A haiku for every 2021-22 Northwestern men’s basketball game

Two years ago, just a few days after the sports world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote one haiku for every Northwestern men’s basketball game for the 2019-20 season. The haikus weren’t perfect, but I felt they encapsulated that season well enough. Now, after a one year hiatus, they’re back and (hopefully) better than ever. Enjoy, and thank you for reading the only form of poetry I know how to write.

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Eastern Illinois (November 9, 2021, 80-56 W)

Eastern Illinois,

Northwestern’s first opponent,

‘Cats won easily.

1-0

High Point (November 12, 2021, 95-60 W)

Wow, 95 points?!

And Pete Nance had 22!

Pretty impressive.

2-0

New Orleans (November 16, 2021, 83-67 W)

Privateers scared us,

As they led in the second,

But NU stormed back.

3-0

Fairleigh Dickinson (November 18, 2021, 82-46 W)

Ryan Young was good,

You could even call him great,

Nance added 19.

4-0

Providence (November 22, 2021, 77-72 L) (Roman Legends Classic)

Northwestern’s first loss,

Game sponsored by ED pills,

Let’s forget this one.

4-1

Georgia (November 23, 2021, 78-62 W) (Roman Legends Classic)

Second ED game,

Northwestern dominated though,

So we can remember.

5-1

Wake Forest (November 30, 2021, 77-73 L)

This was a thriller,

It went to OT, sadly,

Demon Deacs prevailed.

5-2

Maryland (December 5, 2021, 67-61 W)

First conference game!

The Terrapins hung in late,

The ‘Cats squeaked one out.

6-2, 1-0 B1G

NJIT (December 12, 2021, 70-52 W)

Another non-con,

What is a NJIT?

Who knows, ‘Cats won though.

7-2, 1-0 B1G

Illinois-Springfield (December 20, 2021, 90-50 W)

Division II school?

In late December? What now?

Very easy win.

8-2, 1-0 B1G

No. 10 Michigan State (January 2, 2022, 73-67 L)

No students allowed,

A very, very green crowd,

A close loss to boot.

8-3, 1-1 B1G

Penn State (January 5, 2022, 74-70 L)

No students again,

Had to play a role as the

‘Cats choked another.

8-4, 1-2 B1G

No. 13 Ohio State (January 9, 2022, 95-87 L)

Scored 87,

But gave up just a bit more,

In a close defeat.

8-5, 1-3 B1G

Maryland (January 12, 2022, 94-87 L) (2OT)

Sadness enveloped,

All of Welsh-Ryan after

Double overtime.

8-6, 1-4 B1G

No. 10 Michigan State (January 15, 2022, 64-62 W)

No Pete Nance? Oh no!

Just kidding! ‘Cats don’t need him

For this huge upset.

9-6, 2-4 B1G

No. 8 Wisconsin (January 18, 2022, 82-76 L)

Johnny Davis, good!

Chucky beat the buzzer too,

‘Cats ran out of luck.

9-7, 2-5 B1G

No. 4 Purdue (January 23, 2022, 80-60 L)

Words cannot describe

How bad of a loss this was

sigh sigh sigh sigh sigh

9-8, 2-6 B1G

Michigan (January 26, 2022, 72-70 L)

What’s that, a late lead?

Cute! It would be a shame if

That lead disappeared.

9-9, 2-7 B1G

No. 24 Illinois (January 29, 2022, 59-56 L)

An ugly first half,

And an ugly second half,

Cockburn is too big.

9-10, 2-8 B1G

Rutgers (February 1, 2022, 79-78 W) (OT)

Led by 24,

Won by one, that’s comedy.

A win is a win?

10-10, 3-8 B1G

Nebraska (February 5, 2022, 87-63 W)

Whoa, blowout alert!

This one wasn’t close at all,

Wildcats win big!

11-10, 4-8 B1G

Indiana (February 8, 2022, 59-51 W)

Miller Kopp’s return,

Boos and airball chants galore,

A three-game win streak!

12-10, 5-8 B1G

No. 13 Illinois (February 13, 2022, 73-66 L)

There goes the win streak,

Cockburn is still very large,

Champaign with no Cham.

12-11, 5-9 B1G

No. 5 Purdue (February 16, 2022, 70-64 L)

Do not be fooled, friend,

This scoreline is deceiving,

Purdue won with ease.

12-12, 5-10 B1G

Minnesota (February 19, 2022, 77-61 L)

What the heck happened?

No, seriously! HOW? WHAT?

Man, this was brutal.

12-13, 5-11 B1G

Nebraska (February 22, 2022, 77-65 W)

Silly Nebraska,

The ‘Cats are your kryptonite!

Fred Hoiberg fell off.

13-13, 6-11 B1G

Penn State (February 25, 2022, 67-60 L)

Silly Northwestern,

Penn State is your kryptonite!

John Harrar gets boards.

13-14, 6-12 B1G

No. 24 Iowa (February 28, 2022, 82-61 L)

As hope dims further,

The Hawkeyes slam the door shut,

Nothing left but tears.

13-15, 6-13 B1G

Minnesota (March 6, 2022, 75-62 W)

Three special players,

Honored pregame, Nance went off,

‘Cats win for seniors!

14-15, 7-13 B1G

Nebraska (March 9, 2022, 71-69 W) (Big Ten Tournament)

The marquee matchup,

‘Cats fell behind, but stormed back!

A tournament win!

15-15, 8-13 B1G

No. 24 Iowa (March 10, 2022, 112-76 L) (Big Ten Tournament)

This one was just sad,

Hawkeyes set a points record,

BRB, crying.

15-16, 8-14 B1G

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Thank you for reading my celebration of Northwestern men’s hoops. I hope you enjoyed. Here’s to a better season next year!