- The most important thing about Saturday afternoon's 50-39 victory over Penn State, according to Northwestern head coach Chris Collins, was his team's ability to follow up a big win at Minnesota three days earlier.
"I told the team the win at Minnesota doesn't mean much unless you put stamp on your home court today,'' said the second-year coach.
The victory over the Nittany Lions marked the lowest point total the Wildcats have yielded since beating Penn State 54-39 in 2005.
"They hit those first four three-pointers and that really tested our defense and my patience,'' Collins said. "But after they hit those shots, we only gave up 27 points the rest of the way.''
One of the biggest keys to the Cats' 2-3 zone was limiting D.J. Newbill, the Big Ten's leading scorer, to only three points, a meaningless three-pointer with 1:24 remaining and the Cats up 20.
"We played zone, but we were always aware of where he was, shading to his side as often as possible. It's hard to get 20 points when you only take six shots.''
- Collins called this a "breakout game'' for Vic Law. The freshman forward, who hit three critical 3's at Minnesota, came back with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals and a block against the Nittany Lions.
"He came to Northwestern with a lot of unwarranted expectations, but he wanted that,'' Collins said. "He kept working tirelessly on his game with the coaches and has done a lot of work on his skills. No one believes in him like I do and he believes in me and the program. He's been a young player trying to find his way. He has been huge for us the last two games. When he came off the floor with 20 seconds remaining, I told him, 'Welcome to the Big Ten.' Imagine what he and Scottie Lindsey will be like in the future when they get men's bodies and some experience.''
"I'm just getting used to college basketball,'' Law says. "There's been a lot of improvement in my pre game preparation. My mindset has changed and I'm taking things more seriously in practice. There isn't too much room to play like a freshman; I have to act older than what I am and learn the process. My preparation is at an all-time high now. I watched a lot of film with the coaches and realized I was off-balance with my legs on my shots early in the season. I've learned to go straight up and straight down. I don't think we're a much better team than we were earlier in the (Big Ten) season; we're just more focused and lock in in practice.''
- Sanjay Lumpkin didn't score a point, but Collins thought the redshirt sophomore, was responsible for one of the biggest plays of the game.
"We were up 38-34 and bleeding, when Sanjay took a charge under their basket,'' Collins said. "We then came right back and got back-to-back threes from (Tre) Demps and Law to put us back up by 10.''
- Collins says Alex Olah and Bryant McIntosh have benefited the most from the Cats' stellar play in the 2-3 zone.
"We were getting broke down a lot off the dribble and getting fouls in our man defense. Those two players were getting tired, but now we're getting more minutes out of both of them. I've never really coached the 2-3 zone before, but I'm willing to learn as much as I can. What I like about it is the guys like it. If you believe in something, you'll make it work. Sometimes it's harder to rebound in a zone because you don't have a particular man to account for, but Lumpkin and Law have been doing a terrific job taking pressure off (Alex) Olah.''
- With a 13-14 record, Collins still believes a strong finish can vault the Wildcats into a postseason tournament. "We still have a lot of play for. We believe we can be in contention for the postseason.''
This post was edited on 2/21 5:17 PM by Lou V
"I told the team the win at Minnesota doesn't mean much unless you put stamp on your home court today,'' said the second-year coach.
The victory over the Nittany Lions marked the lowest point total the Wildcats have yielded since beating Penn State 54-39 in 2005.
"They hit those first four three-pointers and that really tested our defense and my patience,'' Collins said. "But after they hit those shots, we only gave up 27 points the rest of the way.''
One of the biggest keys to the Cats' 2-3 zone was limiting D.J. Newbill, the Big Ten's leading scorer, to only three points, a meaningless three-pointer with 1:24 remaining and the Cats up 20.
"We played zone, but we were always aware of where he was, shading to his side as often as possible. It's hard to get 20 points when you only take six shots.''
- Collins called this a "breakout game'' for Vic Law. The freshman forward, who hit three critical 3's at Minnesota, came back with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals and a block against the Nittany Lions.
"He came to Northwestern with a lot of unwarranted expectations, but he wanted that,'' Collins said. "He kept working tirelessly on his game with the coaches and has done a lot of work on his skills. No one believes in him like I do and he believes in me and the program. He's been a young player trying to find his way. He has been huge for us the last two games. When he came off the floor with 20 seconds remaining, I told him, 'Welcome to the Big Ten.' Imagine what he and Scottie Lindsey will be like in the future when they get men's bodies and some experience.''
"I'm just getting used to college basketball,'' Law says. "There's been a lot of improvement in my pre game preparation. My mindset has changed and I'm taking things more seriously in practice. There isn't too much room to play like a freshman; I have to act older than what I am and learn the process. My preparation is at an all-time high now. I watched a lot of film with the coaches and realized I was off-balance with my legs on my shots early in the season. I've learned to go straight up and straight down. I don't think we're a much better team than we were earlier in the (Big Ten) season; we're just more focused and lock in in practice.''
- Sanjay Lumpkin didn't score a point, but Collins thought the redshirt sophomore, was responsible for one of the biggest plays of the game.
"We were up 38-34 and bleeding, when Sanjay took a charge under their basket,'' Collins said. "We then came right back and got back-to-back threes from (Tre) Demps and Law to put us back up by 10.''
- Collins says Alex Olah and Bryant McIntosh have benefited the most from the Cats' stellar play in the 2-3 zone.
"We were getting broke down a lot off the dribble and getting fouls in our man defense. Those two players were getting tired, but now we're getting more minutes out of both of them. I've never really coached the 2-3 zone before, but I'm willing to learn as much as I can. What I like about it is the guys like it. If you believe in something, you'll make it work. Sometimes it's harder to rebound in a zone because you don't have a particular man to account for, but Lumpkin and Law have been doing a terrific job taking pressure off (Alex) Olah.''
- With a 13-14 record, Collins still believes a strong finish can vault the Wildcats into a postseason tournament. "We still have a lot of play for. We believe we can be in contention for the postseason.''
This post was edited on 2/21 5:17 PM by Lou V
