Wildcats Get Much Needed Win

It wasn’t a thing of beauty, but the end result was just what Northwestern needed. A ten point win over Big Ten rival Nebraska offers the ‘Cats a chance to relax and feel like they ended the first half of the Big Ten season on a positive note. While overall the first half didn’t totally go as NU planned with just a 3-6 record, tonight’s result offers hope that the second half of the year can be better.

The key to NU winning games is getting a third scorer beyond just John Shurna and Drew Crawford. Tonight that third scorer was Dave Sobolewski who posted 15 points, 5 assists, and a team-high 6 rebounds. Consistent play from Sobolewksi on offense could help stabilize Northwestern as they go through the second half of the Big Ten and face several teams that they probably should beat.

Another key factor tonight was the fact that John Shurna showed a willingness to take over the game. I was impressed with how Shurna used both his outside game and his ability to attack the hoop. His end result of 28 points featured both a nice inside and outside game and he made almost all his free throws which was an issue in NU’s close losses earlier this season.

Drew Crawford also did a nice job attacking the hoop today and not forcing as many unnecessary off balance shots, though, there were still a few. The end result was 21 points and several huge baskets when Nebraska started to try to make a comeback. I was also impressed with Crawford making an effort on defense in NU’s 1-3-1.

Issues which existed in this game were the fact that NU still doesn’t have consistently solid defense and as a result will allow teams to go on scoring runs such as when Nebraska made 10-of-11 shots to start the second half. Also, the ‘Cats don’t get any production from the center spot as Davide Curletti finished tonight with just four points. Starting John Shurna at center seems to be an option, but NU’s lack of depth means that Shurna can’t stay at that spot all game. Therefore, at some point the ‘Cats need to get Curletti or Luka Mirkovic to have a positive impact on a game.

NU could certainly use more healthy players for the next part of the season, but so far Luka and JerShon Cobb remain hurt and Nick Fruendt seems unlikely to crack the lineup for any length of time despite having some success in limited action over the last two years.

Nebraska Game Offers NU a Chance to Pickup a Win

Northwestern needs a win badly. Thankfully, the 11th place Wildcats play the 10th place Nebraska Cornhuskers in Thursday’s game. Now, the truth is neither team is that bad, but neither team is exactly good either as evidenced by their struggles. The biggest advantage NU has is that they are the home team. Admittedly, I thought that would prove more of an advantage against Purdue, but the truth is that Nebraska has struggled on the road even more than Purdue has overall this season, though, they’ve actually probably been better at home.

In this contest Northwestern needs to get more production from players that aren’t Drew Crawford and John Shurna. Yes, I’ll admit that Crawford and Shurna have been more solid than any of the other Wildcats, but the non-production from NU’s centers and guards Dave Sobolewski and Reggie Hearn have left Shurna and Crawford playing 2-on-5 at times and they aren’t good enough to win under those conditions. I sincerely hope that Davide Curletti doesn’t become afraid to shoot if he misses his first shot and I’d like to see Sobolewski show the same aggressiveness he showed versus Michigan State.

Look for Nebraska to try and get the ball to hot-hand Brandon Richardson who is coming off several strong games including 25 points in a win over Iowa on January 26th. Also, keep an eye on Cornhusker star Bo Spencer who is a dynamic player and could potentially have an interesting matchup with either Hearn or Drew Crawford in a battle of talented athletes if NU plays man-to-man.

I’d like to say more here, but I’m really kind of stumped at what else to say at this point. Northwestern should win this game and I think they will. Hopefully, it’ll give the team a boost of confidence, but at this point what NU lacks more than confidence is depth. Will JerShon Cobb ever be able to play? Will Nick Fruendt ever be trusted for any length of time? Is Luka Mirkovic ever going to play like a senior? I have no idea what the answers to these questions are and they are important for NU, but right now let’s just hope the answer doesn’t have