Top NU Hoops Games of the 2000s - Part 1

As we come to the end of decade of the 2000s I’ve seen lists for the best movies of the decade, the best TV shows of the decade, the best books of the decade, and many more. What I want to offer starting today, and finishing later in the week, are best NU basketball games of the decade.

This list will be premiered in two parts. Today we’ll start with some honorable mention games (contests not quite in the top 10) and games #10-6. Later in the week I’ll reveal games #5-1. The list was compiled by going through every NU win for the last decade and having an expert panel (okay, just me) review those wins for excitement, player performance, and meaning for the program.

Let’s start with a few games which were just short of making my top ten.

November 28th 2006 – Northwestern 61 Miami 59 (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)

Craig Moore scored 24 points and tied a then school record with 7 three pointers and the Wildcats got their first Big Ten/ACC Challenge win against a team other than Florida State. This probably would have been higher on the list if NU had played better that season.

February 25th 2009 – Northwestern 75 Indiana 53

NU breaks a 35-game losing steak at Indiana behind Craig Moore’s 17 points and Juice Thompson’s 16 points. The win was historic, but misses in part due to how bad Indiana was last season.

March 3rd 2004 – Northwestern 51 Iowa 49

Vedran Vukusic hits a buzzer beater with 0.7 seconds left to lift NU over Iowa. With the win NU sweeps Iowa for the first time since 1959. I went back and forth with this game, but it missed the list as the opponent in game #10 was of high quality.


Now let’s move onto games #10 thru #6. We start early in the decade…

#10 December 27th 2000 – Northwestern 63 #16 USC 61

Ben Johnson (who should never have left NU) hit a baseline jump shot with 1:23 left and two free throws in the final seconds the seal Bill Carmody’s first big win as NU’s head coach. A lot of NU faithful missed this game as they were already in San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl, but it was a great contest.

#9 February 5th 2003 – Northwestern 74 Indiana 61

Northwestern dominated the Hoosiers for the first win over the perennial Big Ten power in 15 years. NU was led in the game by freshman Mohamed Hachad who had 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 steals. The game was put out of reach on a three pointer by Winston Blake which also ended up as the basket on which Blake scored his 1,000th career point.

#8 February 9th 2005 – Northwestern 55 Minnesota 53

In the days before the Big Ten Network not all the games NU played were on TV. I remember listening to this one on the radio. The Wildcats came back from down double digits with less than 4 minutes left and won after Vince Scott hit a three to tie the score and T.J. Parker delivered the last of four career buzzer beaters to give NU the win.

#7 March 13 2003 – Northwestern 76 Minnesota 64 (Big Ten Tournament)

This game makes the list because NU hasn’t had a lot of success in the Big Ten Tournament, but in 2003 NU was seeded 10th yet hammered the 7th seeded Golden Gophers. Jitim Young scored 20 points in the game to lead NU to victory.

#6 March 4th 20009 – Northwestern 64 #19 Purdue 61

The most recent game on the list, NU used great defense from a number of reserves and some unlikely baskets by Sterling Williams to push past Purdue in West Lafayette for the team’s 17th win of the season. That tied the school record for regular season victories.


The rest of this list will come out later in the week. Feel free to offer you comments and thoughts on what you agree with, disagree with, and what you think might be #1.

Position Group Evaluation Part 1: Guards

This post starts an offseason feature in which Welsh-Ryan Ramblings will provide an evaluation of the performance of each position group’s performance during the 2008-2009 season.

Position Group: Guards
Players Included: Craig Moore, Michael Thompson, Jeremy Nash, Sterling Williams
Grade: A-

I believe NU’s guards were the best position group on the Wildcat roster this season. That probably had something to with the fact the group included two of the team’s top three scorers and the team’s top defender. Obviously, Craig Moore was the heart and soul of the Wildcats this season. When he hit big shots the Wildcats won, when he didn’t they lost. Moore hit 110 threes this season shooting 40.6% from behind the arc. He scored 14.3 ppg and was second on the team with 84 assists against only 56 turnovers. Moore was also second on the team in rebounds with an average of 3.2 rpg and 99 total. Furthermore, Moore tied for the team lead in steals. Basically, Moore defined the term “stat sheet stuffer” and replacing him will be very tough.

Next to Moore in the back court, Michael Thompson also contributed mightily to the ‘Cats success. Thompson finished just short of averaging double digits in points with 9.9 ppg. He led NU in three point percentage at 41.7% and in assists with 114 against only 52 turnovers. Thompson also added 40 steals this season. Aside from the numbers, it was very clear that when Thompson went to the bench with foul trouble that Northwestern was in trouble. Without Thompson to administer the game and provide a solid third scoring option after Moore and Coble, the NU offense started to grind to a halt. I hope Thompson is a little more aggressive on offense next year, but a little smarter on defense as NU still seems to lack a solid backup for Juice.

The primarily backups at the guards slots for Northwestern were Sterling Williams and Jeremy Nash. Jeff Ryan also saw some time at guard, but he played more forward. I also decided not to evaluate the players at the end of the bench who saw only limited time. Once he entered the NU rotation, Jeremy Nash made a major splash. When Nash entered the game, the Wildcats went to a three guard offense and more often than not started using a 1-3-1 defense. At the top of that 1-3-1 defense, Jeremy caused a ton of havoc for the Wildcats opposition. Not only did he get 35 steals, but he tipped a ton more passes which allowed other Wildcats to get steals. Nash’s improvement in three point shooting also deserves mention and helps increase my grade for NU’s guard core. Nash shot 14-of-41 from three which is 34.1%. If Nash can increase that percentage and the number of threes he makes next year, he could become a key starter at the shooting guard position. The role Sterling Williams played as a backup point guard went relatively unnoticed this season. Williams moved from his role during the first part of his career as a regular starter to backup this season thanks to the addition of NU’s strong freshmen class. Perhaps the best note on Sterling this season was that in 191 minutes he had only 2 turnovers. That’s pretty impressive for a guy who spent a lot of the time he was in the game handling the ball. I also suspect Sterling will always be remembered for the two big shots he made during NU’s key run in the victory at Purdue.

The only major weakness for NU’s guard group was their inability to defend their most athletic opponents. If an improved Jeremy Nash or freshman Drew Crawford can play such defense next season it will improve NU’s ability to beat teams like Ohio State and Michigan. Aside from better defense, the other key to NU’s guards having continued success will be to replace Moore’s scoring. I believe doing so will be a team effort, however, I really do believe a more aggressive Michael Thompson will go a long way towards getting this task accomplished. Thompson has the skills to score 12-15 ppg, he simply needs to play with a mindset which allows him to use them.

NCAA Hopes Stay Alive: Wildcats top Boilermakers 64-61

With an impressive total team effort Northwestern came from 10 points down in the second half to knock off #18 Purdue and reinsert themselves into the NCAA tournament bubble picture. Northwestern played 10 players in tonight’s contest. Nine of them scored points and nine of them seriously contributed to the win. In order to make sure everybody’s contribution is mentioned I will talk about each player individually.

Kevin Coble: Coble led the Wildcats with 16 points and 8 rebounds. He also recorded a key block and made perhaps the play of the game when he broke the press with a long pass to Luka Mirkovic for an easy layup. Also, along with Michael “Juice” Thompson, Coble was one of two Wildcats to hit key free throws down the stretch. Overall, Coble was 7-of-10 from the field and while his teammates set him up for a few easy baskets, he also hit a couple of his patented fade aways.

Juice Thompson: When Juice left the floor the Wildcats started to fall behind. When he returned to the floor the Wildcats started to climb into the lead. Thompson finished the game with 12 points and worked around potential foul trouble during the second half. Also, when Bill Carmody went to his defensive lineup Thompson was the Wildcats main scoring option and hit a clutch three with the shot clock running down.

Craig Moore: After s slow start Craig Moore his some big shots in the first part of the second half to start the Wildcat comeback. He finished with 12 points and dished out an impressive 6 assists against only 2 turnovers.

Kyle Rowley: Rowley scored early with a good quick move and later in the game grabbed a great offensive rebound off a Thompson miss to help the Wildcats keep the lead. He also played great defensive in his 11 minutes and made one of the best passes of the year when from under the basket he found Jeff Ryan cutting to the hoop.

Luka Mirkovic: Northwestern grabbed 11 offensive rebounds. Luka got five. He kept plays alive and the Wildcats took advantage. He also dished out 5 assists, in the first half it was his passing which helped keep the Wildcats in the game. He also scored six points including the key two off the Coble press breaking pass.

Jeremy Nash: Nash didn’t do much in the box score, but his defensive contributions on Purdue’s shooters allowed the Wildcats to extend their second half lead. Also, he pulled down one of NU’s offensive rebounds.

Jeff Ryan: Jeff Ryan played some of the best defense of the season on Purdue’s Robbie Hummel. If he plays defense like that all the time he will earn more playing time. Ryan made it extremely tough for the Boilermaker star to get off good shots in the second half buying pressuring him and forcing him into poor shots. He also kept the ball alive with two offensive rebounds. Also, Ryan’s ability to cut hard against the intense Boilermaker defense led to 6 points for the Wildcat junior.

Sterling Williams: The Wildcat senior stepped up with his biggest game of the season. He scored only four points, but his points were the points which took a 2 point lead and helped extend it out to a multiple possession game. He blew by a Purdue defender on one play and hit a clutch jumper on another off a pass from Juice Thompson.

John Shurna: Shurna scored two points, grabbed two rebounds, and dished off an assist. He also played very strong defense in the second half when he found himself guarding some big Boilermakers.

Ivan Peljusic: Peljusic saw his first action in more than a week playing a minute in tonight’s game.