Northwestern Had To Overcome Its Hotel Before Playing In Big Ten Tournament

There are some things you can control as a basketball coach before taking the court, but Northwestern's Chris Collins had a problem with the team's hotel last night that had the players rubbing ice on their body to stay cool. 

Yes, dealing with AC problems at the team hotel was not something on the list of things the Wildcats thought they would have to worry about before playing in the Big Ten Tournament opener on Wednesday, but they had no other choice. 

As they prepared to play Minnesota, the Wildcats found themselves in a very hot situation at the team hotel in Indianapolis. The air conditioning was not working, which had the Wildcats head coach pretty upset following the win. 

"Our guys are just a tough group of guys. They've had a lot thrown at them. Even last night, they put us in a hotel, the rooms were a thousand degrees," Chris Collins said postgame. "There was no AC in the hotel, and our guys' rooms were 85 degrees, and that's where the league puts you. Every way they turn, they're trying to get us, and our guys just are a resilient bunch."

Ok, this is pretty rough, especially when you're trying to get as much rest as possible for a critical game in a postseason tournament. It was so bad for the team that players were rubbing ice on their bodies to try and keep cool, while laying in a bed inside a room that reached a reported 85 degrees. 

"I remember last night like when it was happening, we were kind of just like joking around, oh, this is gritty," Nick Martinelli said following the win. "Me and Gelo had a bucket of ice, and we were just grabbing the ice and rubbing it on ourselves all night to try to stay cool. Honestly, I'm not going to say I'm happy it happened, but we came out here, and we showed them."

As for head coach Chris Collins, I imagine he was having some pretty heated conversations with the Big Ten early this morning, no pun intended. 

"We're used to being treated like that by this league," Collins continued postgame. 

One thing I can promise you following the Northwestern win on Thursday afternoon is that the Wildcats will be resting comfortably this evening, with the temperature in each room set at 65 degrees.