With tourney near, Northwestern picks a bad time to be lifeless

Um, Northwestern, what the heck are you doing?

You don’t want to get into the NCAA tournament like this, slumping, crawling, gasping for air on the side of the road, hoping someone will stop and pick you up.

Yes, I’m aware that you’ve never received a bid to the Big Dance and that, in light of such historical dryness, it probably doesn’t matter how you step through the door. Fraud, bribery, simple battery — there’s no wrong method for entry, given your past. Just get in, baby! Right?

I also know everybody is saying that your body of work this season is worthy of the first bid in school history and that, even though the latter portion of the schedule has gone poorly, there aren’t a whole lot of excellent teams in college basketball.

All of that might be true. But what has been happening lately doesn’t look good, and it certainly doesn’t feel good. You’ve lost five of your last seven games. One of the victories in that span was at home against a bad Rutgers team, and you struggled to win even that one.

The pom-pom waving of a bunch of Medill School of Journalism alums might make the feel-good story feel a little better (or at least sound a little louder), but I think you want more than excellent media exposure.

You have built a lot of interest in the program this season, and that’s saying something. For too long, Northwestern basketball was where players went in search of obscurity, like the people in those 50 TV shows about life in remote Alaska. There were a few other 20-victory seasons in school history, but they didn’t have the weight to them this one does.

I thought you had clinched a bid when you beat then-No. 7 Wisconsin on the road Feb. 12 without your best player, Scottie Lindsey, in uniform. And maybe that victory did clinch things. But what has happened since, mostly with a healthy Lindsey, has been like a ship with its bow hanging over the waterfall. You lost by 16 points last week at middling Illinois — your second loss to the Illini in 15 days — then lost Saturday at Indiana to a team that had lost five games in a row.

Am I missing the point here? Perhaps I am. By beating Rutgers on Feb. 18, you picked up your 20th victory to tie the school record for a season. That’s no small thing. That should be celebrated.

The fact is, you haven’t been to the NCAA tournament since it began in 1939 — on your campus, coincidentally. Maybe that’s the only fact that matters. Barring a complete meltdown, it looks like you finally will get into the tournament.

That’s the important thing! I’m trying to remind myself of that! I’m trying to keep my eye on the prize! Exclamation points everywhere!

But I don’t think you want to be a novelty item. I don’t think you want to be a cute conversation piece for TV broadcasters. I think you’re in it to win, to win often and to show the country you’re a good basketball team. You want to be the team that was 18-4 at the end of January, not the team that is 20-9 now.

The idea here is momentum — and not just as it relates to the NCAA tournament. You’re trying to build a winning program, not a one-and-done winning season. Backing your way into the tournament isn’t helpful to that bigger picture.

I hate to see a good story going in the wrong direction. The season isn’t spoiled, obviously, but it is showing signs of decay. I’ve heard fellow alums say something along the lines of, ‘‘Get into the tournament, then anything can happen.’’ Again, perhaps. But it always helps to remember how to win.

When you’re in the NCAA tournament, you don’t want to go back to a mid-February game for emotional sustenance. You want something a little more recent to help you. Unless you’ve suddenly morphed into the Blackhawks, the only team I know of that can flip a switch when the postseason starts, you might want to start winning some games now.

You have two games left on your regular-season schedule, both at home: Michigan (like you, 9-7 in the Big Ten) on Wednesday and

No. 16 Purdue on Sunday. And then the Big Ten tournament.

Are you a good team in an unremarkable conference, or are you a decent team that finally is finding its level? I think you’re good, but I need more proof. What’s the biblical passage? I believe; help my unbelief.

Follow me on Twitter @MorrisseyCST.

Email: rmorrissey@suntimes.com