Now that was a good half of basketball.
Whatever Collins is doing in “the lab” to help these guys find their shots, it’s working.
Whatever Collins is doing in “the lab” to help these guys find their shots, it’s working.
Damn.
- Thread starter PURPLE Book Cat
- Start date
speed will take over the game now!
Big halftime lead almost blown vs IU, then blown vs IL. Having a big lead at the break is a nice problem to have, but they’ve got to adjust to the other team’s adjustments and keep the pedal to the metal. Ugly loss. Boo Herculean, but can’t have single digits from all the other starters.
It seems like NU continues it's defense but plays panic offense with a big lead in the second half.
NU allowed 47 second-half points.
Shannon was pretty unconscious. And Mayer drew two three-point fouls.
One of which was a phantom call that started their rally, but it wasn't the refs that lost this game for the Cats. Gotta have more guys making shots. I would have loved to have seen Buie dish to an open shooter (preferably for 3 and the win) on that last play, but who could he trust at that point.
They went smallish. Dainja hardly saw the court in the second half. Lots of space for Shannon to work and he did. He’s listed at 6-6, 215, but I think he’s thicker than that.
Underwood figured out what lineup was working in the second half. Dainja only played 2 minutes, Epps played the first 6 minutes of the half and sat the rest of the game for Harris, who shut down Buie. Rodgers played 19 minutes in the second half, Shannon played 18. They had 2-3 inches on all of our players except Nicholson and were extremely athletic and physical. It sucks, but it's one game.
I have not watched IL much but it seems that's not a game strategy, it's just a team, kind of like us, who has no great offensive advantage inside. Their advantages down low come from the occasional wing posting up. Kind of like Barnhizer for us
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I can see that viewpoint. But I wonder if he told them at halftime to drive everything possible, and keep the ball out of the post. That was pretty different from what they did in the first half.
It keeps them from being double-teamed and the perimeter defense looked pretty bad last night. We'll see.
Hawkins got all ball up top on that last play, but his hips completely slaughtered Boo. If it weren't the last minute in Champaign, that would have been foul.
I wondered the same, but did not get enough reviews to conclude one way or another.
Felt there was a good chance it was Boo who threw himself into Hawkins and was responsible for creating that contact.
If there's an open shooter, then that's whom you have to trust, whoever it is. It's the last chance of the game; you can't second-guess the open shot.
You guys have a really good team. I had been a skeptic, thinking the tough ending to the conference season would expose some real weaknesses but instead it made me a believer.
Ever think that it might be that we did too well in the first half? When they do that well and everything is working, how do you make adjustments at halftime? Where as the other team makes massive adjustments because nothing was working for them so they come out with a very different approach. And then very little time to adjust to the new approach by the other team. We saw similar problems in second half of game against Indiana after a similarly stellar first half.
Disappearing Wildcats. After showing both IU and IL they are the better team, they just disappeared. Average play and they win both easily, but for some reason they just disappeared in those two halves. It's a mystery why it happens and a mystery why they have so much trouble finding their way back. Only Boo did not disappear against IL.
Got to see how good NU can be, though, and it's plenty good. Was 3-D ugly loss which could have been won so easily. Was a great run.
MD is going to the tournament and doubly tough at home. Be a nice statement W going forward. GO CATS!
My point is hard to say anything at halftime and the team they face in second half has a different focus than one they faced and were well prepared for in first half. They come out successful and no time to really make adjustments against what team is now facing. A minute or two during time outs
As a coach you're going to know that the opponent will come out fighting in the 2nd half.
You have to anticipate what might happen.
What if they double Buie? What if they go full court press?
I'm sure we did that. Well, I have to believe we did that.
I wish we'd have played our starting 5 longer.
And Collins' benching of Beran runs 100% opposite to the opinion (often expressed on this board) that Beran's a really good defender.
It’s hard to adjust to a bigger, faster, longer, stronger, more skilled and more athletic team. Especially when you make egregious mistakes like fouling a 3 pt. shooter and your opponent decides to play the smothering M-M defense they are capable of.
The Illini played to our strengths in the first half and Boo went crazy on them. Then in the 2nd half they forced us to play to their strengths. In the end, they made a few more baskets (including some huge 2nd chance FGs) and a few less mistakes to get the W.
GOUNUII
It was more Barnhizer was the only one besides Buie who was putting the ball in the basket. Offense was the major issue in the 2nd half.
Defense was more the problem. And maybe Beran was/is just getting tired, and it was noticeable to Collins, so he did not play him as much.
But Collins stuck with Barnhizer/Audige/Berry/Buie for the last 9 minutes. It is rare that he keeps the same 4 on the court that long. Seems like he could have brought in Beran at the 4, switched Barney to the 3 and pulled Audige or Berry. Especially with Verhoeven at the 5.
Its all hindsight, but it seems like the better move.
Come out fighting, yes. But not necessarily knowing what the adjustments were until they are seen. Changes on D and the O as well. And by that time all you have is a couple timeouts to make changes during. Thought Berhan had some foul trouble
And Verhoven had fouled out, hadn't he? Berry pretty good defender and rebounder.