+/- for the Indictment of Indiana

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Good win for the Wildcats to remain in the NCAA picture.

Player	Minutes	NU Pts	IU Pts	Raw +/-	Player +/-	Net +/-	Box Points
Berry	32	70	59	+11	+8.17	+10.37	18.20
Barnhizer	38	74	68	+6	+5.39	+6.59	15.10
Martinelli	36	78	62	+16	-1.62	+1.58	8.75
Windham	3	8	2	+6	-0.38	+0.82	1.25
Fitzmorris	7	16	11	+5	-1.84	-0.84	0.40
Nicholson	30	61	52	+9	-2.75	-0.95	6.40
Smith	2	0	6	-6	+0.04	-1.16	0.00
Hunger	3	2	7	-5	-0.72	-1.72	-0.70
Mullins	3	1	6	-5	-0.74	-1.74	-1.00
Leach	39	76	70	+6	-3.15	-1.95	5.60
Ciaravino	7	9	7	+2	-2.40	-2.00	-2.00

There's a lot going on with Northwestern's rotations. The Ciaravino experiment may have ended... or not. He only played 7+ minutes, but the starting 5 had taken an 8-5 lead when Ty Berry entered the game for Ciaravino at 15:19 of the first half. Berry has played great as the "6th man" and we're 2-1 since switching things up. Ciaravino missed a couple open 3's and turned the ball over once. At least the shots looked good leaving his hand.

NU's 3rd big man, Keenan Fitzmorris, might now be NU's 2nd big man. He did a decent job and seems to fit in with Martinelli/Barnhizer/Leach/Berry. That lineup put up 13-11 in 6:08 of action.
Luke Hunger returned to action, but we were outscored 7-2 in 3:20 with Luke at the 5.

KJ Windham subbed in for the struggling Jalen Leach at the 11:51 mark and played like his hair was on fire for the next 3:10, recording a steal, a block, a rebound, an assist and 2 missed layups. NU stretched the lead from 15-13 up to 23-15 with KJ on the floor. Obviously his effort projects to an 0 for 26 shooting effort, with 13 steals, 13 rebounds, 13 assists and 13 blocks. Collins took him out with 8:41 left in the half and his day was done. Indiana then pummeled NU 16-2 as the coach rotated in Smith, Mullins, Ciaravino and Hunger, searching for answers.

Coming out of halftime, trailing 31-25, Collins went back to the old starting lineup of Nicholson/Martinelli/Barnhizer/Leach/Berry. They responded with a 14-6 onslaught in the first 4:24 of the 2nd half.
Fitzmorris was sent in for Nicholson at that point and that group continued with an 8-5 win over the next 3:44. Then Collins tried Hunger with the same 4 and we regressed, getting outscored 5-2 in a quick 1:16 segment. Nicholson was sent back in with NU ahead 49-47 and 10:36 to play. NU re-asserted its dominance, pushing relentlessly to a 70-56 lead with 3:12 left. We lost focus, turned the ball over a couple times, foolishly left some shooters open for 3 pointers and missed a few free throws, but re-grouped and held on.

Ty Berry gets the game ball, with strong support from Barnhizer (21 pts, 6 steals, 6 assists, 6 rebounds), but Leach, Martinelli and Nicholson all had decent games. Of those 5, only Nicholson left the floor in the 2nd half - until Barnhizer tried to break his own face with 16 seconds left.

Against Indiana that group of 5 (the old starters) played 17 minutes and triumphed 46-35, which is a lot more offense than we usually see from them.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Good win for the Wildcats to remain in the NCAA picture.

Player	Minutes	NU Pts	IU Pts	Raw +/-	Player +/-	Net +/-	Box Points
Berry	32	70	59	+11	+8.17	+10.37	18.20
Barnhizer	38	74	68	+6	+5.39	+6.59	15.10
Martinelli	36	78	62	+16	-1.62	+1.58	8.75
Windham	3	8	2	+6	-0.38	+0.82	1.25
Fitzmorris	7	16	11	+5	-1.84	-0.84	0.40
Nicholson	30	61	52	+9	-2.75	-0.95	6.40
Smith	2	0	6	-6	+0.04	-1.16	0.00
Hunger	3	2	7	-5	-0.72	-1.72	-0.70
Mullins	3	1	6	-5	-0.74	-1.74	-1.00
Leach	39	76	70	+6	-3.15	-1.95	5.60
Ciaravino	7	9	7	+2	-2.40	-2.00	-2.00

There's a lot going on with Northwestern's rotations. The Ciaravino experiment may have ended... or not. He only played 7+ minutes, but the starting 5 had taken an 8-5 lead when Ty Berry entered the game for Ciaravino at 15:19 of the first half. Berry has played great as the "6th man" and we're 2-1 since switching things up. Ciaravino missed a couple open 3's and turned the ball over once. At least the shots looked good leaving his hand.

NU's 3rd big man, Keenan Fitzmorris, might now be NU's 2nd big man. He did a decent job and seems to fit in with Martinelli/Barnhizer/Leach/Berry. That lineup put up 13-11 in 6:08 of action.
Luke Hunger returned to action, but we were outscored 7-2 in 3:20 with Luke at the 5.

KJ Windham subbed in for the struggling Jalen Leach at the 11:51 mark and played like his hair was on fire for the next 3:10, recording a steal, a block, a rebound, an assist and 2 missed layups. NU stretched the lead from 15-13 up to 23-15 with KJ on the floor. Obviously his effort projects to an 0 for 26 shooting effort, with 13 steals, 13 rebounds, 13 assists and 13 blocks. Collins took him out with 8:41 left in the half and his day was done. Indiana then pummeled NU 16-2 as the coach rotated in Smith, Mullins, Ciaravino and Hunger, searching for answers.

Coming out of halftime, trailing 31-25, Collins went back to the old starting lineup of Nicholson/Martinelli/Barnhizer/Leach/Berry. They responded with a 14-6 onslaught in the first 4:24 of the 2nd half.
Fitzmorris was sent in for Nicholson at that point and that group continued with an 8-5 win over the next 3:44. Then Collins tried Hunger with the same 4 and we regressed, getting outscored 5-2 in a quick 1:16 segment. Nicholson was sent back in with NU ahead 49-47 and 10:36 to play. NU re-asserted its dominance, pushing relentlessly to a 70-56 lead with 3:12 left. We lost focus, turned the ball over a couple times, foolishly left some shooters open for 3 pointers and missed a few free throws, but re-grouped and held on.

Ty Berry gets the game ball, with strong support from Barnhizer (21 pts, 6 steals, 6 assists, 6 rebounds), but Leach, Martinelli and Nicholson all had decent games. Of those 5, only Nicholson left the floor in the 2nd half - until Barnhizer tried to break his own face with 16 seconds left.

Against Indiana that group of 5 (the old starters) played 17 minutes and triumphed 46-35, which is a lot more offense than we usually see from them.

Now that’s a quick turnaround PWB!

Berry has worked so well off the bench, I am not sure CCC changes that. However, despite that 8-5 opening lead you reference, we looked terrible to start the game. We should have had a double digit lead as Indiana couldn’t do anything right. The important thing is CCC continues to get Berry going. He is going to play the important minutes and more minutes than Gelo. At this stage of their Careers, Berry just brings a lot more to the table as he can go off for 25 on any given night. Barney and Nick appear to understand our opponents approach to defending them and have been much better at the kick outs to Leach and Berry. They have to hit open outside shots. If they do we likely win, if they don’t we likely lose. Both can take over a game with a hot streak, the Freshman just aren’t ready for that yet.

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

Leach and Berry, when they're on, bring that something extra to the table that the freshmen and the bench just don't have on the offensive end. You can really see the difference on defense too (compared to the freshmen). Gotta give Gelo credit though, that defensive series he had, leading to Matt's block, was the best I've seen from him all year.

Berry: We don't set as many off-ball screens for other guys, and there's a reason for that. Berry's so good at using them and coming off them. Dude's got a pure 3-point stroke that the whole league respects, even when he's not hitting them. When that first one drops, you get that feeling of oh boy, he could go off here. That threat from deep opens things up inside for Barnhizer and Martinelli. Makes it easier for them to score. Berry also rarely tries to do too much or force things. We also saw his ability on the boards against Indiana. His cuts are also really well-timed and he varies his speed, which Gato will tell you, is huge.

Leach: Leach has shown more ability than anyone else on this roster to beat a guy off the dribble. He's quick enough to get to the rim, strong enough to finish, and has the skill to pull up and hit that mid-range jumper. When his 3 is falling, it opens up his passing and driving lanes. If he can just stop forcing things a little bit against the press, he'll take that next step. Dude plays like a vet in the half court. You rarely see him over-drive. He and KJ have the best ability to break down a defender off the dribble, in my opinion.

The freshmen, they've got offensive talent, no doubt. But they still try to do too much. They hold the ball too long sometimes, messes up the flow of the offense. Sometimes it leads to turnovers, sometimes it leads to a bad shot, even if it's at the rim. That being said, in a year or two, watch out. The good news is that most of these mistakes are pretty common for freshmen and should improve a lot in the offseason. Plus, we've seen flashes. They could easily have a game where they catch fire and score in bunches. I could easily see 20+ points from either of them (easy to say that now after Gelo went off against Purdue). The future is bright with them and the incoming class on paper. The big question mark is the sophomore and junior classes (not including Martinelli). They need someone to step up and produce next to Martinelli next year.

Good win last night. Hope Brooks is okay. If Berry, Leach, Martinelli, and Barnhizer produce like they did last night, NU will continue to win games.

 

[Catreporter]

Leach: Leach has shown more ability than anyone else on this roster to beat a guy off the dribble. He's quick enough to get to the rim, strong enough to finish, and has the skill to pull up and hit that mid-range jumper.

And I want to add that the other Jalen, Blackmon, who stiffed us for Miami because of a money difference is really a BUST. Guy hasn't even played in the last several games which have been blowout losses for a 4-13 team. LOL. We got the right Jalen and he seems to be getting better as the season goes on, assuming a point guard role.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Leach and Berry, when they're on, bring that something extra to the table that the freshmen and the bench just don't have on the offensive end. You can really see the difference on defense too (compared to the freshmen). Gotta give Gelo credit though, that defensive series he had, leading to Matt's block, was the best I've seen from him all year.

Berry: We don't set as many off-ball screens for other guys, and there's a reason for that. Berry's so good at using them and coming off them. Dude's got a pure 3-point stroke that the whole league respects, even when he's not hitting them. When that first one drops, you get that feeling of oh boy, he could go off here. That threat from deep opens things up inside for Barnhizer and Martinelli. Makes it easier for them to score. Berry also rarely tries to do too much or force things. We also saw his ability on the boards against Indiana. His cuts are also really well-timed and he varies his speed, which Gato will tell you, is huge.

Leach: Leach has shown more ability than anyone else on this roster to beat a guy off the dribble. He's quick enough to get to the rim, strong enough to finish, and has the skill to pull up and hit that mid-range jumper. When his 3 is falling, it opens up his passing and driving lanes. If he can just stop forcing things a little bit against the press, he'll take that next step. Dude plays like a vet in the half court. You rarely see him over-drive. He and KJ have the best ability to break down a defender off the dribble, in my opinion.

The freshmen, they've got offensive talent, no doubt. But they still try to do too much. They hold the ball too long sometimes, messes up the flow of the offense. Sometimes it leads to turnovers, sometimes it leads to a bad shot, even if it's at the rim. That being said, in a year or two, watch out. The good news is that most of these mistakes are pretty common for freshmen and should improve a lot in the offseason. Plus, we've seen flashes. They could easily have a game where they catch fire and score in bunches. I could easily see 20+ points from either of them (easy to say that now after Gelo went off against Purdue). The future is bright with them and the incoming class on paper. The big question mark is the sophomore and junior classes (not including Martinelli). They need someone to step up and produce next to Martinelli next year.

Good win last night. Hope Brooks is okay. If Berry, Leach, Martinelli, and Barnhizer produce like they did last night, NU will continue to win games.

Next season will be rough. We have to replace Brooks, Berry, Leach and Big Matt. That’s too much to ask of the portal.