Annoying loss. Our shooting was bad and PSU did what they always do when they win, which is make tons of 3s. Two key stretches of the game, in my mind:
1) When PSU was turning it over and bricking everything early (our defense seemed to deteriorate too, as we again lost a second half). They were stuck on 7 points and we were up 10, for a very long stretch of time. We had SO many empty possessions, adamantly refusing to build the lead to even 15 or thereabouts. Then PSU rallied and it was clear we were in for a dogfight.
2) Mid/late 2nd half, NU finally found its groove on offense, briefly, with Brooks lighting it up and guys hitting big buckets. Every single time — every damn time — PSU came back down the floor, they answered. Often with 3s. I had the sense that a SINGLE stop during that stretch, followed by a bucket at the other end to stretch the lead beyond 3-6 points, would have put PSU up against a wall.
But we just could not pull away with a decisive run, in either case. Maddening. And the offense was mostly quite ugly. If you hold PSU to 61 points in regulation at home, you should win. And we didn’t.
We did get a taste of what that place can be as a true home court advantage where the whole place is purple. There were maybe 200 visiting fans in the whole building. Sold out, partisan, loud. Very cool to see. But there was never one big explosion of sound, even though the place was on the brink of one several times. Cats just didn’t get it done.
This season has been way too good to be too upset about any one loss, but 3 straight doesn’t feel great. The way the losses have gone down reminded me of…last year’s squad. It’s up to the coaches and the leaders on the floor to make sure mid/late Feb isn’t the high point of the season. They need to get their confidence back and not limp into the postseason.
MAKE SHOTS.
1) When PSU was turning it over and bricking everything early (our defense seemed to deteriorate too, as we again lost a second half). They were stuck on 7 points and we were up 10, for a very long stretch of time. We had SO many empty possessions, adamantly refusing to build the lead to even 15 or thereabouts. Then PSU rallied and it was clear we were in for a dogfight.
2) Mid/late 2nd half, NU finally found its groove on offense, briefly, with Brooks lighting it up and guys hitting big buckets. Every single time — every damn time — PSU came back down the floor, they answered. Often with 3s. I had the sense that a SINGLE stop during that stretch, followed by a bucket at the other end to stretch the lead beyond 3-6 points, would have put PSU up against a wall.
But we just could not pull away with a decisive run, in either case. Maddening. And the offense was mostly quite ugly. If you hold PSU to 61 points in regulation at home, you should win. And we didn’t.
We did get a taste of what that place can be as a true home court advantage where the whole place is purple. There were maybe 200 visiting fans in the whole building. Sold out, partisan, loud. Very cool to see. But there was never one big explosion of sound, even though the place was on the brink of one several times. Cats just didn’t get it done.
This season has been way too good to be too upset about any one loss, but 3 straight doesn’t feel great. The way the losses have gone down reminded me of…last year’s squad. It’s up to the coaches and the leaders on the floor to make sure mid/late Feb isn’t the high point of the season. They need to get their confidence back and not limp into the postseason.
MAKE SHOTS.
