Second-half thread for Michigan-NU

[lou v]

Vic Law drains a 3 from Skokie at the buzzer and it's Michigan 36 NU 30 at the half.

Pardon had a whale of a half: 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists. He's a man in the paint, hitting hook after hook and getting on the glass. Without him, NU would be out of it already. Law has 8, Taylor 4 and Kopp 2 -- and that's it for scoring.

Poole and Brazdeikis are the main weapons for Michigan, combining for 21 points. Simpson's eight points include two circus running hooks in the lane. Unreal.

NU needs some contributions to help Pardon out.

 

[DaCat]

I hope we keep feeding Pardon down low, Michigan has no answer for him.

 

[Chuckster1973]

Sure keep feeding pardon but we need somebody else to step up besides him and law.

 

[lunker35]

REF SHOW

 

[TheC]

And that's why Kopp is not playing much.

 

[lunker35]

And that's why Kopp is not playing much.

That was one play. Chill out. He’s played really well tonight.

 

[TheC]

Collins just has not done a good job recruiting guards. BMac was decent. Scottie showed flashes. But everyone else has been pretty much a miss. And its the most important position in the college game.

 

[TheC]

That was one play. Chill out. He’s played really well tonight.

Someone on the earlier thread asked why Kopp doesn't get more minutes and I was guessing it probably had to do with his defense. I'm just assuming its plays like that that limit his minutes still. I'm sure he'll get better with time.

 

[scru]

Not the ideal start to the 2nd half. Got a bad feeling about the rest of this game with a lot of our guys in foul trouble.

It is very interesting watching the difference in these two offenses. UM definitely has a system and runs plays to get guys shots. Harder to see that with NU right now. Also, UM shots are finding their way in whereas we look rushed, pressured, and far less confident on offense.

 

[TheC]

Not the ideal start to the 2nd half. Got a bad feeling about the rest of this game with a lot of our guys in foul trouble.

It is very interesting watching the difference in these two offenses. UM definitely has a system and runs plays to get guys shots. Harder to see that with NU right now. Also, UM shots are finding their way in whereas we look rushed, pressured, and far less confident on offense.

They made it a point to take away Pardon this half. Gaines' guy is not even bothering to guard him. As soon as Pardon gets the ball, Gaines' guy is doubling down hard, not concerned at all what happens to Gaines. That's a problem.

 

[lou v]

Collins just has not done a good job recruiting guards. BMac was decent. Scottie showed flashes. But everyone else has been pretty much a miss. And its the most important position in the college game.

BMac was decent? I think the school’s all-time assists leader was a little better than that.

 

[NUCat320]

Well this is fun.

 

[lunker35]

This place can get real loud and it’s definitely closer to 70-30 Cats fans. Need more sequences like that.

 

[TheC]

Its all about the D!

 

[lou v]

It's getting LOUD in here!

 

[Hungry Jack]

Helluva run to make it a game.

 

[TheC]

Collins really needs to use his bench a little, These guys are going to run out of gas.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Atta boy! Lawlessness!

 

[TheC]

Vic Law is out of his mind right now! Awesome D and two huge, long distance 3's.

ps.... still the same 3 fouls he ended the first half with. Incredible.

 

[TheC]

Ugh.... this may be the defensive possession of the game. If we go down four here, we might be in trouble. Ryan pushed off for sure, but it sure seemed like he got bumped with the body first.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Shoot it with 2 seconds left and crash the boat

 

[Hungry Jack]

Double rat fart

 

[Alvious]

That sucked beyond the telling. Not the 'Cats, but losing that game on a shot that was this close to going in.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Taylor was fouled on that last shot

 

[lunker35]

Get Pardon the damn ball there.

 

[TheC]

Just a poorly executed final play. Such a shame. Not sure if the moral victories this week make me feel all that great. These aren't the freshman battling in these games. Its the seniors. We need to start winning.

 

[Chuckster1973]

Wow great game we sure play our hearts out and almost one. Looking up Brazdiekis rating it's almost exactly like Nance rating on 247, but it shows you how one person rated similarly can be so much better prepared to play than the other

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

We look pretty solid. Just a couple shots away from being 2-0:and ranked in top 25! Dang!

 

[mikewebb68]

We keep playing at this level, we'll be in the Dance again..

 

[4IUSox2]

Didn't like the TO in front court. Let's the D set up on a short floor.

 

[Catreporter]

We keep playing at this level, we'll be in the Dance again..

Wish I could agree but we don't have enough contributors on this team and the starters are tired by the end, and can't make big shots. Wouldn't be surprised by a big letdown Saturday vs. DePaul.

 

[mikewebb68]

Wish I could agree but we don't have enough contributors on this team and the starters are tired by the end, and can't make big shots. Wouldn't be surprised by a big letdown Saturday vs. DePaul.

Michigan is a legit top-5 team; you were not impressed by this effort? It is still very early in the season, plenty of time for induviduals to step uo and contrubute. Michigan actually appeared to be more tired than us at the end...

 

[benoitdenizetl]

We keep playing at this level, we'll be in the Dance again..

Maybe, maybe not. The conference is great this year and as Law said, they couldn’t start 0-2. They did. Uphill battle now, especially with so few non-con opportunities for big wins. Love the effort and just bummed we didn't pull one of these two games out. Needed one—for a big win and confidence.

 

[mikewebb68]

Maybe, maybe not. The conference is great this year and as Law said, they couldn’t start 0-2. They did. Uphill battle now, especially with so few non-con opportunities for big wins. Love the effort and just bummed we didn't pull one of these two games out. Needed one, both for a big win and confidence.

There's 20 conference games, we can absolutely start 0-2 and be just fine.

 

[benoitdenizetl]

There's 20 conference games, we can absolutely start 0-2 and be just fine.

Of course we can. We can just as easily be a team that loses a lot of close games and doesn’t end up fine. I love the way we’re playing—just small margin for error now. Can’t really lose another non-con game.

 

[Catreporter]

Michigan is a legit top-5 team; you were not impressed by this effort? It is still very early in the season, plenty of time for induviduals to step uo and contrubute. Michigan actually appeared to be more tired than us at the end...

I was impressed by the effort but it is still a loss. This team plays very hard but there isn't any depth! What guys do you see stepping up? We're already nearly a third of the way into the season.

 

[Fitz51]

There's 20 conference games, we can absolutely start 0-2 and be just fine.

I don’t know. These are both games that could have gone either way. You hope you can split those. 20 is a lot, but also not a lot.

 

[Alvious]

This has all the makings of an absolutely insane Big Ten basketball season. Buckle up, folks, it could be a heck of a ride.

 

[mikewebb68]

I don’t know. These are both games that could have gone either way. You hope you can split those. 20 is a lot, but also not a lot.

I was fully expecting 0-2 . What I was not expecting was two coin-flip games, including one against a team who beat every team they played thus far by 17 or more, with far from a cupcake schedule. If we maintain that high level of play, the wins will come in bunches...

 

[mikewebb68]

I was impressed by the effort but it is still a loss. This team plays very hard but there isn't any depth! What guys do you see stepping up? We're already nearly a third of the way into the season.

Gaines has already stepped up in the last three games. I also believe Nance and Kopp will step up.