A Postseason Win! Northwestern Tops UW-Milwaukee for First Postseason Win in 17 Years

It wasn’t perfect, but the result was. Northwestern used just enough three point shooting and the surprise springing of the 1-3-1 defense (nice move by Coach Carmody to see that Anthony Hill would do more damage to NU than the Panther three point shooters) to help hold off a Wisconsin-Milwaukee comeback effort in the second half to capture the program’s first postseason win in 17 years. Northwestern will now face Boston College in Chestnut Hill on Saturday morning at 11AM Eastern Time. That to me isn’t an ideal start time, but I suspect the NIT wants to try to avoid too much overlap with NCAA games. And considering that we could be Wisconsin-Milwaukee and not play till November, I’m not going to complain.

Tonight’s Wildcat win featured solid play from John Shurna, Juice Thompson, and Alex Marcotullio. It was good to see Marcotullio step up with the injury to JerShon Cobb keeping the talented freshman on the bench and Mike Capocci and Drew Crawford both struggling. I think Capocci probably still isn’t a 100% after his own injury and Drew Crawford simply isn’t shooting well right now. Personally, I think it’s all psychological with Crawford and probably instead of practice would sit him in the video room and have him watch one of the games were in exploded for 25 points plus because it’s pretty clear right now the kid needs a confidence boost.

Speaking of confidence, Shurna seemed to have plenty off it coming off his tremendous performance in the Big Ten Tournament near upset of Ohio State. Tonight, John scored 25 points, connected on half his threes, and pulled down eight rebounds. He was also part of very a strong middle 3 in NU’s 1-3-1 which helped keep Panther star Anthony Hill from getting many good looks at the basket.

Juice Thompson was good as well in what is probably his last game at Welsh-Ryan Arena unless Long Beach State pulls enough upsets for NU to make it back home in the NIT’s quarterfinals. Juice made seven field goals and assisted on six more. He totaled 20 points and 4 rebounds. He made 4 threes, but seemed to have a number of others which nearly went as well. As NU heads on the road, the continued desire of Juice to will his team to victory and extend his college career will be critical to future Wildcat success.

Alex Marcotullio continues to develop thanks to Cobb’s injury. He stared again tonight and scored 13 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and got 3 steals. His constant hustle had him in the middle of a number of other plays for near steals as well. Alex sometimes still makes mistakes, but it is important to remember he’s still young and is just now cracking the starting lineup. Overall, his energy always seems to help NU and I think he’ll be a big help when NU tried to defend a fairly athletic BC team.

I mentioned Drew Crawford earlier. Somehow, someway, NU needs him to step up when they play Boston College. Crawford worked his way to 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists today, but his scoring punch is missed by the ‘Cats. I think he’ll be the key guy in the BC game so I hope he gets with Coach Henderson and they work on brining back the hot-shooting Drew Crawford we know exists.

Credit also goes to Luka Mirkovic who helped NU win the rebounding battle with 8 boards of his own (including four on the offensive end) and by holding position against Anthony Hill and allowing his teammates to get rebounds. Luka also did a good job in his role as a passer in NU’s offense and got four assists to his name.

NU only got two bench points today (Mike Capocci free throws) and I think both Capocci and Davide Curletti will need to do more for NU to upset BC. Hopefully, another couple days will help heal Capocci.

So, it’s on to Boston College. It’ll be a tough game, but it is way better to move on than go home and I’m glad that once again NU has a postseason win on the resume. It’s a good feeling and one that’ll potentially get even better on Saturday. I can’t wait!

Juice Finishes Off Senior Night with Strong Second Half

On a night when Northwestern got some great contributions from underclass bench players Alex Marcotullio and Davide Curletti, it was still the senior Michael “Juice” Thompson who ended up leading NU to victory. Thompson scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half and really took over in the game’s final moments with a couple big threes and some big free throws to push NU to victory. He also led NU in rebounds with a career high 7 boards which helped NU stay nearly even with Minnesota on the glass.

The 11 point win essentially serves as game two of a three game NIT-seeding series with Minnesota for Northwestern. With tonight’s win, I believe NU ensures they’ll get a bid to the NIT (they have the same league record as last year, no bad losses, and overall the college basketball world isn’t as strong). However, at this point Minnesota would probably get a higher seed and a home game while NU would be a bottom half of the bracket seed and play on the road for the third straight year. That’s legitimate as Minnesota has more quality wins than NU. However, if NU can beat Minnesota in game three of the series in Indianapolis on March 10th that’ll likely move NU ahead of the Gophers on the NIT Selection Committee’s big board. Of course, if NU does beat the Gophers in round 1 of the Big Ten Tournament, then perhaps they should focus on beating Ohio State in round 2 and trying to somehow get themselves into the NCAA Tournament for the first time. After all, that is still the goal for every NCAA team until they are officially eliminating and NU isn’t out yet.

If NU is going to beat the Gophers again in Indy, playing defense like they did tonight will certainly help. Alex Marcotullio played a career-best game on offense, but it was his defense which really helped NU. He frustrated Minnesota’s guards (especially Blake Hoffarber) all night by not allowing them clean looks from three and staying physical with them when they tried to drive. It was exactly the type of effort which NU needs more consistently if they ever want to seriously compete in the Big Ten. Marcotullio’s 5-of-9 shooting and 18 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 3 rebounds were also all great for NU on a night when NU didn’t shoot all that well (just 37.3%) and needed somebody they could count on to make big plays.

Marcotullio’s former AAU teammates Davide Curletti also helped NU to victory. Curletti had a significantly stronger game than Luka Mirkovic for the second game in a row and probably deserves a start in Indy. He helped keep NU in the game in the first half and for the game scored 12 points, got 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and didn’t miss a free throw going 6-for-6 including a couple in the clutch.

The fact NU gets a week off before playing Minnesota again also may help the Wildcats. John Shurna scored 15 points today and although he didn’t shoot all that well (5-of-14 overall and 3-of-10 from three) he did show moments of explosiveness with a couple dunks, blocks, and rebounds. With another week of rest, perhaps the non-conference season John Shurna will show up for NU. If that happens, I think Northwestern has chance to beat any team they face the rest of the season.

As the Wildcats leave Welsh-Ryan for the 2010-11 regular season, they obviously would like to make the NCAA Tournament, but you have to be pleased that even if they don’t, they still have chance at the postseason for the third year in a row. While NU hasn’t won a postseason game since March of 1994, that fact that NU has a real shot of being in the NIT three seasons in a row is unprecedented success for the Wildcats in the post World War II era. A ton of credit for that success goes to the senior class honored tonight before the game so I want to give credit once again to Juice Thompson and his classmates Mike Capocci, Ivan Peljusic, and Jeff Ryan. All four contributed at different levels on the court during games, but each gave of themselves four or five years of heavy commitment to Northwestern basketball and as turned out their four or five years included some of the program’s most successful seasons. Let’s hope more success is in their future.

Five Ways for NU to Start Making Progress This Year

A giant snowstorm is in the process of stopping the progress of almost a third of the county today and somehow that seems to connect at little bit to the current status of NU’s men’s basketball team. I think we all came into this season with a lot of very high expectations for the season and a good feeling about the progress which had been made in the program over the past couple years. Now, however, with a 13-8, 3-7 record it seems like that progress has been halted. That’s part of the frustration for many unhappy NU fans. A win against Ohio State would have obviously proved progress was being made in the midst of this underachieving year, but that didn’t happen. Still, the game might have provided some hope, or at least an idea of how this season can be saved and forward restored. Here’s five items I picked up:

1) The most important thing I think Northwestern learned in the Ohio State game was they are capable of rebounding with other Big Ten teams. However, it takes a five man effort. This means that NU can’t shoot a shot and sprint back on defense or try to get out super fast on offense. All five players need to go to the offensive and defensive glass. If this happens NU will get more shots than their opponents and that’s critical because even in NU’s good effort versus Ohio State, the Buckeyes shot 57% from the field.

2) Item two relates to that last number. I think we can note the Northwestern still needs a lot of work defensively and probably isn’t going to get their failings corrected before the end of this season. That means NU’s game plan needs to start to take the Wildcats defensive liabilities into account.

3) Therefore, that game plan must be the slow paced game we saw versus Ohio State. If a team is going to shoot over 50% against you, you don’t want to give them very many shots. NU’s slow paced game limited Ohio State to just 37 shots. It also means that NU can’t give up on the five man rebounding game plan because if teams get more than one shot per possession vs NU it is almost automatic they will convert the second chance.

4) Mike Capocci actually might be NU’s most competent post defender. It seems odd considering he’s only 6-6, but he was able to use his strength to make life tough for Jared Sullinger and Dallas Lauderdale. Even if John Shurna is okay, I think Capocci still needs to find heavy minutes against the Illinois duo of Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis. That might mean sacrificing some minutes from Shurna, Drew Crawford, and JerShon Cobb, but all three could benefit from increased rests as well.

5) Cobb and Crawford are as good of athletes as NU has had. Cobb’s first step on his dribble drive in the first half vs OSU was the quickest I’ve seen from an NU player in fifteen years. I’d like to see him attack the basket more regularly. Drew Crawford will be a key player in NU’s efforts to rebound if they stick with the five man approach, but he needs to get more consistent on offense. I think having him attack the hoop more might help. Crawford is such a streaky jump shooter, that I wonder if getting into the game with some more easy shots and free throws might relax him and let his jump shot start to fall.

Wildcats Happy to Use Balanced Scoring and Minutes in Easy Win vs SIU-E

Bill Carmody found a way to use his entire roster on Thursday night.

Northwestern’s game Thursday evening over SIU-Edwardsville played out just as Head Coach Bill Carmody wanted. He stated before the game he wanted to rest some guys and get playing time for a number of players who don’t usually see a ton of action. The plan worked perfectly. Every NU player who dressed for the game played at least 10 minutes and made a positive statistical contribution. Eight NU players scored nine points or more and every NU player to play except for guard Austin Nichols (who only took two shots) scored in the game. Nichols, even though he didn’t score, was actively involved in two NU buckets with two assists.

NU’s top players didn’t see much action. John Shurna sat the entire game and Drew Crawford and Juice Thompson played less than 20 minutes each. Crawford scored 16 points in 16 minutes to lead NU’s balanced attack and Juice scored seven points in just the first half as he enjoyed a rest for the entire second stanza.

Obviously SIU-E doesn’t have Big Ten size, but with the importance of Luka Mirkovic to NU’s offense it was great to see him have a really fantastic game in preparation for Wisconsin on Sunday. Luka made all four of his field goal attempts (including a three pointer) and hit all six of his free throws. He also dished out four assists and didn’t turn the ball over. Luka’s matchup Sunday with Wisconsin’s large bodies inside will be one to watch.

Mike Capocci got the start for the resting John Shurna and also did a great job dishing the ball around. He score 9 points, but had 6 assists to go with those nine points. Capocci was also’s NU leading rebounder tonight with 5 boards. NU won the overall glass battle vs the smaller Cougars 38 to 22. Davide Curletti helped out with four rebounds for NU and four blocks.

It was also nice with Juice on the bench to see Alex Marcotullio and JerShon Cobb (and eventually Nichols and Reggie Hearn) run the offense for NU and it still move smoothly. All four players had two assists each and Cobb led the group with 11 points, but Marcotullio added 10 as did Hearn for a career high.

I also have to say I thought NU did a nice thing not running up the score on SIU-E late in the game. Sure, it would have been nice to get 100 points, but that isn’t necessary for anything at this point. If this game had been earlier in the season things might have been different, but NU has nothing to prove to anyone about their offensive fire power at this point. I just hope that offensive fire power shows up Sunday in a huge matchup at 11:30.

Wildcats Survive “Defenseless” Second Half to Halt Losing Skid

Luka Mirkovic posted a career high 20 points and added 12 rebounds Sunday night.

Northwestern’s now into the victory column in Big Ten play and John Shurna showed the ability to overcome his injury in posting 24 points and 5 assists to lead the Wildcats to victory. Those facts both have to bring a smile to the face of NU fans and Wildcat Head Coach Bill Carmody.

The biggest positive from this game from my point of view actually wasn’t Shurna. John was great, but the play of Luka Mirkovic really stood out for me as a key to NU’s success on the offensive end of the court. Luka finished the game with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 12 rebounds (5-offenseive 7-defensive). NU’s early efforts to get the ball inside to Luka against the smaller Indiana big men set a tone for the night which resulted in NU controlling the paint early (NU had 20 first half points in the paint) and getting a number of easy baskets so NU didn’t have to become overly dependent on threes. I’ve noticed now for a couple years that Luka actually has very good moves in the post. The problem has been his struggles in finishing at the hoop. Luka has probably led the Big Ten in missed point blank shots the last couple years. Tonight, though, when Luka got to the hoop he was able to use his size and finish. A couple times he not only finished, but finished and drew the foul as well. On Wednesday night Northwestern plays an Iowa team that like Indiana has big men who Luka is going to have a height advantage against. Luka hasn’t traditionally been a great road player, but if NU gets him involved early it could once again set the tone for the game.

A couple other Wildcats who stepped up in tonight’s win were Michael “Juice” Thompson and Mike Capocci. I thought Mike and Mike both in their own ways were key contributors to NU’s win. Juice scored 16 points and added a career high-tying 8 assists. Capocci came off the bench and along with Alex Marcotullio added some much needed energy for the Wildcats. In 14 minutes Capocci scored 8 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, blocked a shot and made 4-of-5 free throws. Marcotullio had 5 rebounds, 4 assists (only 1 TO) and scored 6 points. I would love to see Marcotullio get a little more consistent with his three point jump shot, but right now he is still a valuable player off the bench because he is a good defender and excellent passer who rarely puts the ball in the wrong place.

The Wildcats finished today 10-of-20 from three point range making the minimum 10 threes coach Bill Carmody says they need to hit in order to be successful. Shurna made 4-of-5, but credit also goes to freshman JerShon Cobb who made 3-of-4 and continues to look more and more comfortable as the season moves along. NU also got two huge threes from Drew Crawford when Indiana was making their comeback. Crawford still is struggling with inconsistency, but it was good to see him show up in the clutch.

As can be seen above most of NU’s positives were on offense. Defense is another matter. I will say that I was very impressed with the way Northwestern played defense in the first half. They hustled and tipped balls and did a great job fighting through screens. Then in the second half the regular Northwestern defense showed up. Indiana was able to get whatever shot they wanted in the paint and went from shooting 36% in the first half to 54.5% and 53 points in the second half. I think Northwestern simply needs to get more physical on defense, especially inside. NU has some strong athletic guys like Mike Capocci and Drew Crawford who I think could make life tough for the opposition in the switching man-to-man if they were a little more physical when guys try to drive on them. Improving the defense will be key as the season continues. Today the Wildcats were good enough (mostly in the first half) in the matchup/switching man-to-man that never resorted to the 1-3-1. That’s to me part of the reason why a good three point shooting Indiana team only hit six threes in the game.

I think if NU can duplicate their first half defense and play offense like they did for this entire game they still have a chance to win 10 conference games despite their poor start. The key will be beating weaker teams even on the road. That has to start Wednesday when the ‘Cats face the Hawkeyes in Iowa City.

Quick Start, Balanced Attack Enough for NU to Beat Mount St. Mary’s

Northwestern is 9-1. I know people wanted to be 10-0 at this point, but I feel good about NU’s 9-1 record going into Big Ten play. What I think is most important is that NU looks very comfortable playing at home. The Wildcats will need to play well at home and pull off a few upsets in Big Ten play to make the NCAA Tournament. Today, the Wildcats continued their home dominance against a Mount St. Mary’s team which while a little weak, isn’t as bad as their 3-10 record looks.

Northwestern started today with a 20-0 run which set the tone for the day. In that run Luka Mirkovic showed up with some of the intensity I’d been hoping for and scored 8 points. For the game Luka scored 15 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and got 3 steals. I know Mount St. Mary’s wasn’t a big team overall, but I really liked what I saw from Luka today, especially because he shot a high percentage at 6-of-7 from the floor. If Luka plays with that same confidence in the Big Ten the Wildcats will have a very good Big Ten season. Even better, to go along with Luka’s 15 points, Davide Curletti scored 11 points and made 5-of-9 shots. That’s a center combo for Northwestern that scored 26 points. That type of production consistently will take NU to the NCAA Tournament.

Other Wildcats in double figures were Drew Crawford who led the team with 16 points, though, he didn’t shoot well from the outside, and John Shurna who scored 13 points, got 8 rebounds, and dished out 8 assists. The scariest thing, though, was Shurna leaving the game with an ankle injury. NU fans will pay close attention to any news on Shurna in the next eight days before the matchup on December 31st against Purdue.

I know most of the talk over the next eight days will be about Shurna, but I personally am going to be worried about Alex Marcotullio’s shot. Alex is a great all around player in terms of defense and his ability to pass as a guard (8 assists against only 2 turnovers today getting the start for an injured JerShon Cobb), but for a guy recruited as a shooter, Alex has been somewhat inconsistent. I’m heartened though by the fact that Craig Moore didn’t really become a great shooter until his junior year. Still, I’d really like if Marcotullio made progress a little quicker and started hitting about 45% of his threes this year in Big Ten play.

I’ll conclude today with a quick note on the fact that I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rebounding line like Mike Capocci’s. Capocci recorded five rebounds today, all offensive, including the Wildcats last points of the game which came on a one handed tip dunk. I truly believe he’ll play a role during NU’s Big Ten season.

John and Juice Take ‘Cats to 4-0 for First Time Since ’93-94

Northwestern beat Creighton 65-52 on Sunday night to move to 4-0 for the first time since the ’93-94 season. That is the same year the Wildcats last won a postseason game when they defeated DePaul in the NIT. NU has bigger goals than the NIT this season and this win combined with the chance to get a victory Tuesday against Georgia Tech could help them reach those goals. Not surprisingly NU was led by John Shurna both in points and rebounds, but he wasn’t the only player to really step up today. Juice Thompson scored a season high 18 points and dished out 3 assists including an impressive alley-op feed to Shurna for Shurna’s third impressive slam of the night.

NU also got really good contributions off the bench from Davide Curletti, Mike Capocci, Jeff Ryan, and Alex Marcotullio. The only one of those guys who posted a real significant stat line was Curletti who scored 7 points and tied for a team high with 6 rebounds. It was great to see Curletti find a shooting touch hitting an early three and swishing two free throws. If NU gets shooting production from the five spot the offense will open up even more. Curletti also did do a respectable job defending the larger Kenny Lawson Jr. Capocci only scored two points, but was another Wildcat to really hit the boards hard and he helped the inside defense as well. If JerShon Cobb’s shots don’t start to fall with some regularity, I’d look for Coach Bill Carmody to use Capocci more as the season continues. Marcotullio and Jeff Ryan did their usual solid job defensively. They both played tough at the top of the 1-3-1 and made life tough for the Blue Jay offense. Marcotullio’s biggest play was to tip a pass on the play which allowed Drew Crawford a dunk to finish off the Wildcat victory.

Crawford actually had a really subpar game, but he did manage to score 7 points. The fact is that he will have much better games and probably will have one Tuesday night. We’ve become so use to having Juice, Shurna, and Crawford all play great, but the fact is that they all probably aren’t going to have great games every time out. It is an excellent sign that one of the big three can have an off night and the ‘Cats can still get a 13 point win.

Part of the reason for that double-digit win was NU’s improved defense in both the 1-3-1 and the switching man-to-man. In that switching-man it was an improved second half effort on Blue Jay star Kenny Lawson Jr. that really made a difference. After the game Bill Carmody credited Luka Mirkovic’s hard work on defense in the second half. I have to say that after a tough first half Luka really did step up on the defensive end. He still needs to get much better on offense and can’t miss late free throws like he did tonight and last year vs Wisconsin, but at least he stepped and didn’t get pushed around in the second half. Perhaps offensive improvement is the next step for Luka.

I’ll wrap up here for now and tomorrow look back a little more at this win and ahead to Tuesday’s big game vs Georgia Tech.

‘Cats Start Season with Short Road Trip (Game Preview)

Northwestern will open the 2010-11 season on Friday at Northern Illinois. The game can be heard on WGN and can seen for a fee through NUsports.com’s all-access package. Of course, that fee is setup as a monthly subscription package so you can’t just order one game. You have to remember to cancel afterwards. Note that if you’re going to pay for this service. To be honest, I think it’s beyond ridiculous a single game service option isn’t offered. Basically, because the monthly system is auto renewed it’s essentially trying to scam people because they might forget to cancel their subscription. One should also note if you plan to do this that NIU's monthly fee is $6.95 compared to NU's $9.95, so I'd go with NIU. I think the money goes to CBS anyway so it's not like you're shorting Northwestern. Of course, I'd pay $9.95 if I didn't have to worry about remembering to cancel later.

Now, on to the game…

Northern Illinois went 10-20 last year and only returns one player who made significant scoring contributions. That player is guard Xavier Silas who transferred to NIU from Colorado when NIU hired former Colorado coach Ricardo Patton. Numbers wise I’d compare Silas to Penn State’s Talor Battle. Battle’s numbers are more impressive because he’s 5-10 and Silas is 6-5, but both players score high double figures and pull down more than five rebounds a game from the their guard spot. Last year Silas averaged 19.7 and 5.3. What he doesn’t do as well as Battle is handle the ball. He had 41 assists and 60 turnovers last season. With that in mind look from NIU to lean heavily on Kyree Jones a freshman from Indiana. James drew interest from some Big Ten schools and is notable in the Chicago area as the son of former Chicago State head coach Kevin Jones. At 6-2 Jones will be bigger than Juice Thompson when going head-to-head, but Juice’s three years of starting experience against bigger Big Ten guards gives NU a major advantage here.

In the front court for NIU probably watch Lee Fisher. At 6-5 Fisher is actually one of NIU’s bigger players. He started 21 games at forward last year and averaged basically 4 points and 4 rebounds a game. He’ll need to do more if NIU wants to pull the upset. It’s also wroth noting that Fisher is bad free throw shooter if that becomes an issue in any way. With Fisher fans might also see Tim Toler a transfer from Danville Area Community College. A Junior College All-American, his 6-7 270 lbs. frame should be a good test for the bulked up Luka Mirkovic.

Bill Carmody made the comment that he might start Mike Capocci in some games depending on matchups, but in this contest I think we’ll see what I expect to be the regular starting line of Thompson, Cobb, Crawford, Shurna, and Mikrovic for NU. I will be interested to see how Capocci, Jeff Ryan, and Alex Marcotullio are used off the bench as I don’t think the exhibition game gave true sense of Coach Carmody’s sub pattern plans. If NU has defensive issues guarding Silas, I’d expect to see more of Ryan and Marcotullio who looked like NU’s best defenders last week. I also wouldn’t be shocked to see NU in the 1-3-1 Friday night. NIU was a terrible three point shooting team last year and even Silas only made 32.1% of his threes. In fact, against such a team the 1-3-1 might be the best way for NU to defend.

This is a road game and those came be tough, but as I posted earlier this week I don’t think the road should faze this NU team. I also think that despite a couple potentially quality additions, NIU still hasn’t recaptured their early-mid 90s form. It could be close early, but NU should win this one pretty easily. I predict: Northwestern, 85 Northern Illinois, 71

Wildcat Win Exhibition over Eagles 91-71

As former Northwestern football coach Randy Walker was found of saying, “It wasn’t a game of perfect, but it never is.” Northwestern won an exhibition basketball game over Robert Morris University tonight by the score of 91-71. In the contest the Wildcats had some major highlight moments and some moments which no doubt will frustrate both the players and coaches when they watch the film of the contest tomorrow. Still, it was a solid start to NU’s season with some good stuff for NU to feel happy about and some stuff that the team knows they most improve on before they start the season for real a week from tomorrow at Northern Illinois.

Northwestern led the Big Ten in scoring in conference games last season and while the Wildcats didn’t burn out the lights in the Welsh-Ryan Arena scoreboard, they didn’t have much trouble scoring against the Eagles. Northwestern, not surprisingly, was led in scoring by John Shurna. NU’s leading returning scorer and last year’s Sporting News Most Improved Player in the NCAA scored 22 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and dished out 4 assists. He also was the only Wildcat who really stayed in rhythm from three point range all night and ended up 5-of-7 from behind the arc. NU will have nights when other players have hot streaks from three, but it was nice to see Shurna assert himself when others struggled to hit the deep ball early on. I also loved seeing Shurna pass with ease as I have to imagine he’ll see some double teams where he’ll be able to find a wide open teammate under the basket.

NU’s other two big guns, Drew Crawford and Michael “Juice” Thompson, also got in double figures for NU. Crawford scored 16 points and finished one rebound short of a double-double with nine. Most importantly, though, four of those nine boards were on the offensive end. The most impressive of which involved him grabbing a missed three out of the air with one hand and slammed it down with ease. He also had six blocks and while many of RMU’s players were shorter than Crawford, that stat still shows his athletic ability.

Juice Thompson had an easy night playing 25 minutes which I think is a pretty safe bet will be the lowest total he plays all season. He made 4-of-8 shots overall and 2-of-4 from three, both when the game was still kind of close, and ended up with 10 points and 2 assists. Not surprisingly for a guy who probably knows the Princeton Offense as well as anybody in the program other than Bill Carmody, Thompson only had one turnover (the team had just four).

The other Wildcat in double figures was freshman JerShon Cobb. Cobb seemed to find his game in the second half and he finished with 12 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds playing mostly during the second stanza. He also showed a nice touch from the free throw line after missing his first two attempts. By all reports Cobb is a good free throw shooter.

I mentioned my worries about the center spot, but Luke Mirkovic got 8 points and 8 rebounds and Davide Curletti got 4 and 2. That means NU’s centers posted 12 points and 10 rebounds. That’s a combined double-double from that spot and totals which, if repeated regularly, will lead to a lot of Wildcat wins.

I’ll also say NU got some decent bench production, 23 points, but I also have to guess that Coach Carmody was more apt to play the bench tonight than he might be later in the season. Still, it was great to see Jeff Ryan get extended time and when Mike Capocci took off on his backdoor slam it was clear the kid is a freakish athlete, we just need to hope he can find enough basketball skills to go with that athleticism because it could sure help in the Big Ten.

My biggest disappoint was, again not a surprise if you followed the team last year, defense. NU tried to play a lot of man-to-man, but wasn’t that good at it. Some will say that’ll improve over more games, but the team does practice. They should be better. I will say that Robert Morris was very athletic, but most of the Big Ten is as well and somehow NU needs to learn how to play real man-to-man at least every once and a while. Wisconsin does it every possession of every game and I really don’t think they are any more athletic than NU. In fact, many of their guys in recent years would be insanely jealous of Drew Crawford, Mike Capocci, and JerShon Cobb’s athletic ability. Closer to home, Alex Marcotullio always plays good defense (today was no exception) and he isn’t NU’s most athletic guy. Some of his teammates need to take a lesson.

NU’s other area for improvement statistically is free throw shooting where they were only 9-of-17, but some of that is based on who got to the line. Some fans will also mention the ‘Cats got outrebounded, but it was by one and I was impressed with NU’s better rebounders when they were in the game.

Overall this was fine start down the road of the 2010-11 season, but to once again reference Coach Walk, I’m not all Chuckles the Clown about it. NU still has a lot of work to do in order to reach that road’s ultimate destination—the NCAA Tournament.

Exhibition: Robert Morris @ Northwestern

Northwestern starts the game portion of the 2010-11 schedule with an exhibition matchup on Thursday against Robert Morris College. The game can be seen on-line at bigtennetwork.com or, of course, by spending $5 to go to Welsh-Ryan Arena. Two years ago NU lost to Robert Morris and then posted one the best seasons in school history, so I don’t honestly expect to learn much from this game, but I’ll be watching a four key areas. Speaking of four, I don’t know if excellence in all these areas can get the ‘Cats to the Final Four in April, but it might get them into the Big Ten Tournament’s final four for the first time.

1) Defense

Northwestern played terrible defense for most of last season. Coach Carmody and the players have admitted as much. If NU could have played even halfway decent defense they likely would have been bound for the NCAA tournament. NU has worked on various defensive changes (including man-to-man) and I will be fascinated to see what defenses NU uses against Robert Morris. Personally, I’d really like NU to just play man-to-man regardless in order to work on it in a game setting. With Drew Crawford, JerShon Cobb, and John Shurna, NU has athletes who can play man against similar players.

2) The Center Position

The Center combo of Luka Mirkovic and Davide Curletti wasn’t great in Italy and Luka was arguably NU’s most important and inconsistent player last year. When he played well NU won games, but when he was bad the Wildcats were pretty bad as a team. Somehow, NU needs to find a way to get double figure points and at least seven or eight rebounds a game out of these guys combined regularly if they want to compete in the Big Ten.

3) JerShon Cobb

What role NU’s highest rated recruit of the Carmody era will play is a question many fans are asking. I honestly think JerShon will start, but even if he doesn’t, Coach Carmody isn’t going to leave a potential offensive and defensive playmaker on the bench long. It’ll be great to see JerShon on the floor.

4) The Bench

NU’s bench has at times been invisible, but this year it features 5th-year seniors Jeff Ryan and Ivan Peljusic as well past starter Mike Capocci. It’ll also likely feature Alex Marcotullio coming off the pine to add three point shots and aggressive defense. Basically, this should be a good bench and I want to see how Carmody (generally a short rotation type of coach) uses these guys.


What is everyone else going to be watching?

NU goes 4-0 and 1-0

The Wildcats ended a solid Italy trip with a 77-55 win today. That also ended a solid weekend for NU sports which featured a 1-0 start to the football season. I'll make a quick football rant and then get into the basketball. Okay, so Dan Persa is awesome, I knew he would be because he just sounded like the type of kid who you win with. He brings everything you want to the table and more. However, he got no support from his runningbacks and pretty much was the NU offense. If Northwestern had a halfway decent running back I think Persa would put up numbers which would make him a legit All-Big QB if not a dark horse for the Heisman. As it is, I think he'll be good and NU will go a decent bowl, but some games will be lost because NU can't run the ball. Other websites and other people have ideas why NU's non-Persa running game is so poor and they're all interesting to read, but the bottom line I think is it is a combo of players and plays called. Walk-on Jacob Schmidt is NU's starter at tailback. That's not good. I'm not trying to disrespect Schmidt and I know he'd smoke me in the 40-yard dash, but when it comes to playing runningback in the Big Ten, I just don't think he hits the hole quick enough. Really, only Persa looks like he can get to a hole. Simmons and Fields might be quicker than Schmidt, but they didn't seem to attack openings like Persa or past NU backs like Autry (x2), Wright, Herron, Sutton, Anderson, or even Omar Conteh.

Now, on to basketball. NU won the last two games on their tour. The 3rd win was 112-105 in OT. With full video of the game it is tough to say much, but Juice Thompson posted 38 points, John Shurna had 26 points, and Drew Crawford had 22. NU has a pretty good top three in those guys. At the center position Luka Mirkovic and Davide Curletti combined for 10 points and 11 rebounds. I still think they'll need to do more for NU to do better than last year in Big Ten, but that's decent enough to win some games. Nick Fruendt also made a big shot, his only one, but maybe he might find a roll. Also, Mike Capocci got the start in the spot that has also gone to Alex Marcotullio and JerShon Cobb.

Today both Thompson and Shurna had off games, yet NU won. That's a very strong sign this might be a pretty good team. Drew Crawford netted 21 points, but the big story was JerShon Cobb with 16 points. I think Cobb will make a lot of big plays for NU and it was nice to see him near the top of the stat sheet. Mirkovic and Curletti didn't do much on offense, but Mirkovic got 10 rebounds and Ivan Peljusic had seven. Alex Marcotullio also had a big day with 17 points and 5 rebounds. He seems to know how to find the ball.

NU will go back home and wait for the start of the regular season.

Game Week for Football and Basketball

It’s game week for both NU football and basketball. This usually doesn’t happen until November and then football usually totally dominates the news as the basketball game is often versus a lower tier non-conference team. Now, I still expect the prep for Northwestern’s football season opener at Vanderbilt to get more attention than NU’s basketball tour through Italy, but I think NU fans will learn about from the ‘Cats Italian journey.

According the reports on nusports.com, the ‘Cats have arrived in Italy and have enjoyed some sight-seeing and great food, but according to Reggie Hearn’s blog, they still realize they are there to play basketball. While the quality of the Italian competition still remains to be determined, I think NU will get a lot out of the trip. At least as a fan I know I’ll have some questions answered. I want to see what starting lineup Coach Carmody uses and I want to see how JerShon Cobb plays against a level of opponent superior to what he faced in high school. I also want to see how Carmody manages his rotation. Is he looking to be a potentially deep team or will Mike Capocci, Ivan Peljusic, and Nick Fruendt have minor roles once again? This trip will give us answers a couple months earlier than we otherwise would have had them. If you’re an NU fan you should step away from the football hype at least long enough to find out.

For the record, I am excited about football. I’ve seen a wide range of predictions for the ‘Cats this season. Some have NU in the Big Ten’s top three and others have them in the bottom three. I personally expect a pretty good team. I believe Dan Persa is the type of player a team wins with as their leader and when you look at NU’s offense you see NFL talent in Al Netter and Drake Dunsmore. NU’s defense might seem more suspect, but I think Corbin Bryant might prove as good or better than NU’s past defensive line stars and I’m excited to see if Jared Carpenter lives up to his hype. If he does NU’s defensive front will have the needed support in the backfield and Mike Hankwitz should be able to breakout his wide array of various schemes.

Openers…

Basketball – Monday 1:30 PM CT

Football – Saturday 6:30 PM CT

Position Group Evaluation: Forwards

Position Group Evaluation: Forwards
Players Included: John Shurna, Drew Crawford, Mike Capocci, Ivan Peljusic
Grade: B

Some people might object to this group getting just a B, but while the guards at least got some production off the bench, after John Shurna and Drew Crawford (who was inconsistent) the forwards did nothing. Mike Capocci and Ivan Peljusic played some backup forward, but neither averaged more than 8 minutes a game. Basically, when Shurna or Crawford went to the bench NU played a three guard lineup. I think this fact really shows just how much NU lacked depth. A Big Ten team shouldn’t only have just two decent forwards, but that’s all NU had this season.

The good news is that while NU had just two forwards, they were two of the team’s better players. John Shurna led the team with 18.4 ppg and 6.4 rpg. He was also named 2nd-Team All-Big Ten and The Sporting News Most Improved Player of the Year. He also proved the responsible party for some of NU’s best individual performances this season. Shurna dismantled future NBA players Luke Harangody and Craig Brackins at the Chicago Invitational Challenge. He also posted 31 points in East Lansing in NU’s loss to Michigan and seemingly scored at will until his last shot in NU’s loss in Madison, Wisconsin. Overall, Shurna’s stats are pretty much solid all around. His 35.5% three point percentage is not spectacular, but it is more than respectable. The same goes for his 77.5% free throw percentage. The area where I’d like Shurna to improve most is shot selection. Sometimes I think he settled for threes too quickly when he could have taken the ball to the hoop. Hopefully, an offseason of work on developing his inside game will give him more confidence in the post.

Drew Crawford was the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year. He slipped a bit late in the regular season, but finished the year with back to back double-doubles in the postseason. I’d say Crawford’s 10.0ppg and 4.3rpg actually hide just how good he could become. Those numbers are solid, sure, but Crawford has the raw talent to become the type of versatile small forward players like Evan Turner and Manny Harris are in today’s Big Ten. The key for Crawford will be becoming a more consistent shooter. He converted 34.2% of his shots from three and 64.2% of his shots from the line. Those numbers need to go up next season. Since Crawford clearly showed that is possible (see 35 points in a single game) it is possible to believe Crawford can post 15-plus points and 6-plus rebounds a game. If he does, he’ll be first team All-Big Ten by his junior year.

NU’s backup forwards, which I guess were Mike Capocci and Ivan Peljusic, basically filled space every once and awhile. Their big highlight was connecting on an ally-oop dunk at the end of NU’s blowout win over Michigan. They didn’t really have any serious lowlights, but simply weren’t consistent enough to crack the lineup. The reason is because neither is much of an offense threat. Capocci can play some defense and is okay around the hoop, but he can’t shoot. Peljusic is an underrated rebounder, but really isn’t a confident scorer anywhere. Northwestern will need some sort of production from these two next year or I suspect we might see a lot more three guard lineups.

Wildcats, 73 Hoosiers, 58

A full recap will come later tonight after the Penn State vs Minnesota game, but thanks to Juice Thompson (16 points) finding his range in the second half and huge day from the bench trio of Alex Marcotullio (8 points), Mike Capocci (4 points), and Davide Curletti (12 points) Northwestern toughed out a victory over Indiana for their first Big Ten Tournament win since 2005.

Record Set: Northwestern Beats Chicago State 72-49 and Sets School Record for Wins

Alex Marcotullio got back on track with 15 points versus Chicago State

In a game that started extremely sloppy on both sides, Northwestern emerged with a 72-49 victory on Wednesday night. The outcome of the contest remained somewhat in doubt until late in the first half when the Wildcats closed that half on a 10-2 run. That run was keyed by three pointers from freshman guard Alex Marcotullio and senior guard Jeremy Nash. Nash was playing his final regular season home game in Welsh-Ryan Arena tonight. He started slowly, but finished with 7 points, 4 steals, and 3 assists. Early on it seemed like the Wildcats were working too hard to force a spectacular play from Nash. For example, John Shurna overshot his teammate on two ally-oop attempts early on. Thankfully, Nash got into the scorebook a little later with a dunk off a steal and then followed a Marcotullio three with a big three. As a result of those shots, before Chicago State seemed to realize what happened, the Cougars went from down to two points to down double digits and never got back into the game.

The fact Chicago State stuck around for most of the first half shows Northwestern wasn’t perfect tonight. They did play better defense forcing 19 turnovers, including 14 steals. However, in the first half the Cougars did penetrate NU’s 1-3-1 zone for some very easy looks. In the second half, NU seemed to extend the zone and put a little more pressure on passers. The result was Chicago State seemed less comfortable making passes. Much of the credit for that goes to Marcotullio. Though most people will look at the fact he made 5-of-7 threes to score 15 points, fans shouldn’t ignore the defensive pressure Marcotullio puts on teams at the top of the 1-3-1. Some of that is natural instinct and some he likely learned from watching teammate Jeremy Nash, but I have to say that I think that though NU was miss Nash’s athletic skill, they will still be able to play 1-3-1 with Alex Marcotullio on the floor. Marcotullio also has to get credit for his 3 assists against 0 turnovers tonight. With fellow freshman Drew Crawford (1-of-7 FGs, 2 points) still clearly hurt, it is important for Marcotullio to contribute in multiple ways. He can’t just be a shooter or just be a defender. He needs to play an all around game and he did so tonight.

Aside from Marcotullio, NU got double figures from reliable contributors Michael “Juice” Thompson and John Shurna. Thompson finished with 13 points and 5 assists. He made 3-of-6 threes to reach that total, but his best shot was a runner in the lane with the shot clock running down. John Shurna scored 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, but I’d still like to see him attack the basket more. Today, 7 of his shots were threes. With his skill, and often a size advantage, Shurna shouldn’t have to settle for taking threes. He should be able to go to the hoop and have wide open threes as result later. As far as other numbers, Shurna just missed a double-double as he finished with 9 rebounds. He also added 6 assists and 4 steals.

Off the bench, NU got solid minutes from Davde Curletti and Mike Capocci. Culetti played 18 minutes and finished with 4 points and 6 rebounds. Those totals are solid, but Curletti scored all of his points from the free throw line and only made 50% of those tires. For a guy who is a skilled three point shooter to make only 50% of his free throws is unacceptable. NU needs to continue to feed Curletti and NU starting center Luka Mirkovic down low, but both centers must improve their free throw shooter if NU is going to do damage in the postseason.

Mike Capocci scored a season-high 8 points and also had 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. One of the blocks was a spectacular block off the backboard as Capocci hustled the court to ensure a turnover didn’t become an easy basket. With his athletic ability, Capocci offers NU some nice options. The key to keeping him on the court will be to limit his turnovers and make sure he makes smart choices with the ball in terms of passes and shot selection.

As the players left the court today, many young fans approached them for autographs. If that is the final image of the 2009-10 season at Welsh-Ryan Arena, I can live with that. It was a nice moment. Plus, I’m sure both the players and their young fans enjoyed the experience. However, NU might be back at Welsh-Ryan Arena hosting a postseason game. If that happens, I hope NU far exceeds tonight’s attendance of 3,757. Welsh-Ryan ended up a great home court advantage for the 'Cats this year and that’s credit to all the fans who stepped through the arena’s doors. If NU plays at home in the postseason, those fans and many more need to return wearing purple to help push the Wildcats season deep in to March.

Revenge Served for NU: Shurna’s 29 points allow ‘Cats to Payback Hawkeyes with 74-57 Victory

John Shurna has been working all season to make a case for All-Big Ten honors

Everybody associated with Northwestern basketball must have uttered something along the lines of, “Well, that’s more like it,” when tonight’s game ended. I know I did. For the first time since a home victory over Indiana on February 7th, Northwestern seemed to show up for both halves of a basketball game. The result was NU’s best win since that early February contest. The victory was keyed by a strong start which involved baskets from Drew Crawford and Luka Mirkovic, but without a doubt the star of the game was John Shurna who finished with 29 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocked shots. Shurna might not be first team All-Big Ten give the loaded talent field in the league, but his game is as well-rounded and versatile as any other candidate for that honor. Plus, as just a sophomore, both Shurna and his team are getting smarter about understanding what he can do.

I think NU learned something in the second half at Wisconsin about how they do not have to settle for threes to score points. Tonight, Northwestern was 22-of-30 on two point field goal attempts. 6 of those 22 makes were from Shurna and 5 each came from Luka Mirkovic and Michael “Juice” Thompson. Without a doubt, Northwestern will continue to shoot and make three pointers, however, NU will get more open three pointers if they attack and score inside consistently. This occurred in the second half at Wisconsin and it occurred from the opening tip tonight. What will make this strategy work consistently, and what helped tonight, is Luka Mirkovic’s continued development and John Shurna’s smart play. The last two games Mirkovic has been able to score inside almost at will with a variety of up-and-under moves, pump fakes, and drop steps. Shurna has also become more assertive inside and is attacking going at the basket off the dribble or off backdoor cuts instead of trying 10+ threes in a game. As a result, these two players, who have a size advantage of many opponents, get easy looks at the basket which they can covert to two points without much trouble. In Shurna’s case, it allows him open threes as well since teams fear his attack at the hoop and they then back off him and give him space to shoot. Tonight, Shurna made 4-of-6 three point shots and he got his first open look because he scored twice on backdoor cuts and Iowa stepped off him a bit. Hopefully, NU will continue to attack the paint with Mirkovic and Shurna. If they do so, I believe they will be successful. However, these two players must convert free throws. Shurna overall has been good from the line, but Mirkovic is inconsistent and must improve as a commitment to getting him the ball will result in him shooting free throws.

Michael “Juice” Thompson’s willingness to attack the hoop tonight also deserves note. Now, certainly Thompson was better able to attack against Iowa because they didn’t have a 7-foot shot blocker, but with his speed Thompson should be able to get the ball inside fairly consistently as a result of drives when NU overloads one side of the court, spread floor situations, or backdoor cuts. He may not always been able to shoot in these situations, he is just 5-10, but these types of drives also open passing lanes. Tonight, Thompson scored 12 points (10 on 5-of-5 from inside the three point line) and dished out 6 assists against only 1 turnover. That’s a great game for a point guard. Also, Thompson is a good enough outside shooter that he doesn’t have to worry about getting and making three point looks. His three point attempts and makes will come as long as NU runs the offense without panic.

I feel the same way about Jeremy Nash. Nash finished his Big Ten home career with a 15 point night. He made 2-of-6 threes, but 4-of-4 inside the arc, including an impressive three point play. At about 30%, Nash isn’t a great three point shooter, but when he gets looks where he has time to set his feet he usually makes shots. Those looks generally come when Nash ends up wide open as result of a well run Princeton Offense that has at some point tossed the ball inside or gotten a Thompson drive.

I also want to give some credit to NU’s bench play tonight. Three players, Davide Curletti, Alex Marcotullio, and Mike Capocci all played double-digit minutes. That’s rare for NU. They only scored 4 points, but they hustled on defense and ended up with 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and a blocked shot. Capocci recorded the block on a jump shot and it showed off his athletic skill. I also liked seeing Curletti scrap down low for rebounds (5 total) and look for guys to pass the ball in the offense (3 assists), if he keeps giving NU solid minutes off the bench it will give Mirkovic time for much needed breaks.

Lastly, tonight wasn’t senior night, as originally reported. However, NU did honor a couple alums. First, NU’s newest Board of Trustees member, Michael Wilbon, was honored at halftime of the game. Also, former NU player, coach and retiring Big Ten Associate Commissioner Rich Falk was honored by NU AD Jim Phillips. On Wednesday, NU will hold senior night as the ‘Cats take on Chicago State. Odds are the crowd will be slim, but NU’s Athletic Department is trying to cram a ton of events into that night in hopes the crowd won’t be as small as it might otherwise end up being. In addition to honoring NU’s seniors, the Wildcat women’s lacrosse team will receive their National Championship rings. Also, any elementary school student with a 3.0 or higher can get two free tickets, and it will Heroes’ Night so any armed services member or public safety official and their families can attend free as well. Hopefully, that’ll add to the crowd. I’d also like to see a few more students. The student sections did grow as tonight went on, but it was nothing like the loaded student sections for the Purdue and Illinois games.

NU tied the school record mark of 18 total wins in a season with this victory. Given NU's problems with Penn State, it would be nice if NU could break the record Sunday. I think such a victory could serve as another symbol of NU's effort to move the program forward.

‘Cats NCAA Dreams Very Likely Dead Thanks to Humiliating 78-65 Loss in Iowa City

This may seem like revisionist history, but I was tempted to predict an Iowa win in this contest. But instead of doing so, I told myself, “No, this Northwestern team is different than the teams of the past. They won’t let down, they won’t fail in the big game, they won’t be the group saying, ‘if only this or that had gone the other way’ at the end of the year.” Well, I was wrong. This was the same exact game NU fans have see hundreds of times when they start to have expectations. It was virtually every game of consequence from the 2003-04 season to the 2005-06 season. I could probably spare you all a post and just have you think back to those times, but I've got stuff to say, so I'll post my thoughts.

This was also the type of uninspired effort which NU showed in virtually every game two years ago, when they went 1-17 in the Big Ten. Like that year, tonight Northwestern was pathetic in every area from offense, to defense, to coaching, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the postgame meal is stale.

NU looked totally lost to start the game. They didn’t seem to have a clue as to what offensive set to run, they struggled to get any sort of an open look, and multiple times settled for Jeremy Nash threes. Nash’s offense has obviously improved, but no way was the game plan to have him be the primary offensive weapon to start the game. As bad as that was, though, NU’s defense was even worse. They let Iowa get inside early in the game and therefore decided they need to switch to the 1-3-1. Unfortunately, in the 1-3-1, NU didn’t guard Devan Bawinkle from behind the arc despite the fact Bawinkle has never attempted a two in his career.

NU also didn’t seem able to get a team on the court who could play together without turnovers and forced threes. When NU got down they stopped running offense and started shooting threes like they hoped that if they hit a shot from deep enough it would be a like a “hot spot” in the old NBA Jam video game where you could get 7 or 8 points back with one bomb.

Luka Mirkovic struggled and was pulled. Kyle Rowley struggled and was pulled. Mirkovic came back, but was playing the worst game of his career, so Davide Curletti and Ivan Peljusic played for the first time in eons. Alex Marcotullio saw more time as did Mike Capocci, yet none of them seemed able to play defense or make shots. I don’t mean to pick on those guys. No Wildcat played well. They looked lazy. Almost as if they were either full of themselves because they won two games or looking ahead to Minnesota.

I can’t really quantify just how bad NU played. You can look at the stats and say things like, “NU made only 8-of-26 threes, while Iowa made 12-of-24 or Iowa got 36 rebounds while NU got only 28.” The thing is those stats aren’t enough to explain this game. The best I can do is say if you saw NU’s teams in 95-96, 99-00, or 07-08, that was what this game looked like. NU looked like a team that wasn’t athletic enough or skilled enough to play defense, grab a rebound, or make a shot. The problem is that this isn’t a team that is undermanned like those squads. This is probably Northwestern’s most balanced team ever.

Perhaps the best summary of this game might be to look to a quote from the character of lawyer Jackie Chiles played by actor Phil Morris on the television show Seinfeld. When faced with one of the many times Cosmo Kramer has ruined Jackie’s shot at a huge payday, the frustrated attorney declares, “this is the most public yet of my many humiliations." Northwestern basketball hasn’t exactly impressed in its history. Humiliating losses were the norm at times in the past, but with the nation watching closely, and in many cases rooting, for NU to make the Big Dance, this game is indeed the most public of NU’s many humiliating losses.

Wire to Wire Win: Balanced and Consistent Offense Gives NU 78-61 Victory Over IU

Northwestern took the lead on the game’s first possession with a dunk from Drew Crawford. They extended their lead at halftime to 40-29 with a dunk from Mike Capocci. They finished with a 78-61 victory when Ivan Peljusic hit a fade-away. The win keeps NU undefeated at home against unranked opponents and gives the ‘Cats their first three game winning streak over Indiana since 1932. The victory was also NU’s second double-figure win in a row against a conference team. NU’s next game is on the road in Iowa City and this victory makes that contest even more critical for NU’s potential tournament hopes.

How did NU manage to grab today’s lead and hold it the entire game? I believe NU got one their best all around efforts of the season. The ball movement on offense was crisp which set up 10 made threes and a number of other open looks which just missed. The defensive effort was solid overall too. NU blocked 9 shots (John Shurna with 3), grabbed 26 defensive rebounds (Jeremy Nash with 10 rebounds overall), and forced Indiana to 35.3% shoot overall and 11.8% from three. If NU hadn’t committed a ridiculous number of fouls, which allowed IU to get 23 points from the line, Indiana might not have broken 50 points in the game. Aside from the fouls (most of which I thought were good calls if the officials wanted to strictly enforce the rules) Northwestern played outstanding defense. The Wildcats helped and hedged on screens very well, they contested virtually every three point look (which resulted in Jordan Hulls and Devan Dumes going 0-for-8 total), and switched to the 1-3-1 at the exact right time in order to protect against fouls and force Indiana to run off a lot of clock before getting a shot. Indivudally, Luka Mirkovic had 2 steals and overall played well in man-to-man defensive against some on Indiana’s athletic players. He got beat a few times, but forced some bad shots from the Hoosiers as well.

On offense, NU had great balance. All five starters were in double figures. John Shurna lead with the way with 16 points on 5-of-8 made threes and dished out 6 assists as well. Shurna looked remarkably comfortable shooting the ball today. Even some of his misses seemed right on the money. Hopefully, he’ll bring the same accuracy to Iowa City as against the slowdown style of the Hawkeyes, every possess counts.

Luka Mirkovic was mentioned above for defense, but he also scored 14 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and dished out two assist. One of those assists was a key drop-down pass to Drew Crawford at a time when NU’s three point range went a little south and the ‘Cats needed a basket.

Drew Crawford finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds. He had some foul trouble and missed all his three point attempts, but it was good to see Crawford still make a difference even when his shot wasn’t falling.

Michael “Juice” Thompson scored 12 points and had 6 assists in 37 minutes today. Thanks to some foul trouble, Thompson’s 37 minutes actually were slightly below his average giving him a couple mini-rests. When he was on the bench, though, you could tell how NU wasn’t as comfortable on offense. When he came back into the game, NU seemed to stabilize. Thompson had, I think, one of his best assists of the year when he found Jeremy Nash on a sideline cut to setup an and-1 play from Nash.

Speaking of Nash, he was without a doubt the game’s MVP. He recorded his first double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. He made a couple big shots both from three point range and going to the rim. Nash still isn’t exactly 100% at going to the hoop, and I’d love to see him try to dunk in order to draw more fouls, but he’s become a real threat with the ball both inside and outside which makes him a serious matchup problem for NU opponents. In addition, he had two blocks on amazing plays where it looked like Indiana would have sure open shots, but Nash’s hustle said otherwise.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning NU got 13 bench points today. Some of those came late, but Alex Marcotullio did hit a key early three and Mike Capocci scored 4 of his 6 points when NU needed something to happen in the first half. Kyle Rowley also added 2 points and 3 rebounds to NU’s bench totals.

NU now takes on Iowa in Iowa City. If the ‘Cats can get that victory it will setup a key showdown a week from today in Evanston against Tubby Smith’s Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Taking a Look at Northwestern’s Limited Bench Production

Nick Fruendt has been both praised and criticized for his play off the NU bench

(nusports.com photo)

One major obstacle to Northwestern’s success down the stretch of the season might be the limited production they get from the bench. Early in the season it looked like Northwestern might have a very deep roster, but as it stands now NU’s offense basically comes from the five starters. In NU’s recent games virtually all the meaningful production has come from starters. Against Michigan, a Kyle Rowley layup was the only basket made by a non-starter before garbage time.

Some people have criticized NU’s coaching for not using much of the bench. Personally, I don’t think the problem is that Bill Carmody only uses 7 or 8 players, that is what most teams use, the problem is players 6, 7, and 8 have posted very limited production, especially on offense. This makes their playing time seem even more minute than it actually is. Perhaps this shouldn’t be a big surprise because nobody on NU’s bench has much history of offensive production. In fact, Alex Marcotullio’s early season success from behind the arc probably makes him NU’s best potential scorer off the bench.

The bottom line fact is that little doubt exists that NU will need some bench production before the end of the season. The Wildcats have eight very tough Big Ten games (plus a game against Chicago State) remaining before the end of the season. Those games will take a toll if the starters all have to play 35 plus minutes because nobody on the bench can score. Even scarier, a team which is over dependent on starter minutes has very little chance to win the Big Ten Tournament, especially if they have to play on Thursday. I don’t think Northwestern (or any team in the Big Ten) could pull off four straight wins with starters producing 95% of the points and playing 90% of the team’s minutes. Some will say NU won back to back games in the Chicago Invitation Challenge, but that somewhat proves my point. In those back to back wins, it was Alex Marcotullio and Davide Curletti who made the big shots which clinched the victories for NU.

To be clear, I’m not saying NU needs somebody on the bench to start scoring double figures, but it would be nice to see a couple guys start getting 4-6 points and 2-3 rebounds a game.. Can this happen? Well, I think NU has a couple candidates.

The bench player who has been the best contributor of late has been Kyle Rowley. The seven footer had 2 points and 2 rebounds against Michigan. He has recently shown himself to be a greatly improved rebounder as well. The next step is for him to consistently make post moves, especially against smaller players. He went 1-of-2 from the field against Michigan, but both were from point blank range. Given Rowley’s size and the fact he never takes a shot from more than about a foot from the hoop he needs to be the type of player who converts 65% of his shots or more. This is the type of player that Ohio State’s Dallas Lauderdale has become, and Lauderdale is actually several inches smaller than Rowley.

NU’s other bench player to see a lot of minutes regularly is Alex Marcotullio. I know Marcotullio hasn’t done much since scoring 16 points on January 2nd against Michigan State. However, he has more than proven he can score. I think what might help Marcotullio is getting him more involved on defense. He has the ability to play very intense defense at the top of the 1-3-1 and perhaps that’ll give him something other than offense to focus on. He played well on defense against Michigan. If NU wants to switch from man-to-man or the matchup to the 1-3-1 against Indiana, I’d like to see Nash get a rest for a couple minutes at that point and see if Marcotullio can turn defense into offense.

After Rowley and Marcotullio, no Wildcat has really seen consistent bench play. Mike Capocci had a decent game against Michigan State. Nick Fruendt played well against Illinois, but collapsed under Minnesota’s pressure defense. Davide Curletti has seen very little time since a practice injury, and is now clearly the 3rd or 4th center. Of those players, they guy I’d like to see get better would be Fruendt. Not only was he recruited as an offensive threat, but it would be great if NU could somehow find a way to consistently get Michael “Juice” Thompson a rest for just two or three minutes additional minutes, especially when coming down the final stretch of the season and in the Big Ten Tournament when games come fast and furious. Is Fruendt ready for the job? The Minnesota game would say no. But if I’m Bill Carmody I’m watching closely at practice. Any young player can panic at times. If Fruendt can get some confidence he might make a late season impact off the bench. Jeremy Nash did a similar thing as a sophomore and became a consistent contributor as a junior.

What does everybody else think? Can NU win without bench production? Who needs to step up in these critical 9 games?

Sweep Complete: 67-52 Win Gives Northwestern First Season Sweep of Michigan in 42 Years

It wasn’t always the cleanest game, but in the end Northwestern came away from tonight’s Big Ten matchup with a key victory in their quest to make the NCAA Tournament. This victory moves the Wildcats to 15-7 overall and puts them in a position to compete for an at-large bid if they finish the season strong. How did Northwestern pull out what turned out to be a very impressive victory? By putting together a total team effort on both offense and defense.

The Wildcats 10-of-20 three point shooting and 21 assists on 25 made field goals were very impressive, but I was even more impressed with the defensive effort NU put forth. Northwestern’s defense has been (correctly) criticized at times this season. Statistics clearly show NU has been much less effective on the defensive end of the court than last season. You could put together a lot of theories for this, but to be honest in my eyes it’s pretty easy explanation. At times it looks like Northwestern simply gets lazy on defense. If you watch closely, you can tell when Jeremy Nash or Alex Marcotullio is really active at the top of the 1-3-1 or when they simply go through the motions. You can also tell when NU seriously fights through screens in the switching man-to-man or when the ‘Cats chose to take an easy and act as if they want to save energy. Early in the game NU looked like they wanted to conserve energy, but from about the under four minute in the first half until the finish of the game, NU got serious about defense. Although he has really struggled on offense, and wasn’t much better today, I have to give credit to Alex Marcotullio for being a big part of that wakeup call. After Jeremy Nash went out with two fouls, Marcotullio had to enter the game at the top of the 1-3-1 and was very active. He tipped and kicked a couple passes and was clearly working hard to move his feet and create difficult passes. Marcotullio’s intensity carried over to Nash and the rest of his teammates in the second half. NU switched out of the 1-3-1 to the switching man-to-man and did a remarkable job defending Manny Harris. NU made a clear effort to make Harris play to his weaknesses. A number of defenders spent time getting in front of Harris and trying to force him to either dribble left and his weak hand, or take a jump shot (where he makes less than 30%) as opposed to take an easy right hand drive to the hoop. Though a number of Wildcats were involved, I want to give special credit to Luka Mirkovic, who despite having obvious athletic disadvantages, played great help defense on Harris when he tried to drive and played man-to-man on DeShawn Sims so well that Sims eventually started committing frustration fouls. Luka also got 12 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals (one of which was a spectacular effort where he gave up his body). The Big Ten Network show the Journey is supposed to feature Luka this week and he put on a good show for the BTN crew to film tonight.

NU also got a performance from Drew Crawford which might have made Michigan feel as if they were in a time warp. Crawford scored 11 second half points to help put the game out of reach. He made 4 threes, but his runner from the right baseline and his and-1 reverse layup were his most memorable shots. At time Crawford makes silly freshman mistakes and forces passes, but little doubt exists he is NU’s most athletic player and the clear front runner for Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

NU outrebounded Michigan 30 to 27. Jeremy Nash pulled down 11 of those rebounds and John Shurna added 8. This might not have been Nash’s best offensive game in terms of shooting the ball (2-of-9), but he was all over place on the boards and played great defensive, plus he contributed on offense with 5 assists. Shurna scored 15 points and also had 5 assists. I also really liked how Shurna didn’t force things. He let the game come to him and ended up shooting threes at the right time and shooting twos at the right time.

NU’s other double figure scorer was Michael “Juice” Thompson. Thompson scored 12 points and NU moved to 12-2 when Thompson hits double figures. Juice had 3 turnovers in this game, which is a lot for him, but you can tell just how much confidence Northwestern gets from having Thompson run the team. He always seems to know how to find an open teammate or how to get himself open when NU needs a big three. At times I’d really like to see Thompson be more aggressive on offense, but he knows the system so well that he doesn’t seem to want to do things outside of the team’s offense.

Finally, Northwestern got six bench points tonight. That’s actually a lot for NU, however, four of those came with the game decided. Mike Capocci’s ally-op dunk from Ivan Peljusic was awesome, but the fact is NU really needs help on the bench. Kyle Rowley’s two first half points were the only bench points NU got which were meaningful. As the season progresses, I think getting Alex Marcotullio to break through his freshman wall and Kyle Rowley to continue to grow will be important. I’d also be curious to see if Davide Curletti and Mike Capocci start to develop roles. They each have good athletic skill, but haven’t really found a way into the regular rotation.