Rough outing for the Wildcats up in Minnesota... The numbers...
| Player | Minutes | NU Pts | MIN Pts | Raw +/- | Player Adjust | Game +/- |
|---|
| Buie | 44 | 64 | 75 | -11 | +7.85 | +5.65 |
| Preston | 6 | 13 | 7 | +6 | -1.00 | +0.20 |
| Langborg | 40 | 61 | 67 | -6 | +1.33 | +0.13 |
| Hunger | 10 | 8 | 18 | -10 | +1.70 | -0.30 |
| Nicholson | 28 | 42 | 46 | -4 | -0.02 | -0.83 |
| Barnhizer | 39 | 50 | 69 | -19 | +1.80 | -2.00 |
| Martinelli | 19 | 31 | 30 | +1 | -3.34 | -3.14 |
| Berry | 39 | 61 | 63 | -2 | -8.31 | -8.71 |
Barnhizer's -19 jumps out. We only scored 50 points in 39 minutes when Brooks was in the game.
Ty Berry's 3 of 11 shooting, combined with 3 turnovers and no steals, puts him at the bottom of the performances, although he was only -2 for the game.
Blake Preston put up a decent showing. When paired in the frontcourt with Nick Martinelli for 3 segments, the Cats won one 5-2, another 5-0 and the other 3-2.
Nicholson and Martinelli also smacked Minnesota around, winning
15-8 over 8:20.
On the opposite side of the coin, when Luke Hunger and Martinelli were paired in the frontcourt, NU got destroyed
14-0 in 5 minutes, including the 10-0 Gopher run to end the first half.
What is notable is that Minnesota really struggled on offense when Martinelli was on the court with Preston or Nicholson.
To me that makes sense. We were pretty small when Martinelli was on the bench. Minnesota had two effective bigs. Hunger doesn't defend like Preston and Nicholson.
With 8:18 left in regulation, Collins sat Barnhizer and played Nicholson with Martinelli, Berry, Langborg and Buie.
The Cats went on an 8-2 run to open a 54-46 lead with 5:25 to go.
Martinelli grabbed a defensive board but turned the ball over and Collins put Barnhizer back in for Martinelli.
Minnesota then wore the Cats down with a 15-4 run.
It continued in OT, with an additional 10-2 for the Gophers before Martinelli came back into the game with 50 seconds left.
Basically a 25-6 beatdown for the starters over a 10 minute span.
Martinelli was +9 in the 2nd half prior to being benched. He didn't play a great game, but we were better with him on the court.
Hunger didn't play in the 2nd half. When he was out there with the 4 starters in the first half, NU won 8-4 over 5 minutes.
Lastly, the Golden Lineup (Nicholson, Martinelli, Barnhizer, Berry, Buie) played 2:13 early in the game and put up a 5-0 win.
That continues to be our best lineup. We continue to use it sparingly. Subbing Martinelli in for Langborg more than once a game would help...
With fatigue looming as an issue, we really need another viable look to get some size on the court... It has to be Hunger at the 4, doesn't it?
