As the father of three, including a 2-month-old, Northern Illinois coach Brian Hammel knows all about sleepless nights. But the way things have broken this season for Hammel’s Huskies, just getting to sleep is taking some doing.
NIU dropped its third game by two points or less Saturday night, and for the second time at the buzzer at home. Kenny Williams’ rebound basket with 1 second remaining lifted Illinois-Chicago to a 94-92 victory.
NIU was beaten 59-58 at the buzzer by Akron in December, and the Huskies lost 97-95 in overtime at Morehead State.
“This was a killer,” Hammel said of Saturday’s loss.
And for an encore, Northern has to travel Monday night to Wisconsin-Green Bay (9-3).
“I told the team they could think about this game until midnight, then flush it from their minds,” Hammel said.
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On the positive side, Saturday wasn’t a total downer for Hammel. Mike Lipnisky returned from a sprained ankle and scored 12 points, the Huskies shot better than 50 percent, five players scored in double figures, and they rallied from 15 points down to make a run at the preseason favorites in the Mid-Continent Conference.
“Now we just have to find ways to win,” Hammel said.
Two ways will be to cut down on second shots allowed and turnovers. UIC forced 18 NIU turnovers, 15 by the big men.
Lipnisky, who was playing at about 80 percent, was quite sore after his first extended playing time since just after Christmas. “We’ll have to play it by ear (how much he plays Monday),” Hammel said.