Looking Back and Ahead to South Padre Island

Northwestern heads to South Padre Island for a matchup with  TCU on the heels of a 69-50 win over Delaware State. NU’s effort in that win wasn’t outstanding, but in the end it was solid and I expect Northwestern to have a little better focus when they face a Big 12 opponent on Friday.

Looking at the Delaware State game for a moment, I found myself very pleased with the shooting of Drew Crawford and Dave Sobolewksi. It wasn’t a great shock that both shot the ball well, but a number of those shots were deep threes. If those guys continue to show such extended range it’ll make NU’s offense tough to defend. I also liked the continued aggressiveness of Alex Olah. He’ll face bigger stronger players soon such as TCU forward Devonta Abron, but it is still a good sign that Olah understands how to attack the basket when he has the chance.

NU’s offense impressive in that they held themselves under 10 turnovers once again. If NU consistently has less than 10 turnovers in games I like their chances based simply on the fact they are a team which shoots a high percentage.

TCU is 4-1 and it pretty much known for playing defense. The Horned Frogs have allowed less than 65 points in all five of their games. Facing the strong NU offense should be an interesting contrast in styles.

I look for TCU to try and get a little more offensive production centered around guard Jarvis Ray as they take on NU as the Frogs have scored less than 60 points in three of their four wins this year. TCU has some advantage in that Coach Trent Johnson has coached vs NU at LSU and Stanford so he knows how to prepare for the Princeton Offense.

Prediction: Despite Johnson’s experience with the Princeton Offense I think NU wins a close one in this contest. Northwestern, 66 TCU, 59