Amazingly Northwestern had actually pulled off more close wins on the road than at home this season (see: Penn State, Iowa, and Illinois) tonight though the Wildcats managed to pull off a 76-74 victory over Akron and now move on to play in the second round of the NIT for the second straight year. This win also gives the Wildcats 19 total wins on the season which leaves them one win away from a school record three straight 20 win seasons. At this point it’s unclear when NU will be playing again, but I’ll post that as soon as I learn.
As far as tonight’s game goes, this was really all about the Wildcats two stars John Shurna and Drew Crawford winning the game for the their team with some solid support from JerShon Cobb who provided 19 points, but the rest of the ‘Cats pretty much just seemed to stand around and watch those guys play offense. I will give point guard Dave Sobolewski credit for a game with 5 assists and only 1 turnover in 32 minutes, but after a terrible shooting day against Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament it now looks like Sobo is reluctant to shoot the ball. No matter who NU plays in the next round of the NIT, I think Sobo will need to step up as will Reggie Hearn, Alex Marcotullio, and Davide Curletti. The ‘Cats won’t be able to pull off another game with just Shurna, Crawford, and Cobb scoring.
For what it’s worth, though, I thought it was a great game by Drew Crawford who pulled his typical Houdini magic and reappeared after disappearing in the Big Ten Tournament against Minnesota. It would be amazing if Crawford were consistent at all or even if his bad games just weren’t so bad. An average game from Drew would be fine, but being so erratic won’t help if he’s expected to be the star next season. Still, today he was very good with 27 points and 7 rebounds and was really the guy who got the ‘Cats going in this game.
Equally good was John Shurna who posted a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds, also added seven assists and hit the 2,000 point mark for his career. His work was even more impressive in considering that he was facing 7-0 Zeke Marshall who at one point was a top-50 recruit. I’ll be honest while Marshall had a nice game with 17 and 7, I thought he’d be much more of a factor which is why I thought the ‘Cats were in trouble in this contest. I’m glad I was off on that prediction. NU will also face size from whatever team they play next so it’s a good sign they didn’t let Marshall totally have his way and Shurna deserves credit for that. If this was John’s last home game (and I hope it’s not) it was a great way for the Wildcats all-time leading scorer and shot blocker to go out. But I hope NU’s fans get to see him in Welsh-Ryan again.
As noted above the only Wildcat who really provided a supporting role today was JerShon Cobb. I’m convinced that if Cobb had been healthy this NU team was NCAA Tournament material. But that’s just more bad NU luck. On the positive side, Cobb made some shots today that I can’t remember another NU player making. The most impressive was a step-back jump shot when the ‘Cats had fallen behind which gave NU back the lead. Also, fantastic was a drive were he reversed in a layup. Cobb’s got big time potential and him being hurt really did limit NU for the season’s first 2/3s.
I’ll look forward to seeing what happens in the second round of the NIT to NU. Last year’s second round game vs Boston College was one of the best games the ‘Cats played all year. Hopefully we’ll see a similar result this season.
Showing posts with label Akron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Akron. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Difficult NIT Draw Puts Wildcats and Coach Carmody in Tough Spot
Somehow Northwestern went from being an NCAA bubble team to being a #4-seed in the NIT. That means in the eyes of the NIT Northwestern hasn’t improved at all from last season where they were in as #4-seed. Even worse perhaps is the fact that Akron is probably a tougher draw than last year’s opponent Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
I’m disappointed by what happened today on a lot of levels. I think in all honesty that Northwestern not making the NCAA Tournament was the right thing. However, I think NU got screwed big time by the NIT committee. All the other so-called NCAA bubble teams were #1 or #2 seeds in the NIT. Northwestern was a #4. Also of note is the fact that NU at a #4 seed was the highest seed out of the Big Ten. Essentially, it seems despite the Big Ten’s great reputation all season that the NIT didn’t think much of the Big Ten. Even the NCAA Tournament didn’t seem as high on the Big Ten as some might have though with only six teams in the tournament and Purdue in as only a #10-seed.
I could complain more about where NU is, but I feel like anybody with a brain knows that having three teams from a very (maybe below) average Pac-12 ahead of three teams from the best conference in the country doesn’t make sense. The NIT claims they aren’t in it for money any more, but it sure looks like the higher seeds are those places where they’ll be more likely to sell tickets. Basically, the same thing happened to Northwestern last year and in the 2008-09 season when a team that was a borderline NCAA team was sent to play on the road at Tulsa in the NIT. I know a lot of Northwestern fans don’t like Bill Carmody and I’m starting think some of them might be on the NIT selection committee.
Since I brought up the topic let’s address the Carmody situation. The Chicago Tribune did a point-counterpoint as keep-fire recently which I thought was very fair. Personally, I’ve been more impressed by Carmody and how he held this year’s team together despite its major low points than I was in the past. However, I think this game is the one which could really determine his fate. NU’s players are going to be disappointed. If Carmody can rally them and have them come out and play well Northwestern should be able to squeak by a solid Akron team. Is winning one game enough for him to keep his job? Well, considering how totally hosed he was by the NIT committee I’m going to say yes. It’s not Carmody’s fault the garbage Pac-12 is apparently better than the Big Ten in the eyes of the people seeding the NIT. However, if Carmody drops this game to Akron he might as well pack his bags.
So what will happen in this game? I don’t exactly know, but I’m really worried from NU’s point of view. I just don’t see NU’s players having any enthusiasm for this game. I sure don’t. I’ll watch, but today has just crushed me. I was disappointed NU didn’t make the Big Dance, but I kind of assumed that was going to happen and I figured the silver lining was two or three NIT home games where John Shurna could shine and help lead the ‘Cats to New York. Instead, NU has one home game against a very good team with a talented 7-0 center in Zeke Marshall and six guys who make more than 34% of their three pointers. So basically NU doesn’t have a player who can defend Marshall in the post and the 1-3-1 is almost unplayable because Akron will hit open threes all day. The only hope NU has is that Akron won’t be able to defend the Princeton Offense given limited prep time. I’m worried though because I thought NU would be able to at least play free and loose as a high seed, but now they’re stuck in a dog fight which could go down to the wire and that hasn’t been good of late in Evanston.
Like I said above, I feel terrible because I feel like the NIT selection committee just screwed Northwestern and Bill Carmody personally because I don’t think Northwestern wins this game and I don’t see how Carmody keeps his job after that. I predict: Akron, 70 Northwestern, 65.
I’m disappointed by what happened today on a lot of levels. I think in all honesty that Northwestern not making the NCAA Tournament was the right thing. However, I think NU got screwed big time by the NIT committee. All the other so-called NCAA bubble teams were #1 or #2 seeds in the NIT. Northwestern was a #4. Also of note is the fact that NU at a #4 seed was the highest seed out of the Big Ten. Essentially, it seems despite the Big Ten’s great reputation all season that the NIT didn’t think much of the Big Ten. Even the NCAA Tournament didn’t seem as high on the Big Ten as some might have though with only six teams in the tournament and Purdue in as only a #10-seed.
I could complain more about where NU is, but I feel like anybody with a brain knows that having three teams from a very (maybe below) average Pac-12 ahead of three teams from the best conference in the country doesn’t make sense. The NIT claims they aren’t in it for money any more, but it sure looks like the higher seeds are those places where they’ll be more likely to sell tickets. Basically, the same thing happened to Northwestern last year and in the 2008-09 season when a team that was a borderline NCAA team was sent to play on the road at Tulsa in the NIT. I know a lot of Northwestern fans don’t like Bill Carmody and I’m starting think some of them might be on the NIT selection committee.
Since I brought up the topic let’s address the Carmody situation. The Chicago Tribune did a point-counterpoint as keep-fire recently which I thought was very fair. Personally, I’ve been more impressed by Carmody and how he held this year’s team together despite its major low points than I was in the past. However, I think this game is the one which could really determine his fate. NU’s players are going to be disappointed. If Carmody can rally them and have them come out and play well Northwestern should be able to squeak by a solid Akron team. Is winning one game enough for him to keep his job? Well, considering how totally hosed he was by the NIT committee I’m going to say yes. It’s not Carmody’s fault the garbage Pac-12 is apparently better than the Big Ten in the eyes of the people seeding the NIT. However, if Carmody drops this game to Akron he might as well pack his bags.
So what will happen in this game? I don’t exactly know, but I’m really worried from NU’s point of view. I just don’t see NU’s players having any enthusiasm for this game. I sure don’t. I’ll watch, but today has just crushed me. I was disappointed NU didn’t make the Big Dance, but I kind of assumed that was going to happen and I figured the silver lining was two or three NIT home games where John Shurna could shine and help lead the ‘Cats to New York. Instead, NU has one home game against a very good team with a talented 7-0 center in Zeke Marshall and six guys who make more than 34% of their three pointers. So basically NU doesn’t have a player who can defend Marshall in the post and the 1-3-1 is almost unplayable because Akron will hit open threes all day. The only hope NU has is that Akron won’t be able to defend the Princeton Offense given limited prep time. I’m worried though because I thought NU would be able to at least play free and loose as a high seed, but now they’re stuck in a dog fight which could go down to the wire and that hasn’t been good of late in Evanston.
Like I said above, I feel terrible because I feel like the NIT selection committee just screwed Northwestern and Bill Carmody personally because I don’t think Northwestern wins this game and I don’t see how Carmody keeps his job after that. I predict: Akron, 70 Northwestern, 65.
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