After looking terrible working on the zone defense during Friday's practice, Northwestern head coach Chris Collins had seen enough. "We were horrible yesterday,'' said Collins. "I yelled at them and told them were were playing man against DePaul. But we struggled today; struggled coming off ball screens and DePaul was getting every shot it wanted.'' Trailing by seven points, 43-36, at the 15:47 mark of the second half, Collins called a timeout and had its team switch to a zone. The Wildcats scored the next six points and even though the Blue Demons eventually built the lead back to six, they were on their heels. The Wildcats outscored the home team 10-4 in the final 4:21 before taking control of the game in overtime.
''The zone threw them off kilter and slowed them down,'' said Collins.
The Wildcats finally came to life at both ends of the court in OT, especially Aaron Falzon. The freshman forward, who had missed his first six shots, swished a pair of three-pointers, helping the Cats build an insurmountable nine-point lead.
Re: Falzon.
"I'm a shooting coach,'' says Collins. "If you have the bullets, shoot them. If you're afraid to take the shot when you're open, then you shouldn't be out there. This shows you how explosive he can be. It was great for me to see him execute and it should give him confidence.''
Re: Guards Bryant McIntosh and Tre Demps.
"As a team, we have to take care of the ball and we have two tremendous guards. They keep the dribble and get us organized. If we take care of the ball, we should keep the defense moving and they were giving us a lot of great looks today.''
Re: Sanjay Lumpkin (14 points, 7 rebounds).
"Quitely, Sanjay had a great game. He had a huge tip-in late in the game and hit a big free throw (to tie the game at 61 with 46 seconds left). We know what we're getting from Bryant, Tre and Alex (Olah), but we need guys like Falzon, (Nathan) Taphorn and Lumpkin to have big nights. We really miss having (backup center) Joey van Zegeren (stress injury), but he will be re-evaluated Monday and hope to have him back by Dec. 27.''
Re: 10-1 start.
"I felt like we were in a good spot with everything that has gone on behind the scenes (conditioning and lifting). We had a good vibe, but the next step with the program was to take it to the floor and win. Some nights we have played well and some we've had to grind it out. We've won three overtime games and taken positive steps. We're trying to build a project for the long term, but we have to build the foundation first. The veterans on this team have been through some heart-breaking moments and now it's paying off.''
DePaul coach Dave Leitao
"I'm disappointed with the finish. We lost a little sharpness and focus. We stopped executing against their zone. The worst mistake you can make against a zone is putting the ball above your head because it gives the defense a chance to relax. Northwestern played with a lot of confidence late in the game and then hit a couple of key threes. Good teams execute when they need to.''
Re: Northwestern's program.
"They've got momentum; 10-1 is a good record no matter who you play. They have built a synergy on that team. It's very evident by the way they run their stuff that they are very good in what they want and what they want to do. Credit to Chris and his staff because those players have really bought into his system.''
''The zone threw them off kilter and slowed them down,'' said Collins.
The Wildcats finally came to life at both ends of the court in OT, especially Aaron Falzon. The freshman forward, who had missed his first six shots, swished a pair of three-pointers, helping the Cats build an insurmountable nine-point lead.
Re: Falzon.
"I'm a shooting coach,'' says Collins. "If you have the bullets, shoot them. If you're afraid to take the shot when you're open, then you shouldn't be out there. This shows you how explosive he can be. It was great for me to see him execute and it should give him confidence.''
Re: Guards Bryant McIntosh and Tre Demps.
"As a team, we have to take care of the ball and we have two tremendous guards. They keep the dribble and get us organized. If we take care of the ball, we should keep the defense moving and they were giving us a lot of great looks today.''
Re: Sanjay Lumpkin (14 points, 7 rebounds).
"Quitely, Sanjay had a great game. He had a huge tip-in late in the game and hit a big free throw (to tie the game at 61 with 46 seconds left). We know what we're getting from Bryant, Tre and Alex (Olah), but we need guys like Falzon, (Nathan) Taphorn and Lumpkin to have big nights. We really miss having (backup center) Joey van Zegeren (stress injury), but he will be re-evaluated Monday and hope to have him back by Dec. 27.''
Re: 10-1 start.
"I felt like we were in a good spot with everything that has gone on behind the scenes (conditioning and lifting). We had a good vibe, but the next step with the program was to take it to the floor and win. Some nights we have played well and some we've had to grind it out. We've won three overtime games and taken positive steps. We're trying to build a project for the long term, but we have to build the foundation first. The veterans on this team have been through some heart-breaking moments and now it's paying off.''
DePaul coach Dave Leitao
"I'm disappointed with the finish. We lost a little sharpness and focus. We stopped executing against their zone. The worst mistake you can make against a zone is putting the ball above your head because it gives the defense a chance to relax. Northwestern played with a lot of confidence late in the game and then hit a couple of key threes. Good teams execute when they need to.''
Re: Northwestern's program.
"They've got momentum; 10-1 is a good record no matter who you play. They have built a synergy on that team. It's very evident by the way they run their stuff that they are very good in what they want and what they want to do. Credit to Chris and his staff because those players have really bought into his system.''
