11:47 left in 2nd half. Down by 10. The guys gotta play like the season is on the line because a loss here at home will be really bad for any chance for a decent season.
Game Thread: Northwestern vs. Rutgers
- Thread starter mshelton33
- Start date
Ball just not dropping in for the Cats in this game. So many shots half way down and popping out. That guy Bailey really killed is in the first half. Let’s make it close.
Tonight it is. This season we are averaging more Points Scored per Game than any year in the last twenty.
Jeez did that Rutgers player try to pass the ball but it went in the basket by accident?
They can't miss and our shots bounce all around the rim or go half way down and out. Doesn't look like it's our night
4 is getting away with a lot of push offs and wrap ups.
Edit: he almost hip threw Berry a second ago.
Edit: he almost hip threw Berry a second ago.
Sounds about right. There aren't many opportunities left for signature wins. All that's left to do is stack wins, and this team may not have it in them.
Wisconsin
USC
at Washington
at Oregon
Nebraska
at Ohio State
at Minnesota
Iowa
UCLA
at Maryland
Their guy is just a lot better than anyone we have. Sometimes it happens. The tourney was a long shot after dropping two conference games we shouldn’t have when the opponent wasn’t unconscious. Today they were unconscious.
Very disappointing. Barnhizer and Martinelli a combined 9 for 28 from the field. Only Leach had a good offensive game.
This loss really hurts our chances to put the dancing shoes on this year. Three tough road losses where we should have won and we are in a big hole I don't think we can dig ourselves out of.
This loss really hurts our chances to put the dancing shoes on this year. Three tough road losses where we should have won and we are in a big hole I don't think we can dig ourselves out of.
Have a feeling we will rememeber this night for a long time. Bailey looks like an NBA All Star and possibly the first or second pick taken in the draft? Disappointed the other guys on that team were also making very tough shots and we didn’t play our best game.
The TV guys said before the game that Collins had told his players not to worry about how many shots Bailey made because he was going to make shots. (And that was correct) But the other Rutgers guys were supposed to miss and they didn't cooperate.
We were up 13-4 and looking good when Ciaravino got tagged with a weak 2nd foul (guy used his forearm to push off - foul called on Ciaravino)...
Collins had to take him out and bring in Berry. But he also subbed in Fitzmorris for Nicholson and Rutgers started scoring points immediately.
Not one mention of Ciaravino in the game thread? He played very well. He is a good player right now. It reminds me of Barnhizer as a sophomore - how he has realized he belongs.
And KJ Windham didn't play at all. I hope he was sick or something because that kid makes good things happen - and you can't do that when you are sitting on the bench.
Collins had to take him out and bring in Berry. But he also subbed in Fitzmorris for Nicholson and Rutgers started scoring points immediately.
Not one mention of Ciaravino in the game thread? He played very well. He is a good player right now. It reminds me of Barnhizer as a sophomore - how he has realized he belongs.
And KJ Windham didn't play at all. I hope he was sick or something because that kid makes good things happen - and you can't do that when you are sitting on the bench.
This is the third or fourth game in a row that Martinelli and Barney both shot extremely poorly. Be interesting to see what their field goal percentages in Big Ten play it's not good
Just a bad night for us. Bailey drops 37 on some crazy shots, including a brick that banks in for three, though he does have a smooth jumper. that’s unstoppable. I also kept waiting for him to miss more, but he had a fantastic night.
I would also like to see our guys kick it out for open shots sometimes instead of just trying to force their way to the basket. You can do that against weaker teams but not in the B1G.
I would also like to see our guys kick it out for open shots sometimes instead of just trying to force their way to the basket. You can do that against weaker teams but not in the B1G.
On one side you could clearly see Martinelli and Barnhizer paying close attention to the non existing lanes. Trying to back up their defenders and every Rutgers player closing the space between them. Which is what most teams are doing these days with us. Better chances our other guys can't step up than letting our two studs go off.
On the other side we just decided it was OK to gamble on NBA early lottery pick talent? Collins has done a phenomenal job over the last two seasons. And a good job, no doubt, this year. But you have to question the prep for this game.
You had the two top scorers in the conference facing each other. One more seasoned, but with way less potential. One had a plan for him, the other the plan was to let him eat and hope the other guys will miss.
On the other side we just decided it was OK to gamble on NBA early lottery pick talent? Collins has done a phenomenal job over the last two seasons. And a good job, no doubt, this year. But you have to question the prep for this game.
You had the two top scorers in the conference facing each other. One more seasoned, but with way less potential. One had a plan for him, the other the plan was to let him eat and hope the other guys will miss.
Last edited:
Why do you say we let Bailey get his points? I know what they said on the telecast, but what I saw was a guy make shots from all over the court and many of them were contested. To say a stud player will get his points isn’t waving the white flag to me.
Now you can say we did nothing to stem the tide and should have doubled him, fouled him or whatever and that’s fair. However, it should be noted that his teammates stepped up and made shots too. Lowrey has seen it all. There can’t be many cases where one player basically got half the teams points against his defense in a win. I don’t think it was a game plan problem, but it’s fair to say Lowrey could have went to his bag of tricks and “tried” something else. He is too tall and too quick for any of our individual players to handle, so I’m all for trying something even if it’s unlikely to stop him. He did score way less in the second half , so maybe he did figure something out.
He made some tough shots, no doubt, but when a guy’s hitting like that in the first half, you’ve got to switch up the defense to get him out of his rhythm. You can afford to let lesser scorers take those difficult shots because they’re not going to keep hitting them at that clip. But with a player like that, he’s going to keep knocking them down unless you disrupt his flow. The defense should’ve been forcing him to put the ball on the floor and create off the dribble. Get up into him, make him work, and trust the help defense to handle the rest. He was going to get his buckets but don’t let them be in rhythm jump shots. Make him work. Sounds like the defense we saw in the 1st half was not the game plan going in based off the presser.
We defended him like any oher guy. He got like 3 baskets in a row when switching left Leach on him. We made the decision to guard him like a regular guy. Collins said they were trying to have him put the ball on the floor. When you say that it means the defended guards closer, does not keep distance as much, risks being beaten off the dribble over allowing a shot... Fine, but that requires space adjustments to make up for it, that I did not see.
In the second half, where he was not even as hot, at a point he cut across the paint, unnoposed, got the ball and scored. I mean, defensive lapses, happen a lot, that's the danget of switches and all. Blame the players on that one, but if you are face guarding him, like most teams would at that point, it probably does not happen. We were not.
But, mostly, he went off and I did not see any changes. That frustrated me. He made some shots that were unreal, true, but the was what? 7? 9 points? Players who get hot (read maybe "allowed" to get hot) tend to make unreal shots
Edit: also, some teams will have a junkyard dog foul a guy with some roughness to try to make him uncomfortable. I don't want to include that in the things I listed because I don't like the idea of a coach suggesting that. But it would not be bad to see a guy step up and send a message.
I think Angelo got some coaching on that because when he was guarding Ace, you could see him with his arms out literally leaning his weight against Ace in the corners and along the lines, basically backing him away with his belly. It didn't work super great, but it was at least as effective as what Brooks was doing. Leach was just too small to stop the three even when he was completely in Ace's face.
But yeah, the entire team made contested shots and had junk just falling in if they threw the ball near the hoop. It was one of those nights.
But yeah, the entire team made contested shots and had junk just falling in if they threw the ball near the hoop. It was one of those nights.
Not double teaming Bailey after he got super hot was coaching malpractice. Make them rotate the ball to the weak side to find an open shooter. I can live with that but not Bailey - a noted stud and not a Devin Bauwinkle (IYKYK) - beat us over and over sat very badly with me.
Also, we do not shoot enough 3s. We had a bunch of good looks early in the shot clock and would just wait so the defense closed and we had to go to something else.
Collins has obviously proven himself the last few years and silenced his doubters - myself included - but his job last night was very poor.
Also, we do not shoot enough 3s. We had a bunch of good looks early in the shot clock and would just wait so the defense closed and we had to go to something else.
Collins has obviously proven himself the last few years and silenced his doubters - myself included - but his job last night was very poor.
I agree with you 110% baz. Don’t let ace beat you single-handedly. Never once since he got hot after he chucked up that bank shot 3 did we double him!! The other thing about Collins that’s infuriates me is we never press or put pressure on the other team on the other side of half court. They were pressuring leach two mins into the game
This is one of the reasons why it bothered me that Windham sat on the bench... he is our quickest guard. Unless Windham is sick he should be playing 10 minutes a game. Obviously Leach had a nice game, but Windham handles the ball pretty well and plays with a ton of energy. He can get other guys good looks, including Leach. And he has quick hands defensively.