Northwestern Basketball's Big Problem

Northwestern men's hoops has come back down to earth in Big Ten play after a sensational non-conference slate.

Back to back losses to Illinois and Michigan State have revealed a massive hole that everyone who follows NU hoops knew was there but really didn't want to admit would be a problem.

The Wildcats have no one who can play the center position with any resemblance of competency.

Mike Tisdale made that painfully apparent to NU fans in the 'Cats opener against Illinois. Tisdale is a moderately talented string bean center who hasn't exactly overwhelmed opponents during his time in Champaign.

But in the opener, hook shot after hook shot went over starting center Luka Mirkovic's head as Tisdale scored a career high 31 points. Meanwhile, Mirkovic was also a liability on the offensive side of the ball, as he tossed up 13 shots while only making three of them.

Michigan State didn't really have a true center, but they drove to the hoop at will on the Wildcats and there was no one clogging the lane to stop them.

NU plays a 1-3-1 defense, meaning that while the center is not under the hoop (that responsibility falls to Michael "Juice" Thompson), he is still in the middle of the floor, and he's supposed to do his best to contain whoever is in the paint.

One problem with Mirkovic is that he can't really jump. Tisdale's shots were basically uncontested because Luka just sort of stuck his arms up in the air, as if he thought that'd be enough.

It wasn't.

Meanwhile, I almost prefer his back-up, Kyle Rowley, on the offensive side of the floor. That's because while neither one of them has much skill, at least Rowley knows this and generally stays out of the way.

Mirkovic looks fine offensively against lesser teams (he tallied a double-double against Texas Pan-American), but he's not good at all against real teams, such as Illinois and Michigan State. He's gotten into an annoying habit of hoisting up three-pointers, which is the last thing NU needs from him (he's shooting 26.7 percent on the year from downtown).

Rowley turns the ball over way too much though to be trusted offensively. In fact, he's the only player on the team who plays regularly to have compiled more turnovers than assists.

Neither one of them looks particularly comfortable with the ball. Whenever they get the rock, the crowd holds their breath, waiting for them to get it to someone else.

Carmody got so fed up with the two centers that he actually benched them down the stretch against Michigan State in favor of reserves Davide Curletti and Ivan Peljusic. If Curletti was a few inches taller, he might be a decent option, but he just hasn't spent enough time on the floor to be effective at this point. Meanwhile Peljusic is a turnover machine.

Something's got to give when NU takes on Michigan on Sunday. DeShawn Sims could score 40 points, and I'm not kidding.

I still think the Wildcats will make the Big Dance, but right now NU's NCAA Tournament prospects are teetering on a ledge, partially due to the poor play at the center position.