypical Northwestern center. A lightweight postman with an unusual name, who is handicapped by big men who can score and box out such as JaJuan Johnson and Jared Sullinger.

However, Mirkovic brings aspects to the table that separate him from centers of the past. The man plays with a swagger that is not common with a team that has the name of such a distinguished institution on their chest.

Wearing a mask that makes him look like a poor man's Richard Hamilton, Mirkovic is the prime target of opponent's student sections. He embraces the taunts and uses them as motivation.

After draining threes at the conference opener at Purdue, Mirkovic threw three fingers in the air, which prompted the Boilermaker faithful to scream profanities. The center claimed that it was not indicating the points he just put up on the scoreboard, instead a gesture to his country, Serbia.

His 7.6 PPG and 5.2 RPG last season are not outstanding compared to the other centers in the nation, but by Northwestern standards, they are above average. These stats were not seen when the likes of Nikola Baran and Ivan Tolic patrolled the post.

The recent postseason appearances can, in part, be a credit to Mirkovic's increase in play. Still, the Serbian center must continue to get better. His perceived lackluster numbers have not translated to an NCAA tournament appearance yet, making this year important.

Coach Bill Carmody knows what he will get from a healthy John Shurna and what the combo of Crawford and Marcotullio will provide, but Mirkovic is always a mystery. Mirkovic has shown in spurts that he can play with the big boys, but must show it every game, especially in Big Ten play.

It is difficult to imagine a team making the NCAA tournament with a center that gets tossed around every game.

If Northwestern wants to get the monkey off its back and finally go dancing, Mirkovic must continue to crash the boards, especially on offense. Mirkovic must find enough confidence in his shot that he will take the open looks on the key that are given to him when Shurna is double-teamed.

Every time he gets the ball above the free throw line, a collective "No" should not be slipping from NU fans' mouths.

The mentality is there for Mirkovic, but the skill must compensate with that toughness. Trips to the weight-room and hours practicing his jump shots will pay dividends for Mirkovic's game. This will be the difference between the typical ending of another season without dancing and a historic campaign for a program vying to be the next Butler Bulldogs.

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After another tough loss to Penn State and their NCAA Tournament hopes all but gone, Northwestern will try to capture a signature win this season when travel to Madison to face Wisconsin.  It will be senior day at the Kohl Center.  NU’s football team also traveled to Madison on senior day and got waxed 70-21. Add in the Badgers 78-46 basketball victory, and the Wildcats will seek some respect in the Dairy State’s Capital City.

Northwestern appeared to be back to their pre-Big Ten level of play with a two-game winning streak before facing the Nittany Lions. Northwestern is 4-0 against the Big Ten’s last place teams, Indiana and Iowa.  They are 2-10 against the rest of the league.  They can still make a push to move above the ninth seed they currently hold if the Big Ten Tournament would start today.

Northwestern troubles have been poor shooting, rebounding and defense.  When they travel to Wisconsin, it should be a clean game. NU and UW are the nation’s top two teams in turnover margin and they rank first and fifth in turnovers. The Badgers commit just 7.7 turnovers per game and NU 10.4.

In their last meeting in Evanston, Wisconsin broke open a 14 all tie and dominated the rest of the game. They outscored Northwestern, 31-12, the remainder of the first half. The Badgers then opened the second half on a 24-4 run. The Wildcats went scoreless for over a five and half minute stretch in the second half.

Badgers' freshman Josh Gasser had a triple-double and Jon Leuer had 19 points as five Badgers reached double figures in 78-46 win.

All of the Wildcats problems were prevalent in the last meeting. Wisconsin held a 31-17 rebounding advantage and the Badgers out shot the Wildcats 55.4 to 41.5 percent from the floor. The Badgers also made 12 of their 26 three-point attempts, while NU hit on just two of 10.

Parts of Northwestern’s struggles are because of multiple injuries to star forward John Shurna. Shurna averaged 24.4 PPG for the first nine games of the season. The 6’6" Wooden Award finalist suffered a high ankle sprain against Mount St. Mary’s in the 10th game of the season. He hasn’t been consistent since. Shurna also suffered a concussion at Minnesota.  His average has dipped to 17.0 PPG for the season ever since.

Wisconsin is led by Leuer and guard Jordan Taylor. They are the only Badgers to average double figures. Taylor has been mentioned as a possible Big Ten Player of the Year Candidate. He is likely to finish third behind Purdue’s JaJuan Johnson and Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger. 

Taylor has been on a tear since the Badgers commenced conference play. He has eight 20-point games in Big Ten play and his 4.16-to-1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio is almost twice as good as the next closest player in that category. The junior averages 17.9 PPG, 4.9 APG, 4.3 RPG and shoots 41.7 percent on his threes and 84.5 percent from the line.

Leuer has six 20-point games in conference play and averages 19.1 PPG and 7.5 RPG. He shoots 48 percent from the floor, 40.5 from three and 86.3 percent on free throws.  The Badgers lead the nation in free-throw percentage. They make 82.8 percent from the line, an unbelievable number for a team.

The outcome could hinge on Northwestern ability to put points up. Northwestern’s 72.3 PPG ranks fourth in the conference. The Wildcats are 15-1 when they score 70 or more, and just 1-10 when they don’t reach 70 points. Wisconsin is the Big Ten’s stingiest team defensively. They give up just 57.4 PPG, while NU is last with 68 PPG allowed.

Leuer and five classmates will be playing their last game at the Kohl Center. Northwestern should make this a more competitive game than their outing with the Badgers in Evanston. Wisconsin is the better team though, and they should be able to complete a perfect season at home.

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After getting blown out 65-41 at Penn State on February 13, Northwestern suffered its fifth loss in six games. That game seemed to wake the Wildcats up. NU has won its last two games against Iowa and Indiana.

The Nittany Lions have beaten Northwestern four straight times. The Wildcats last win against Penn State was in 2007.

The last time these two teams met was arguably Northwestern’s poorest performance of the season. Against the Big Ten’s worst defense, NU shot only 34.6 percent and connected on just 2-21 three-point attempts.

Freshman JerShon Cobb was the only Wildcat to finish in double figures.  Northwestern’s Big Three of Michael Thompson, John Shurna and Drew Crawford finished with only 21 points combined and shot just 9-27 from the floor.

The key to Northwestern’s success this season has been to get those three going.  They have combined for 96 points in NU’s last two games, as Northwestern has regained their stroke.

With three games left until the Big Ten Tournament, NU has a good opportunity to prove itself to the NCAA Tournament committee and improve its RPI. After Penn State, NU travels to Wisconsin and then hosts Minnesota before the Big Ten Tournament.

Penn State Point Guard Talor Battle is making s strong case for Big Ten Player of the Year.  He has a difficult task ahead of him with Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger and Purdue’s JuJuan Johnson trying to lead their teams to Big Ten titles.  At the very least he is a first-team All-Big Ten team.

Over his last five games, Battle is averaging 24 points per game. On the season, Battle is putting up 20.8 PPG.  He also contributes 4.4 RPG, 3.1 APG and shoots 36.9 percent on three-point attempts. The Wildcats will need to limit his effectiveness to avoid another embarrassing performance.

Jeff Brooks and David Jackson provide Battle with support. Brooks averages 13.3 PPG and 6.6 RPG and shoots 39.1 percent from three.  Jackson puts up 10.4 PPG and 4.6 RPG.

Northwestern will have to shoot the ball better to pull out an important victory. Despite its mid-season lull, the Wildcats still have a chance at a historic season.  Last season was the first 20 victory season in Northwestern history.  The Wildcats likely have at least three regular season games, one game in the Big Ten tournament, and a likely post-season tournament game. If they win four of those, they will get to 20 wins.

The key to beating Penn State will be to improve their shooting. The Nittany Lions are tenth in the conference in field goal percentage defense, and last in three-point percentage defense.  The Wildcats match-up well with the Nittany Lions.  Northwestern has struggled on defense as well as on the boards this season. Penn State is a poor shooting team and they rank ninth in the conference in rebounding margin.

The Wildcats need to get off to a good start and get the home crowd involved.  The 8pm CST game will be televised on ESPN. The crowd will be boisterous if the Wildcats spark early.  This should be an interesting contest.  Except for their blowout loss against Wisconsin, Northwestern has played much better at home this season. With their backs against the wall, the Wildcats should pull out a win.

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Northwestern suffered its first loss Saturday night at Ryan Field despite another fine performance from junior quarterback Dan Persa.

Persa threw for 305 yards, completing 31 of his 40 attempts. Eleven of those completions were to junior wide receiver Jeremy Ebert.

Persa now has thrown for 1,663 yards and 10 touchdowns. Ebert has caught 35 passes for 560 yards and five touchdowns.

The Wildcats' running game remains weak. They were held to just 84 yards rushing, their worst output of the year.

Jacob Schmidt and Mike Trumpy were the Wildcats leading rushers with Schmidt gaining 32 yards and Trumpy 23.

Penalties continue to haunt the Wildcats. They committed eight penalties for 60 yards, which is down from the previous two games.

Persa was asked what coach Pat Fitzgerald had to say. His reply: "He said they outplayed us. They wanted it more. We can't keep beating ourselves. We can't beat two teams every week."

The Wildcats came into Saturday's game rated No. 25 in the USA Today Top 25 poll, but the loss dropped them from the rankings. They did still receive 23 votes, which would rank them at No. 31.

The Wildcats have a bye this week. They will host Michigan State Saturday, October 23 at Ryan Field.

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