TOURNAMENT BOUND?

Given its history and academic standards, Northwestern has long been a Big Ten cupcake -- frosting, sprinkles, the whole bit. \nIf Northwestern is scheduled twice, that's two victories for whoever plays it. That's been the status quo since, well…just about forever. \nThat history is history. \nThis season, Cinderella is wearing purple. \nThe Wildcats are making noise in the Big Ten, wrecking potential title hopes of several teams that are only three games off the pace of the conference frontrunners. They're within five points of being 8-4 in the Big Ten, if not for a 63-61 loss at Purdue and a 58-57 heartbreaker at No. 19 Ohio State. They've beaten third-place Wisconsin, fourth-place Minnesota and perennial power Michigan State and hung with No. 23 IU. \nAnd all Wildcat coach Bill Carmody wanted to do was compete. \n"What I don't want to have happen is at halftime be down by 17 and you know there's no chance of winning," Carmody said before the season began. "I'd say we play 16 Big Ten games, six of them were like that last year."\nNone have been like that this season for Carmody. The Wildcats (15-9, 6-6 Big Ten) have led at halftime in six of their 12 league games and haven't trailed by more than 11. Their biggest margins of defeat have been a 27-point loss at Wisconsin and a 15-point fall to IU. \nThings began bleakly for Northwestern, and the long seasons of losing were fit for a repeat performance. Northwestern began league play with three consecutive losses, but did an about face. \nThe Wildcats have won six of their last nine, creeping into the middle of the Big Ten, ahead of pre-season favorite Iowa and tied with four-time defending champion Michigan State. \nThey're the talk of the Big Ten. \n"If there's a surprise, it's Northwestern and their resurgence," Iowa coach Steve Alford said. "They're a much more difficult out now than they have been in the past."\nThe past refers to two winning seasons since 1983-1984 -- those were 15-14 finishes. Northwestern has had 24 winning seasons since beginning play in 1904, and all but four of the winning campaigns came before 1960. The Wildcats are guaranteed at least a .500 record this season. \nNU hasn't won a Big Ten title since 1932-1933 and finished last in the Big Ten every season from 1984 to 1997. That stretch of cellar dwelling ate up three coaches before Kevin O'Neill took the Wildcats to the NIT in 1997 and 1999, but O'Neill lasted only one more season, making way for Carmody. \nAfter 18 seasons at Princeton -- four as head coach and 14 as an assistant for Pete Carril -- Carmody made the jump to the Big Ten knowing the problems with reclamation project in Evanston.\n"We knew it wasn't going to happen over night," Carmody said. "You hope for step by step and somewhere along there jump a couple steps."\nSlow steps, that is. As in a slow-paced offense that Carmody learned when at Princeton, the same scheme Carril perfected in leading the Tigers to seven NCAA Tournaments during the 18 years Carmody was there. \nThat offensive approach has made the Wildcats one of the more difficult teams in the Big Ten to prepare for. They average only 61 points per game, but give up just 58, making each possession more important. \nThe constant screening and ball movement force counterparts to tighten up their defense and often revamp their technique.\n"They're getting the system down where they really have confidence in it," Purdue coach Gene Keady said of the Wildcats. "You better really be aware and really play defense at the right level."\nSix Big Ten teams haven't, and Northwestern is on the verge of a post-season berth. The Wildcats have never been to the NCAA Tournament. With home Big Ten games against Purdue and Illinois and trips to Minnesota and IU, they have their chance. Carmody and his troops are aware of the post-season possibilities, but aren't counting on anything. \n"I haven't heard them talking about it, even lately," Carmody said. "We haven't talked about post-season stuff."\nHis players are taking care of that for him, and have the post-season on their mind. Before the season, they hoped for the NIT. Now, that focus has shifted to the NCAA Tournament. \n"We have higher goals than most people think we can accomplish," said senior Tavarus Hardy. "We go out and expect to win. This is a completely different team. We can play with everyone."\nWins in home games against Purdue and Illinois used to seem like a long shot, but the Wildcats are 9-2 at Welsh-Ryan Arena and 4-2 within Big Ten confines. Fan support has never poured out in Evanston, but it's one of the problems Carmody faces in turning around the program and it's one the Wildcats have fought through.\nOnly the IU game -- which often attracts a large core of Chicago-area Hoosier alumni -- drew more than 5,000 fans. Home attendance idles at 4,564, last in the Big Ten and nearly 3,000 per game behind Penn State. \nFor Carmody and Hardy, it's just one more hurdle to clear. \n"I don't think there's any magic things you can do to say 'we're losing here, and let's turn it around,'" Carmody said. "You go to work, pay attention to detail, be precise, work hard. There has to be something about losing a lot of games that plays in your head a bit. Winning, all of the sudden, you say 'wow, is the losing done, and can we be competitive in all our games?'"\nSo far, so good. So long, history.