13 assists on 29 field goals

[freewillie07]

Tonight against Montana State.

By comparison, in the NCAA First Round, NU had 20 assists on the same 29 field goals.

This is very rudimentary analysis, of course, but it does seem like this squad is playing a lot of one-on-one thus far.

That’ll fly in the noncon but we are going to have to do better in conference when Brooks and Nick can’t steamroll their way to the basket as easily.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

We are still struggling pretty badly to instigate a team offense. Brooks can create for himself but he wasn’t a creator tonight so much despite playing tremendously well. Yes, he had the amazing dish to MN, but he’s maybe not able to stir the drink every time down the floor.

Somebody who can get Ty Berry more looks off the ball screen maybe. Ty coming alive late in that game was needed, we need last year’s Ty back.

I repeat that Brooks Barnhizer is a ****ing absurdly good player.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

Looking at the line: 3 rebounds for Nicholson isn’t good enough.

 

[MC_Cat]

Tonight against Montana State.

By comparison, in the NCAA First Round, NU had 20 assists on the same 29 field goals.

This is very rudimentary analysis, of course, but it does seem like this squad is playing a lot of one-on-one thus far.

That’ll fly in the noncon but we are going to have to do better in conference when Brooks and Nick can’t steamroll their way to the basket as easily.

Spot on. We'll have to improve on this significantly if we're going to make another tourney run. I'm hopeful though because the team has not yet found a rhythm but thankfully are finding a way to gut out wins.

 

[macarthur31]

I'm not mad at it for tonight, given the advantage we had on the wings with Barnhizer and Martinelli. But, point well taken - as the wings get better come B1G play.

However, that two man game that Leach and Martinelli were running in the final moments which freed up Nick to get that paint floater from Leach's dribble pen - that's what I hope to see more of in the coming days.

 

[macarthur31]

Looking at the line: 3 rebounds for Nicholson isn’t good enough.

I'm not totally mad at it given Nicholson is often battling multiple guys underneath which frees up the guards to grab boards. He had 4 blocks tonight, and several other hurries. He's making a good contribution out there.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

I'm not mad at it for tonight, given the advantage we had on the wings with Barnhizer and Martinelli. But, point well taken - as the wings get better come B1G play.

However, that two man game that Leach and Martinelli were running in the final moments which freed up Nick to get that paint floater from Leach's dribble pen - that's what I hope to see more of in the coming days.

They had some flashes of nice sets at times…

I’m letting my emotions chill a little and considering the extent to which offense was the problem - it was a sloppy and flat night from everybody not Brooks and Nick offensively, but it wasn’t THAT bad - vs defense being the problem. MSU lit it up from outside partially from all the wide open looks allowed. A Big Ten program that prides itself on tough grinder defense needs to be tougher for an overmatched Big Sky team to deal with than that.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

I'm not totally mad at it given Nicholson is often battling multiple guys underneath which frees up the guards to grab boards. He had 4 blocks tonight, and several other hurries. He's making a good contribution out there.

Don’t disagree his overall contribution was strong, and you’re right in the rebounds overall. Still, with his huge size advantage it feels like he should have had more pretty easily.

 

[macarthur31]

They had some flashes of nice sets at times…

I’m letting my emotions chill a little and considering the extent to which offense was the problem - it was a sloppy and flat night from everybody not Brooks and Nick offensively, but it wasn’t THAT bad - vs defense being the problem. MSU lit it up from outside partially from all the wide open looks allowed. A Big Ten program that prides itself on tough grinder defense needs to be tougher for an overmatched Big Sky team to deal with than that.

Butch talked about it in-game - the 'Cats are wired to collapse on paint, and tonight was a night where the kickouts worked. (In B1G during last two seasons, 'Cats have allowed 36% from 3FG which puts them 10th, so open looks are a feature not a bug.) MTSU went 12-26/46.2% on 3FG against Bucky, so they can hit 3s.

They got better in the 2nd half with the aggressive doubles in the paint - that's how both Barnzo and NickMart got 3 steals apiece. If we're gonna give up open looks from 3, 'Cats need to force more TOs and MTSU only coughed it up 10 times (15.6% TO Rate), and given the length on this team we gotta be close to that 21.3% forced from the '23 season.

Finally - we continue to be poor from FTs. Going 10-16/62.5% is gave 1-2 possessions away to the opponent. That's another aspect that's gotta improve.

 

[hdhntr1]

Tonight against Montana State.

By comparison, in the NCAA First Round, NU had 20 assists on the same 29 field goals.

This is very rudimentary analysis, of course, but it does seem like this squad is playing a lot of one-on-one thus far.

That’ll fly in the noncon but we are going to have to do better in conference when Brooks and Nick can’t steamroll their way to the basket as easily.

NU was driving in and playing one on one. No kick outs. Montana State just collapsed so not the room to work, They are a pretty good and well coached team. Did not see a lot of them beating themselves. Our 3 pt shooting again leaves something to be desired (4/16 and that is an improvement from when it was 2/12)

 

[EagerFan]

Yeah, cats defense seems built to leave the guy in the corner open for a three and just make it really hard to see him. That's been a thing for the last few years at least. Drives me crazy.

MSU did a decent job guarding the perimeter as well. We shot poorly from three, but not all of those were wide open looks.

 

[TheC]

NU was driving in and playing one on one. No kick outs.

This was my observation as well. As good as Nick and Brooks are playing, when they start driving into the post, they are shooting. Always. At some point, those guys have to realize they are being double and sometimes triple teamed and make the right read to an open shooter. I bet it will come. They are both really smart players who are discovering new levels of their game.

I made a comment in the game thread about the 2022-2023 team that made it to the toruney. Our offense at the beginning of that season was atrocious - even with Boo! While we were never an offensive juggernaut that year, they did get better as guys figured each other out. I think we are going through that now. The past few years, the ball was in Boo's hands so much. Guys need to figure out how to do it themselves now, including Brooks. I bet they'll get better as we go through the season.

 

[SimpsonElmwood]

This was my observation as well. As good as Nick and Brooks are playing, when they start driving into the post, they are shooting. Always. At some point, those guys have to realize they are being double and sometimes triple teamed and make the right read to an open shooter. I bet it will come. They are both really smart players who are discovering new levels of their game.

I made a comment in the game thread about the 2022-2023 team that made it to the toruney. Our offense at the beginning of that season was atrocious - even with Boo! While we were never an offensive juggernaut that year, they did get better as guys figured each other out. I think we are going through that now. The past few years, the ball was in Boo's hands so much. Guys need to figure out how to do it themselves now, including Brooks. I bet they'll get better as we go through the season.

I agree. They will figure it out. The last lob to MN is the start of things with Brooks back in the lineup. That kind of play, plus kick outs to guys on the perimeter is the basketball equivalent of complementary football.

Ty and Leach on the perimeter, Martinelli and Brooks as dual threats and Matt as a lob threat will be formidable.

Ciravino and KJ need to figure out their roles, especially on the offensive end. I like Mullins in there and Hunger will have his place based on matchups.

Unrelated, this was my first visit to WR since 1998. Buddy set me up with his Wilson Club tix. What a pregame spread!

Off to AA for field hockey on Friday and FB on Saturday. Go Cats!

 

[CappyNU]

Tonight against Montana State.

By comparison, in the NCAA First Round, NU had 20 assists on the same 29 field goals.

This is very rudimentary analysis, of course, but it does seem like this squad is playing a lot of one-on-one thus far.

That’ll fly in the noncon but we are going to have to do better in conference when Brooks and Nick can’t steamroll their way to the basket as easily.

To be fair, this is somewhat due to the way Montana St. plays defense. They, like Dayton, try to force teams to go 1 on 1, and they were successful last night.

Don’t disagree his overall contribution was strong, and you’re right in the rebounds overall. Still, with his huge size advantage it feels like he should have had more pretty easily.

It still remains inexplicable to me after all these years that Nicholson doesn't have 5 dunks per game and more rebounds given his size. He had 5 inches(!) on their starting center and 2 inches on the backup guy.

 

[IGNORE2]

On paper, this team has talent. It’s the chemistry that needs work. The starting lineup has to be as old and experienced as we have seen - four seniors and a junior. Add a strong bench that seemingly perfectly compliments each player except maybe Berry. Then you see Mart sinking threes, BB hitting from anywhere and a strong team defense - this should be a tourney team.

But they have not come together yet. I believe they will. I love the energy, the approach - I still am looking at a strong season.

Btw, for the hunger detractors: we have had foul whiners over history, the ones that whine about no calls and whine about getting called. I saw hunger respond to a call but not with the typical whine. It seemed more like ‘Damn, I thought I did it right but need to do it better!’ Last year, I saw Mart as a future double double - this year i think hunger starts to show that he will be a great replacement for MN next year.

 

[Deeringfish]

It still remains inexplicable to me after all these years that Nicholson doesn't have 5 dunks per game and more rebounds given his size. He had 5 inches(!) on their starting center and 2 inches on the backup guy.

He can't jump very high and has to wind up to do it. That gives defenders a heart beat to interfere .

 

[Deeringfish]

On paper, this team has talent. It’s the chemistry that needs work. The starting lineup has to be as old and experienced as we have seen - four seniors and a junior. Add a strong bench that seemingly perfectly compliments each player except maybe Berry. Then you see Mart sinking threes, BB hitting from anywhere and a strong team defense - this should be a tourney team.

But they have not come together yet. I believe they will. I love the energy, the approach - I still am looking at a strong season.

Btw, for the hunger detractors: we have had foul whiners over history, the ones that whine about no calls and whine about getting called. I saw hunger respond to a call but not with the typical whine. It seemed more like ‘Damn, I thought I did it right but need to do it better!’ Last year, I saw Mart as a future double double - this year i think hunger starts to show that he will be a great replacement for MN next year.

Do you think CCC will lean in on his bench? I really like CCC and think he is a great coach but it seems to me he has a hard time keeping his top 6 off the floor.

 

[GatoLouco]

There's no denying we are not playing well. The ball is sticking too much, the offense is not fluid. While I don't like the assists to field goal ratio, it does feel like a good barameter for what I saw last night.

On defense, I don't know what's missing, if it's talking more, if it's concentration, practice, but all night we just kept getting lost in switches, being caught out of position on the help side and so many other mistakes.

Having said all this, I think there's a good chance these are growing pains. We are experienced, but it's not like Leach, Windham, or Ciaravino have been with this group before. Barnhizer has barely practiced. We have a lot to clean up, but I think the talent is there.

Montana State did feel like a decent team. They lost to Wisconsin, nothing abnormal there... Denver, everyone has bad nights. They do look like a well coached experienced team.

Sure Maryland beat Canisius by like 300. Iowa easily beat Rider. Ohio State pummeled Evansville by 50. But, at the same time, Wisconsin barely beat TX Rio Grande after upsetting Arizona, MSU had a hard time against Samford. MN does not count, they are terrible.

Hey, I knew Barnhizer is good. I knew Martinelli was going to raise his influence. But I think last night gave us hopes they can both exceed already optimistic expectations. It's another potentially and hopefully fun season.

 

[Sec.112]

... A Big Ten program that prides itself on tough grinder defense needs to be tougher for an overmatched Big Sky team to deal with than that.

I'm perplexed about the defense also. I'm leaning toward the idea that a lineup with JL, TB, BB, NM and MN is not the winning combo.

I have no stats to back this up, but I swear everytime the Cats go on a run this year, some combo of Mullins, Jello and KJ are on the floor to step up the defense. Mostly Mullins and/or Jello.

Who was on the floor late in the game in regulation to save NU vs EIU after EIU had a five point swing with six minutes left? NM, JM, JL, LH and AC.

I'm not saying those three need to replace three of the starting five. But I"m wondering if Mullins or AC add something to that group that they need.

It would be a tough decision with Barnhizer just getting back in the swing of things.

 

[CappyNU]

On defense, I don't know what's missing, if it's talking more, if it's concentration, practice, but all night we just kept getting lost in switches, being caught out of position on the help side and so many other mistakes.

Guys were constantly complaining to each other or apologizing throughout the night after a missed switch or blown assignment. Pretty sure Nicholson was talking to Jello and his response based on my limited lip-reading skills was "I'm sorry, it'll never happen again."

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Some discussion of Nicholson above, so I'll add my 2 cents.

Montana State was doing something we rarely see - they were setting screens on Nicholson so one of their big guys could get to the rim.
That defensive switch was missed pretty often.

I thought Montana State was really good whipping the ball around the perimeter - I credit their scouting - we can't cover everybody out there because we drop into the paint to pressure the ball and they were finding the open guy (almost every time).

Most importantly, however... Nicholson was used very differently on both ends of the floor - this started against EIU, I believe. He is no longer the primary screener. He set very few ball screens yesterday on the perimeter. He stayed in the paint a lot more. I think Collins is looking to force switches and create mismatches for Barnhizer and Martinelli to get into the paint.

Because of his position nearer the basket, the lob to Nicholson was there a lot. A lot. As somebody mentioned above, (hopefully) the Barnhizer lob to Matt late in the game will be featured when studying the film. If the opposing big guy helps on Martinelli or Barnhizer, they need to be seeing more than just the rim.

Having said that, Matt is 0 for 6 from the free throw line and most of his attempts have missed terribly. Free throws should stop landing out of bounds in middle school. At least draw some iron! But thats going to limit his touches.

Defensively, there were stretches where Nicholson was staying home in the paint - that probably depended on the opposing lineup.
But 4 blocks, several of which were pretty damned impressive, deserve a mention.

 

[clarificationcat]

This was my observation as well. As good as Nick and Brooks are playing, when they start driving into the post, they are shooting. Always. At some point, those guys have to realize they are being double and sometimes triple teamed and make the right read to an open shooter. I bet it will come. They are both really smart players who are discovering new levels of their game.

I made a comment in the game thread about the 2022-2023 team that made it to the toruney. Our offense at the beginning of that season was atrocious - even with Boo! While we were never an offensive juggernaut that year, they did get better as guys figured each other out. I think we are going through that now. The past few years, the ball was in Boo's hands so much. Guys need to figure out how to do it themselves now, including Brooks. I bet they'll get better as we go through the season.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Leach or Barry are quick enough to beat their man off the dribble consistently so it will be up to Martinelli and Barnhizer to kick the ball out when they are double teamed. And most teams are not going to double Matt in the post so that’s not an option. It’s going to be a struggle to score in some games if Berry and Leach are not hitting 3’s. I am really hoping 3-point shooting is something that Angelo and KJ can develop for next year. We will need it with Barnhizer and Berry gone and it will open the floor for them to drive. And hoping at least one of the freshmen can be a legitimate 3-point threat.