On January 18, Northwestern defeated the then-number-seventeen Minnesota Golden Gophers. On January 21, 2009, Carmody's Kevin Coble-led Wildcats defeated number-seven Michigan State University at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan earning their second consecutive win over an opponent ranked in the AP top 25, marking the first time in school history for such a feat. The 2008–09 unit became the first in school history to win 20 games and briefly flirted with the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.