Crowd

[clarificationcat]

Our fans suck too (including myself because I didn’t go either). Without the students, it’s dead and there is no home court advantage. It’s like those 11:00 am nonconference football games. Might as well be a scrimmage.

Football or basketball, if we don’t play hard we lose. Crowd can make a difference. Barnhizer needs to make his free throws. We had a chance to go to a double digit lead in the second half and he and Langborg go 3 for 6. And Buie lost his man twice in the last 10 minutes. And so many stupid passes by everybody but Buie. Quickness kills.

 

[bringbacktherantboard]

Our fans suck too (including myself because I didn’t go either). Without the students, it’s dead and there is no home court advantage. It’s like those 11:00 am nonconference football games. Might as well be a scrimmage.

Or like that "home" season at the Rosemont Horizon.

 

[NJcatsfan_rivals139741]

That game could have been played in front of zero fans and it should never resulted in a loss. Getting ranked makes me paranoid. This is why. Really, really ugly L for the resume.

 

[NJCat]

Our fans suck too (including myself because I didn’t go either). Without the students, it’s dead and there is no home court advantage. It’s like those 11:00 am nonconference football games. Might as well be a scrimmage.

Football or basketball, if we don’t play hard we lose. Crowd can make a difference. Barnhizer needs to make his free throws. We had a chance to go to a double digit lead in the second half and he and Langborg go 3 for 6. And Buie lost his man twice in the last 10 minutes. And so many stupid passes by everybody but Buie. Quickness kills.

Except in football, with the lowest Ryan Field attendance in history, NU went 5-1 this season. Players shouldn't need the "crowd" to play hard.

 

[clarificationcat]

That game could have been played in front of zero fans and it should never resulted in a loss. Getting ranked makes me paranoid. This is why. Really, really ugly L for the resume.

Agreed. But an actual home crowd might have helped pull them through an awful game. I'm not talking a full house, just 5,000 cheering fans. That should be the base. I have been to lots of these game and it's kind of depressing. Sometimes the few fans the other team has behind their bench are louder than our crowd.

Nobody looked into the game. Collins looked like he had the flu or something. And Berry had a really tough game. 1-7 with a desperation shot being his only basket. Missed 4 wide-open 3s. 3 points and 3 turnovers in 37 minutes. Need more from him as a senior.

And give Cardet credit. He was the best player on the court today and that 3 at the end of the game was enormous.

 

[SimpsonElmwood]

Cardet can really play. It’s hard to “wake up” once an underdog gets going.

Super disappointing.

 

[clarificationcat]

Except in football, with the lowest Ryan Field attendance in history, NU went 5-1 this season. Players shouldn't need the "crowd" to play hard.

Of course. But it can help. And the crowd tonight for a ranked team coming off of one of the biggest wins in program history was pathetic.

 

[freewillie07]

Of course. But it can help. And the crowd tonight for a ranked team coming off of one of the biggest wins in program history was pathetic.

I thought the crowd for Detroit Mercy —.a Sunday matinee that was actually “coming off” the Purdue win — was quite decent.

 

[clarificationcat]

I thought the crowd for Detroit Mercy —.a Sunday matinee that was actually “coming off” the Purdue win — was quite decent.

Sorry, Within two weeks of one of the biggest wins in program history. It's just kind of sad and unlike any other big-time (or team trying to be big-time) program.

 

[SadCat_rivals518182]

Sorry, Within two weeks of one of the biggest wins in program history. It's just kind of sad and unlike any other big-time (or team trying to be big-time) program.

Hmm—I don’t think that we have ever been a “big time” program. And I don’t expect that we ever will be one. The upsets and occasional good seasons are more fun when there are zero expectations around the program.

 

[clarificationcat]

Hmm—I don’t think that we have ever been a “big time” program. And I don’t expect that we ever will be one. The upsets and occasional good seasons are more fun when there are zero expectations around the program.

Aim low. I get it.

 

[freewillie07]

Hmm—I don’t think that we have ever been a “big time” program. And I don’t expect that we ever will be one. The upsets and occasional good seasons are more fun when there are zero expectations around the program.

Ridiculous. No reason NU can’t be a program that makes the tourney on average every other year. NU is big time in so many other sports and all it takes is a handful of good players to make a men’s basketball team go. BMac-Lindsey-Law-Pardon, Buie-Audige, etc.

I have always thought it was much harder for NU to hit the big time in football. Too many spots to fill and too few academic fits.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Sorry, Within two weeks of one of the biggest wins in program history. It's just kind of sad and unlike any other big-time (or team trying to be big-time) program.

Big time programs lose to poor teams. It’s not as rare as you think. Ask Izzo.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Ridiculous. No reason NU can’t be a program that makes the tourney on average every other year. NU is big time in so many other sports and all it takes is a handful of good players to make a men’s basketball team go.

I have always thought it was much harder for NU to hit the big time in football. Too many spots to fill and too few academic fits.

How many guys have they sent to the NBA?

 

[freewillie07]

How many guys have they sent to the NBA?

Not the point. At all.

If you define “big time” as being a Top 5 program, I agree NU probably won’t get there. But a threat to place in the Top 5 in the Big Ten every other year? I could see that.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Not the point. At all.

If you define “big time” as being a Top 5 program, I agree NU probably won’t get there. But a threat to place in the Top 5 in the Big Ten every other year? I could see that.

The point is NU rarely out “athletes” the competition. This applies to football too. cCC and Braun tell us about being a developmental program. Part of that is we can’t just turn on the faucet and overwhelm inferior teams because we are so much more talented than them. That’s Alabama football. People on here refer to it as “ the most Northwestery thing to do” when we lay eggs like this. In reality, NU is more prone to lay these eggs for the very reason a lot of people refuse to acknowledge in that we lose focus we can’t make up for it with sheer talent. It shouldn’t be some surprise that more of these “upsets” seem to happen in more frequency to NU. We played sloppy and with no sense of urgency. Every team does that at some point, we just played so poorly, we didn’t have enough to overcome it.

 

[Sec_112]

And Buie lost his man twice in the last 10 minutes.

I counted three times. And it wasn't like he was screened off his man. He was standing in front of him and just plain lost him ... didn't keep up with him.

Then we have three possessions where he had no intention of passing.

There's 22+ games remaining in Boo's career. I hope that's the last time I have to watch Bizarro Boo. Thankfully, we haven't seen him in a while.

 

[clarificationcat]

I counted three times. And it wasn't like he was screened off his man. He was standing in front of him and just plain lost him ... didn't keep up with him.

Then we have three possessions where he had no intention of passing.

There's 22+ games remaining in Boo's career. I hope that's the last time I have to watch Bizarro Boo. Thankfully, we haven't seen him in a while.

His bad game is still pretty good. He wasn’t the reason we lost. Too many turnovers from guys that didn’t handle the ball that much, bad defense by everybody and missed free throws doomed us. And leaving Matt on their best player at the end of the game was not great coaching either.

 

[Sec_112]

His bad game is still pretty good. He wasn’t the reason we lost. Too many turnovers from guys that didn’t handle the ball that much, bad defense by everybody and missed free throws doomed us. And leaving Matt on their best player at the end of the game was not great coaching either.

A) Agreed that his bad game is still pretty good. I'm not going after Boo. But it's reasinable to say he was one of MANY reasons for that mess.

B) Do I remember correctly that Nicholson had that three-pointer covered pretty damn well near the end?

C) CSU's 19-22 from the FT line absolutely twisted the knife also.

Just one of those nights.

 

[CatJones]

Then we have three possessions where he had no intention of passing.

In the first half I heard (I was in the upper deck, but since almost no one was in the arena because of whomever was responsible for scheduling a weak opponent to get a win, and could hear players and coaches talking during the game) Boo say "it's my turn", and demonstrated the above.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

In the first half I heard (I was in the upper deck, but since almost no one was in the arena because of whomever was responsible for scheduling a weak opponent to get a win, and could hear players and coaches talking during the game) Boo say "it's my turn", and demonstrated the above.

That’s a bad thing? He literally won the Purdue game with the exact same approach. You want your star to take over, not pass to Ty who couldn’t hit a shot or Big Matt who was allergic to a post move!

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

That’s a bad thing? He literally won the Purdue game with the exact same approach. You want your star to take over, not pass to Ty who couldn’t hit a shot or Big Matt who was allergic to a post move!

I got concerned when I watched Buie trying to split defenders and dunk.
We should have been lobbing to Nicholson all game.
The one time he missed was a bad pass by Buie - too flat - too low.
Chicago State had no way to defend against it.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I got concerned when I watched Buie trying to split defenders and dunk.
We should have been lobbing to Nicholson all game.
The one time he missed was a bad pass by Buie - too flat - too low.
Chicago State had no way to defend against it.

Big Matt has to actually get in position to receive that lob. I just didn’t see him rolling to the hoop too much .

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Big Matt has to actually get in position to receive that lob. I just didn’t see him rolling to the hoop too much .

I agree. There are some games when he should be parked by the basket.
But he is too passive at establishing position. I am assuming this is because he isn't being taught and he isn't expecting to get the ball. Either that or he is dumb and lazy. (I'll go with not being taught and not expecting the ball).
Our inability to take advantage of small teams on the offensive end is a recurring theme.
Same thing happened against Binghamton and Western Michigan.