Great Road Win

[Hungry Jack]

That was a hornets nest last night. I thought DePaul would come out swarming after that miserable loss to Buffalo, and they certainly did. I don’t know what it looked like on television, but their energy and intensity was palpable from row E. They were big, physical, and angry last night.

To win a tight game in that environment on the road with so many young guys getting lots of minutes is a real accomplishment. Granted, Nick and AP did most of the heavy lifting, but I thought our young guys kept their cool. It was great seeing Singleton deliver late in the game.

meaningful minutes in these types of games are what our young guys need to develop quickly. Last night was a learning experience for all of them. And it is always good to beat an in state rival!

 

[Cataria]

That was a hornets nest last night. I thought DePaul would come out swarming after that miserable loss to Buffalo, and they certainly did. I don’t know what it looked like on television, but their energy and intensity was palpable from row E. They were big, physical, and angry last night.

To win a tight game in that environment on the road with so many young guys getting lots of minutes as a real accomplishment. Granted, Nick and AP did most of the heavy lifting, but I thought our young guys kept their cool. It was great seeing Singleton deliver late in the game.

meaningful minutes in these types of games are what our young guys need to develop quickly. Last night was a learning experience for all of them.

They have a good coach and I knew it would be a tough game for the Cats. I'm glad they could pull it out. DePaul is so hungry for a victory against a power conference team!

 

[Davidgolds5]

That was a hornets nest last night. I thought DePaul would come out swarming after that miserable loss to Buffalo, and they certainly did. I don’t know what it looked like on television, but their energy and intensity was palpable from row E. They were big, physical, and angry last night.

To win a tight game in that environment on the road with so many young guys getting lots of minutes is a real accomplishment. Granted, Nick and AP did most of the heavy lifting, but I thought our young guys kept their cool. It was great seeing Singleton deliver late in the game.

meaningful minutes in these types of games are what our young guys need to develop quickly. Last night was a learning experience for all of them. And it is always good to beat an in state rival!

DePauls crowd really showed up as well. Had to have been tough for the new guys. Some of the comments try to belittle some of the frosh who didn’t play the best, they need time. I like Wests energy and ball control. I’d like to see Kropp hit the glass. Everyone wants minutes, it seems if you could get some rebounds, you’re going to play. Seems like a great way for kropp or gelo to stay on the court.

 

[Hungry Jack]

DePauls crowd really showed up as well. Had to have been tough for the new guys. Some of the comments try to belittle some of the frosh who didn’t play the best, they need time. I like Wests energy and ball control. I’d like to see Kropp hit the glass. Everyone wants minutes, it seems if you could get some rebounds, you’re going to play. Seems like a great way for kropp or gelo to stay on the court.

I was glad to see our young guys getting the minutes, even when we weren’t getting results. I think this is the down payment you have to make to get these kids ready faster.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

DePauls crowd really showed up as well. Had to have been tough for the new guys. Some of the comments try to belittle some of the frosh who didn’t play the best, they need time. I like Wests energy and ball control. I’d like to see Kropp hit the glass. Everyone wants minutes, it seems if you could get some rebounds, you’re going to play. Seems like a great way for kropp or gelo to stay on the court.

Surprised by a tone of disappointment from some. This was trap game, first road game, first real team for the Freshman. NU will lose games and soon, but getting win when things aren’t going great is a step in the right direction.

 

[Skunkpilot]

That was a hornets nest last night. I thought DePaul would come out swarming after that miserable loss to Buffalo, and they certainly did. I don’t know what it looked like on television, but their energy and intensity was palpable from row E. They were big, physical, and angry last night.

To win a tight game in that environment on the road with so many young guys getting lots of minutes is a real accomplishment. Granted, Nick and AP did most of the heavy lifting, but I thought our young guys kept their cool. It was great seeing Singleton deliver late in the game.

meaningful minutes in these types of games are what our young guys need to develop quickly. Last night was a learning experience for all of them. And it is always good to beat an in state rival!

How is that arena compared to welsh Ryan?

 

[hdhntr1]

DePauls crowd really showed up as well. Had to have been tough for the new guys. Some of the comments try to belittle some of the frosh who didn’t play the best, they need time. I like Wests energy and ball control. I’d like to see Kropp hit the glass. Everyone wants minutes, it seems if you could get some rebounds, There are only 200 mpg to be divided among them so if the kids want to play, they need to earn those minutes

 

[ThatadultfromHolland]

DePauls crowd really showed up as well. Had to have been tough for the new guys. Some of the comments try to belittle some of the frosh who didn’t play the best, they need time. I like Wests energy and ball control. I’d like to see Kropp hit the glass. Everyone wants minutes, it seems if you could get some rebounds, you’re going to play. Seems like a great way for kropp or gelo to stay on the court.

West and Kropp had the two toughest games in my opinion, but they are true freshmen and this was their first real high-major test. West has solid ball handling, he is confident as a shooter (sometimes too confident, which led to some forced looks), and he is quick enough to break guys down off the dribble. He is already flashing some good passing instincts mixed with the usual freshman decision making. Right now he is probably the weakest perimeter defender in the rotation, but that is fixable. With time in the weight room and time in the system to clean up his footwork, hands, and positioning, he has the athleticism to be fine on that end. I said similar things about Gelo and KJ last year, and look at Gelo now. He has been one of NU’s best defenders behind Mullins and maybe Reid. West will figure it out. The tools are there.

Kropp is going to catch heat on here all season, but some of that is just people not understanding how young bigs develop. I have said in other posts I think he is already ahead of where Hunger ever was. Kropp has natural touch around the rim and he is willing to rebound. He just does not have the positioning or physical maturity yet, and that is normal for a freshman big. If he can get his defensive impact to something close to Fitzmorris level, which is not a high bar, he will give NU the same level of backup center utility as any one year plug and play depth big they could have overpaid for in the portal. The difference is Kropp actually has long term upside.

Be patient. Give him time. I think there is a real chance he gets to that level by the end of the season. He is already starting from a better place than Big Matt did.

 

[Hungry Jack]

How is that arena compared to welsh Ryan?

I’m biased but I think WRA is a much nicer venue. It feels more intimate (similar capacity I think but WRA has smaller upper level, which gives it a cozier feel. I can’t speak to concessions but I’d be curious if Wintrust has jalapeños on its nachos.

 

[Davidgolds5]

How is that arena compared to welsh Ryan?

Very nice place, however it’s too big for DePaul right now. I believe it holds 10k and most of the 2nd level was empty. Welsh Ryan the perfect size place for the cats, nothing better during those big ten matchups when full.

 

[Davidgolds5]

I’m biased but I think WRA is a much nicer venue. It feels more intimate (similar capacity I think but WRA has smaller upper level, which gives it a cozier feel. I can’t speak to concessions but I’d be curious if Wintrust has jalapeños on its nachos.

Wintrust -10k, WR -7k (I think)

 

[Hungry Jack]

Wintrust -10k, WR -7k (I think)

Sounds about right. Wintrust feels much bigger. Lighting also feels very different. At WRA, the dark ceilings make it seem like the court is illuminated from below. It’s really a cool look.

 

[CappyNU]

It's been a few years since I was there, but the upper deck is much more removed from the court and the arena is very echoey compared to the new W-R. It has a much colder feel to it. Maybe if they ever draw a capacity crowd it might be different.

 

[rwhitney014]

How is that arena compared to welsh Ryan?

It feels like a multipurpose events center that’s part of a conference campus, which is exactly what it is.

Perfectly nice place to watch a game but more sterile. Sat in the upper deck and certainly was higher up than equivalent seats at W-R, but a good view. The parking garage next door was quite convenient, very easy in and not bad coming out.

 

[mickbula]

Wintrust -10k, WR -7k (I think)

Do the chi sky still play there??

 

[hdhntr1]

Wintrust -10k, WR -7k (I think)

Thought WR was closer to 6500 but found on line that it is 7039

 

[SimpsonElmwood]

First time at Wintrust and I thought it was a very nice arena. Pretty decent food choices given a smallish crowd. Demon dog was enormous and tasty with cheese and jalapenos. It was sold at the same location as the nachos so I assume the nachos could have jalapenos, Hungry Jack!

 

[SouthportCat]

Are we even allowed to call them “nachos” if they don’t have jalapenos? Chips ‘n’ cheese is not the same as nachos.

 

[Hungry Jack]

First time at Wintrust and I thought it was a very nice arena. Pretty decent food choices given a smallish crowd. Demon dog was enormous and tasty with cheese and jalapenos. It was sold at the same location as the nachos so I assume the nachos could have jalapenos, Hungry Jack!

Chili Mac with jalapeño at Chez Hungry today!

 

[bringbacktherantboard]

It's been a few years since I was there, but the upper deck is much more removed from the court and the arena is very echoey compared to the new W-R. It has a much colder feel to it. Maybe if they ever draw a capacity crowd it might be different.

It's much nicer than their old place (or ours!) at the Rosemont Horizon. If you're talking about a cold environment, Wintrust is a ray of warm sunshine in comparison.

 

[Smolmania]

It feels like a multipurpose events center that’s part of a conference campus, which is exactly what it is.

Perfectly nice place to watch a game but more sterile. Sat in the upper deck and certainly was higher up than equivalent seats at W-R, but a good view. The parking garage next door was quite convenient, very easy in and not bad coming out.

I sat in the lower level, and didn't think it was sterile at all. Upper bowl looked sparsely populated, so that may have influenced your opinion. The DePaul student section (behind west basket) was worse than ours, which is pretty hard to believe. I'll bet Mark Jackson looked up at those upper sky boxes with some envy. . . if they're sold that's a lot of $$. I didn't walk up to the upper deck, where my seats are this season at W-R, but they looked pretty high. And that scoreboard dwarfs ours.

 

[SimpsonElmwood]

I sat in the lower level, and didn't think it was sterile at all. Upper bowl looked sparsely populated, so that may have influenced your opinion. The DePaul student section (behind west basket) was worse than ours, which is pretty hard to believe. I'll bet Mark Jackson looked up at those upper sky boxes with some envy. . . if they're sold that's a lot of $$. I didn't walk up to the upper deck, where my seats are this season at W-R, but they looked pretty high. And that scoreboard dwarfs ours.

Scoreboard is top notch. Student section was well above average for DePaul from what I've read. They woke up down the stretch but were a non-factor for free throws.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Scoreboard is top notch. Student section was well above average for DePaul from what I've read. They woke up down the stretch but were a non-factor for free throws.

Fullerton and Sheffield isn’t that close to Wintrust. What did NU’s student section look like in Rosemont?

 

[GatoLouco]

The one thing that stood out to me about Wintrust, when I went there in 2019, was that the seats were narrow. Dude two chairs from me was a big fella and he kind of had to snap into the chair!

Anyway, tempting to see this game through the transitive lense and believe it was not a great win. I think it was. We had to adjust to the level of physicality of a P4 roster. A team that was hungry to show they are better than what they showed against Buffalo. Sure, KenPom wise and all, it might not have been great. But we won, and that's the right trajectory.

 

[mickbula]

By end of season/selection time I anticipate that this win will be higher quality than as thought by many now

 

[AdamOnFirst]

The one thing that stood out to me about Wintrust, when I went there in 2019, was that the seats were narrow. Dude two chairs from me was a big fella and he kind of had to snap into the chair!

Anyway, tempting to see this game through the transitive lense and believe it was not a great win. I think it was. We had to adjust to the level of physicality of a P4 roster. A team that was hungry to show they are better than what they showed against Buffalo. Sure, KenPom wise and all, it might not have been great. But we won, and that's the right trajectory.

One of those games where it’s fine since we made the last two free throws and they didn’t. A loss would have been bitterly disappointing, but surviving on the road after a tougher test than expected - but only by like 5-6 points - with two glaring issues to focus on is just fine.

Shows what Collins has done to the program that our reaction to defeating even a fairly down DePaul - down, but not horrible - on the road is “whew, got it done” and that a loss would be viewed as a massive setback and disappointment.

 

[Catreporter]

I was at the game at Wintrust two years ago and that DePaul team was truly awful and we played down to their level. This DePaul team is much improved (Don't know what happened against Buffalo) and I think they will be a tough out, especially at home, in the Big East. These young Cats learned a lot from this game and thankfully they have a week to work on their deficiencies. Going forward, we will need much more from our bench to win in the Big Ten.

 

[Cataria]

I was at the game at Wintrust two years ago and that DePaul team was truly awful and we played down to their level. This DePaul team is much improved (Don't know what happened against Buffalo) and I think they will be a tough out, especially at home, in the Big East. These young Cats learned a lot from this game and thankfully they have a week to work on their deficiencies. Going forward, we will need much more from our bench to win in the Big Ten.

Now we all have to hope DePaul wins a lot of games. The Big East is down so hopefully they can win a few!

 

[SimpsonElmwood]

I was at the game at Wintrust two years ago and that DePaul team was truly awful and we played down to their level. This DePaul team is much improved (Don't know what happened against Buffalo) and I think they will be a tough out, especially at home, in the Big East. These young Cats learned a lot from this game and thankfully they have a week to work on their deficiencies. Going forward, we will need much more from our bench to win in the Big Ten.

The Buffalo game has to be a crazy outlier. Barttorvik gave DePaul a game score of 1, which I have never seen. DePaul played two freshmen a lot more on Friday - Kruz McClure and 7'3" Fabian Flores. Both caused problems for the Cats.

This game should be a plus on NU's postseason sheet. A road win against a team from an above average conference.

 

[Alvious]

Do the chi sky still play there??

Yes, except when Caitlin Clark comes to town. Those games are moved to the United Center.