Spartans scare Carmody after first loss

By Geoff Gagnon

Daily Sports Editor

Indiana's Kirk Haston may have made himself a hero in Bloomington on Sunday when his last-second shot sank then-No. 1 Michigan State. But in Evanston, Haston's heroics had Northwestern coach Bill Carmody breathing a little heavier.

Indiana's stunning 59-58 victory over the Spartans snapped the nation's longest win streak. But Carmody fears the Hoosiers' good fortune may not bode well for his Wildcats, who will tipoff with Michigan State tomorrow night.

Weary of the wounded Spartans, Carmody said that Sunday's loss may ignite an explosiveness in the Spartans that he would have rather not seen.

"If I was writing the script this was about the worst script I could write for us. It's not exactly the way I would have liked things," Carmody said. "I think players and coaches are self-motivated and all, but after that loss I'm sure they'll give it just a little more effort."

Michigan State, which boasted a 23-game win streak - eighth longest in NCAA history - will look to avoid creating a losing streak as it hosts the Wildcats. Nevertheless, Carmody is realistic of his team's chances against the national champions, despite the vulnerabilities that Indiana revealed.

"I've admired them from afar a year, and it'll be from near Wednesday night." Carmody said. "Just to be realistic about things, we're not in that class right now. We're just looking to hang in there a little bit and see what happens."

Jump start: Meanwhile, Purdue coach Gene Keady likes what he sees happening with his own team.

Yet after guiding his young squad to a 2-0 conference start, Keady says he's hesitant to grow overconfident after such a quick start. Afterall, said Keady, "It's not who you play, it's when you play them."

With that in mind, Purdue is anxious for a shot at a battered Wisconsin team that saw a halftime lead slip away before succumbing to Minnesota this past Saturday night. For the surging Boilermakers, tomorrow's matchup with Wisconsin would appear to have a bit of extra meaning. After the Badgers reeled off three straight wins over Purdue, including the knockout blow in last season's NCAA tournament, conventional wisdom would peg the Boilermakers as a squad anxious to avenge their losses. But Keady says that motivation just doesn't exist.

"That was a long time ago," Keady said. "That was different players and two different teams. What happens on Wednesday is what counts."

And Wisconsin coach Brad Soderberg is counting on a challenge.

After the stalled comeback run against Minnesota last Saturday, Soderberg will look to get the Badgers back on track in the wake of his first loss since taking the helm in Madison. The loss dropped Wisconsin to 1-1 in the Big Ten on the eve of this week's conference slate that includes stops at both Purdue and Michigan State. But Soderberg said that his team will look more at itself than its opponent in preparation for this week's matchups.

"We've got to take care of ourselves and iron out the flaws that we saw in the Minnesota game before we worry about Purdue or anybody else," he said.