Bounce back wins
- Thread starter Sec_112
- Start date
This season has been a very pleasant surprise and a welcome one after the worst football season since the end of the Dark Ages. Every game with this team is an adventure. That's the way I'm looking at it. No expectations. Scoring is a challenge but boy does this team play hustling, smart defense. They seem to always be in the passing lanes. Preseason all Big Ten Shannon was completely frustrated.
I was on a plane so didn't see the entire game through but was able to stream the majority of it.
- Chase was excellent on both sides of the ball. He has matured, developed, whatever you want to say. He still takes chances on defense but smarter ones. He still takes the occasional bad shot on offense but much less frequently. He controlled a great scorer for the most part and got his fair share on offense.
- Barnhizer is becoming a force. He can't reliably create his own shot yet but he's starting to get confidence in his ability to catch and shoot off the kick. That transition corner 3 was enormous. And I think he might be our strongest rebounder, height notwithstanding.
- Ty Berry. Was a decent day overall, but he was really the one that stoked the rally. A nice designed play out of the timeout where he drained the 3, and then he hits another shortly thereafter when they go under a screen. He continues to play solid D.
- Beran- Was quiet on offense mostly today but did have that huge dunk that got the crowd into it. Despite not scoring much though - I thought he was value-add because he has quietly become a very good defender. Good positionally, solid lateral movement, and fouling a lot less than when he was younger. You don't always need to score points to make an impact. Robbie made a solid impact today.
- Boo. Boo Boo Boo. He had a really rough 1st half. And I guess he was cramping in the second half. But after Berry staked us to the lead, he stepped up with a classic driving layup and then a classic rolling floater. And then was a hugely stabilizing presence against the press down the stretch. 11-12 from the FT line?? Far from his best day but he was still important. And not to set the bar too low - but his defensive effort today impressed me. This year overall he has bought in a lot better on defense, but there are still a few lapses per game. I don't think I noticed a single one from him tonight. He may be undersized, but if he consistently gives that type of effort on defense and stays in front of people, then he can still make it hard for them to score.
- Roper is still up and down, and today was down... on offense at least. He still played solid D and fought hard. He's a useful role player. And let's hope that we see more of his offense that came against OSU and MSU in the coming games.
- Centers.... are a WIP. Nicholson plays very strong defense. And is large on offense. We just need to find a way to get him to finish better on offense. Do the Izzo game where in practice you whack him with football pads or whatever. On the other side, not sure if Tydus is still sick but... jeez he has been struggling the last 5 or so games. I'm increasingly interested in trying out a small lineup with Beran at the 5, which is what we closed out the game with. Nicholson deserves 20 mins a night. I don't think I can say Tydus deserves 20 mins a night the way he is playing right now.
I posted a little while ago that I was thinking 7-8 B1G wins. We have started out 2-1. This was a big win to avoid a downward spiral. But the road doesn't get any easier. As Chris says, let's dust ourselves off, and create a gameplan for Bloomington. It's gonna be tough every game, but if we keep bringing the effort on defense then we will have some chances to gain more W's. Gotta avoid having a 5-6 or more game losing streak by continually bringing the effort every night.
Lastly, great showing by the students. Even on the plane stream I could tell they had a presence. Chris in his postgame said explicitly that they helped carry a fatigued team through to a win in the second half. The players seemed very appreciative in the postgame too. Let's hope they all (and more!) all come back for next Weds night when we host Rutgers.
GO CATS!
Rick
I like the "never too high never too low" narrative that CCC has mentioned on several occasions. Good stabilizing mantra to live by and applies very well to this team. You have to credit CCC a bit on that, not since 2017 have we had anything remotely resembling an identity and this year appears a bit different (although its early).
It really does “feel” different this year. Even when IL made a couple mini charges on us in the later stages I never really got the impression we were unraveling. Which is different than it has seemed in past years. I don’t know if it’s coaching or individual players or senior leadership… but as you say they seem to have a better approach, mantra, more stability etc. Let’s hope that persists.
(^^ fake analysis alert that may be influenced by us winning last night)
Btw one thing I heard both Bruce Weber (formerly Chris Lowery’s head coach, BTN studio analyst) and then Chris Collins say independently in the postgame was “if you’re in the right place, the steals will come”. Both attributed it to Lowery, so I guess it must be his schtick. It’s a good one. I feel like we still over-help sometimes before it is necessary to do so (saw that some in the first half against both OSU and IL, also got caught napping on a backdoor once last night), but as the game goes on we usually tend to fix our mistakes. Pitt game being a notable exception.
From Lou's article:
Berry, who finished with a pair of steals, joked about how the coaching staff has enabled them to jump passing lanes and force turnovers.
"Credit to our coaches," Berry said with a laugh. "They always tell us to stand in the right spot and they'll throw you the ball. It happens, it sounds funny, but it happens."
It does seem as if once a game the other team just throws the ball to Berry. I guess it's not just luck.
That’s great. No need to reach, just move your feet and stay aware.
And, sometimes, poke it away when the opposition gets loose with it, and get fouled as you gain possession. (Chase got one of those last night.)
As did Berry. Both remain in the Top 5 of the Big10 in steals:
Steals
Steals| Index | Player | GP | No. | AVG/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spencer,Cam (Rutgers) | 14 | 36 | 2.6 |
| 2 | Audige,Chase (Northwestern) | 14 | 36 | 2.6 |
| 3 | Mulcahy,Paul (Rutgers) | 10 | 20 | 2.0 |
| 4 | Hepburn,Chucky (Wisconsin) | 13 | 25 | 1.9 |
| 5 | Berry,Ty (Northwestern) | 14 | 26 | 1.9 |
Younger Spencer turning out to be a good player, I don't think we offered which is too bad.