Little Hungry got selfies with Ty Berry, Brooks B, and Big Matt after the game. Ty signed his jersey. He was thrilled.

Big Matt was carting three boxes of tacos after the game. He’s a big boy.

A few stadium tidbits, especially related to the 35,000 person capacity decision:

1) The first and most important consideration was making sure the place looked great on TV. A smaller, more densely packed stadium with seats closer to the field looks much better on TV than a larger stadium with empty seats. One reason that the current TV coverage looks a little odd at Ryan Field is that the TV angles are much tighter so that empty stands are not picked up. Extra points to empty stands look terrible.

2) They believe that fandom has changed, and that most new or renovated stadiums will be smaller than existing facilities. Kansas loved our new concepts and selected our architects to design their new stadium complex.

3) In order to make the numbers work, they want to hold events at the stadium continually. This includes things like academic conferences, business meetings, weddings, bar mitvahs, etc. They are working with Evanston to make sure that this can happen.

4) While costly, they believe the roof over the stands will make a much better experience for fans and will make the in-game atmosphere more purple and much louder (i.e. a 'real homefield advantage').

5) Today we have ~27,000 season ticket holders, average ~32,000 fans per game, and the stadium holds ~47,000 people. So when Ohio State comes to town, we get ~30,000 purple fans and ~17,000 Ohio State fans. With the new, smaller capacity stadium, it would be 30k purple fans and 5k buckeyes, which is a better homefield advantage. What about the lost revenue of those 12k buckeye fans?? Our admin knows that the NU game is a destination game for many B1G fanbases because there are so many alumni in the Chicagoland area, but (a) most of the revenue is TV money, so maximizing that experience is #1. Much more important than the revenue potential of seats, in-stadium advertising, sponsorships, etc. (b) the current stadium is so terrible - i.e. no premium seats or food or parking - that the revenue generated off the 17k opponent fans is surprisingly small. With the new stadium, they will offer more premium experiences and be able to make more $$$ off 5k buckeye fans than they can off 17k today. A joke was made that the goal was to 'break the buckeye bank accounts'.

Bottomline:
- Better TV viewing experience
- Better game-day experience for fans
- A real home-field advantage for NU teams
- Multi-purpose space for events

Watch list

Well deserved.

Have to think the student section will be full and lively for MICH

Well another decisive CATS win, so I might as well post again. It scares me to keep saying and repeating it, but this Cats bball team just seems different. So many prior years whenever we are a favorite in a conference game it’s automatic cause for concern and nail biting. I missed the first 10 ish minutes, and by the time I tuned in we were already up double digits. We extended it to 17 at halftime, then 20 in early 2H, and never looked back. They tried pressing us and we looked totally comfortable breaking the press.

I didn’t love us taking the air out of the ball but even starting our attack at 10 seconds or less on the shot clock we seemed to get a decent look almost every possession down the stretch. Our defense got slightly lazy a few possessions with a 20 pt lead, but I appreciated Chris calling the TO after the Boo FTs to tell them that. The outcome of the game wasn’t in doubt but he wanted us to finish it playing the right way. After that TO they scored some more points but almost entirely from the FT line, on some dubious calls. And when they cut it to 15, Boo scored a quick 4 to shut the door.

It was an all around very strong team effort. Various different players contributed. Solid team basketball.

Outside of the general happiness with the game, a couple other brief observations:
1. Chase looked like an all-B1G player to me today. I’m sure he doesn’t care about that and is happy with the win, but I’m just saying.
2. Boo was decisive. Made good decisions. Great finishes around the rim. And again brought the effort on defense. He and Chase are a dynamic duo.
3. Robbie Beran’s offense showed up. I don’t think this was his breakout game mostly because we didn’t really need it today. But him getting more confidence in his shot and his moves off the dribble can only be a good thing.
4. The “it was a total team effort” thing. Tydus made a couple plays on offense (still too many fouls on D). Martinelli again gave us some solid minutes. Nicholson did his thing, made a couple FTs. Berry’s scoring wasn’t needed as much today but he played solid D and was smart with the ball. Players are making plays when it’s appropriate, and distributing the ball to others when they don’t need to.

It just looks like a TEAM.

Now the last point, on a less optimistic note - we just took advantage of the easier part of our schedule which is huge. It’s gonna get tougher from here on out. 3 more games next week, 2 on the road. Zero more games against Neb or Minn. No easy wins remaining, lots of battles from here. But from watching our team, I like the way we battle, and so I don’t hate our chances.

Good clean American fun tonight for the boys, then back at it for Iowa Michigan Wisconsin. Keep pounding away, one game at a time.

GO CATS!

It's 28 minutes to tipoff as I write this and the student sections are about two-thirds full and filling up quickly. It looks like it will be another strong showing.

Julian Roper II will be out again today, per Jon Rothstein, so the Cats will be shorthanded again. What else is new? I think they'll be fine. They have to take care of business today.

Nice article about the Cats (by Steve Greenberg) in Saturday's Chicago Sun Times

Mod note: link here

I read that they’d moved to a “reserve your ticket” model after some of the turnout in recent games. Tickets still free for students, but had to be reserved online. Inside NU posted a screen grab that all 1,000 seats (I believe this is the new number) were accounted for within 15 minutes of reservations opening up. For the Gophers. At 11am. This is incredible. I hope they all show up. And I hope there’s a waitlist & that NU opens up non-student seats to students if seats are unsold, like they did for Rutgers.

And hey, maybe non students might get their asses to this game? Very winnable, and this team deserves it.

is Fitz working to do what is necessary to right the program, rejuvenate both offense and defense, and produce a national contender. The three firings and the recapture of the RB from Texas, Caleb Komolafe, after admissions canned him are good signs that Fitz has some clout and is using it. Doubt we will see the results next year, but in two to three years, watch out. I really hope this is the course NU football is on.

and seeing the Cats near the top, instead of near/at the bottom (had to get used to looking from the top down).

Weird, but a nice feeling to have...

Feature article about Pat Spencer in today’s Wall Street Journal by the great Jason Gay. I won’t try to link it, because I assume it’s behind a paywall, but it’s a good read, including quotes from CCC. Here’s Pat’s money quote about his time at NU: “I played like crap, to be honest.”

I watched a good chunk of their home game vs. Indiana, where they battled back to take a lead, only to let it slip away in the final 90 seconds.

The Goophs were without their starting center, and TJD feasted with 25 points (11/19) and 21 boards. He is a phenomenal athlete, as evidenced by a jarring alleyoop dunk where he elevated WELL ABOVE the rim (he could have touched the backboard at its vertical center) and flushed it straight down like a Whack-a-Mole champion.

Hood had an off shooting night (2-11,0-3), and still the Gophers could not win at home.

Dawson Garcia is a stretch 4 who can hit a 3 (35%career). He has had some big games against conference teams (28 and 9 vs. OSU, 19 and 15 vs. Nebby). Jamison Battle can also shoot (44.7% this season) and penetrate. These are the two guys to watch. Talon Cooper (Morehead transfer) can shoot the 3.

I like our chances. Minny has lost games to Illinois, Nebby, Indiana, and Wisconsin, as well as getting spanked by DePaul. They are offensively challenged, failing to exceed 60 points in their last 5 conference games.

I am guessing we might see a lot of the smaller lineup against Minny, with Beran at the 5.

Re Jamison Battle, isn't he a cousin of our Talor Battle? I'd welcome Jamison on this team as a transfer (thought certainly not expecting that).

Every single one of those is tough to come by and critical. It’s much more fun to post after wins so here’s a few comments.
- I loved today how different players stepped up at different times. Overall we went on a huge run in late H1 and then early H2. We were down 25-22 and then up 63-40, that’s a solid 41-15 stretch.
- in short, Ty staked us to a big lead and we never even really considered giving it up.
- Ty was hot but for the most part I thought he continued taking reasonable shots and had a couple nice passes. He didn’t go heat check he just continued playing smart
- I liked that in the H2 we managed to find a few stretches of rest for Chase and Boo and our offense didn’t totally collapse
- our D struggled the first 15 mins to defense Tominaga (who was great) and in marking people in transition. But we settled down after that which enabled us to build a large lead.
- there was a stretch where they briefly threatened to come back toward the end and Chase just stepped up and slammed the door with the follow oop and then a great dive cut that Ty found him for
- Even Martinelli was solid when he got in. I love how we fight for every 50/50 ball. Martinelli was in on it and had a couple smooth floaters.
- The commitment and focus from Boo on D is awesome. One of my favorite plays was when he tore away a rebound over their big guy. Would never have seen that the last couple years. Love the effort Boo.
- it’s nice when we have many complementary players and they seem to support each other at different times and in different roles.
- Defense is our foundation but we looked impressively competent on offense for stretches of time today. A few too many turnovers but a lot of nice looking possessions and shots

Most importantly, we went 1-0. I told myself I would refuse to think about the full season implications until we get halfway (10 games) through conference season. But I have to say it’s starting to enter into my thoughts. Rest up, and bring on Minnesota. No win in this conference is easy. I’m 100% sure they will be excited to go for the upset. No easy day.

Today, our Kenpom is quite low, so my Blood pressure reading is quite high due to being totally 💯 jacked up about my beloved wildcats! True Love ❤️! What more can a man ask for? I bleed purple

Grad transfer WR Cam Johnson wasn't able to visit over the weekend due to a scheduling conflict (see other thread), so NU hosted some local walkon targets instead. Two of them just captured an Illinois state championship.


WILLIAM BEARGIE

A DT from 5A state champion Nazareth Academy, Beargie is a Princeton commit who has offers from the academies and a bunch of academic schools.

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He doesn't have a senior highlight tape but has individual game highlights here:



JOHNNY MCGUIRE

A safety from 8A champs Loyola Academy and teammate of one Jack Fitzgerald, McGuire doesn't have a Rivals page.

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MATT VEZZA

A QB from Elmhurst York, Vezza has an offer from Drake and interest from several Ivy League schools.

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Anyone want two for tomorrow? I can't make it. Parking is NOT included.

I'm new to this Rock thing. I guess you can message me?

It seems the only time his name comes up out here is when people want to peck away at the weaknesses in his game. So let's even out that discussion a little bit and acknowledge his pretty damn nice stat lines for the last two games.

Wisconsin 37 mins / 20 pts / 1-4 3-pt / 50% eFG% / 5-6 FT / 7 R / 1 TO

Nebraska 35 mins / 17 pts / 3-5 3-pt / 72% eFG% / 4-4 FT / 5 R / 2 TO

Yes, ugly Boo will appear sometime. He's an imperfect player in an incredibly imperfect group. But he also has several good sides to his game that are several of the more reliable things on this team.

Northwestern is using a new recruiting strategy this weekend. Well, it’s more like they’re resurrecting an old one.

The Wildcats are hosting a junior day event on Saturday, the program's first in several years. More than 30 prospects are expected for what they're calling "Life on the Lakefront" on their graphics.

Northwestern used to do junior day events on a regular basis years ago. Most programs around the country put them on, too. But NU eschewed larger, “shotgun” recruiting events in favor of a more targeted, “rifle” approach in recent years.

This year, for whatever reason, they are changing their tactics and will hold another big tent event. It was reportedly the idea of NU recruiting director Bryan Payton, who is in the charge of the defensive side of the ball.

Certainly, changing things up can’t hurt, especially with three new coaches in place you want to expose to as many prospects as possible.

But calling Saturday’s event a junior day is a bit of misnomer. There are going to be plenty of junior (Class of 2024) prospects there, of course. But there will also be several 2025s, who are in the middle of their sophomore seasons, including many prominent ones.

One of those high-profile 2025 targets is Gabe Kaminski, a four-star defensive end from LaGrange Park (Ill.) Nazareth. He told WildcatReport that he’s looking forward to his second visit to Evanston, following a trip last August.

“My interest level [in Northwestern] is very high,” he said. “I think the first thing that stands out to me is the amazing academics complemented by the great athletics as well. On my visit I also noticed that there is a huge family feel to the program. Everybody knows each other and are treated like nobody is better than the other.”

Northwestern’s performance on the field the last two years isn’t going to impress many recruits, so the more players they can get into the building to experience that culture, the better.

Here’s a partial list of some of the prospects expected on Saturday:


2024

Mikeshun Beeler

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Aiden Bergin (yes, there’s another one)

https://www.hudl.com/profile/15203718/Aiden-Bergin
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Michael Boganowski

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Cael Brezina

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Carson Grove

https://www.hudl.com/profile/15642376/Carson-Grove
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Danny Inglis

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Eddie Tuerk

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(See following post for more)

Beat Minnesota and we are definitely 💯 in the 30’s and going dancing 💃! Who needs Kopp now?

Update… The tickets have been purchased.

—————

At the risk of getting vilified for not using my tickets…

I have my pair of tickets for Saturday’s game vs Minnesota available. I usually sell my B1G tickets to local Cats fans, and if necessary sell on StubHub. No one seems interested in the game vs the Gophers. Let me know if you are interested. Well below face. I can transfer electronically. I am not a premium member so you’ll need to initiate the DM with me.

I think they are very good seats for the money. They are section 208, row 3, seats 22 & 23. Behind the NU bench, close to mid-court.

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