+/- for the Northern Illinois game

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Player	Minutes	NU Pts	NIU Pts	Raw +/-	Player Adjust	Net +/-
Buie	30	76	44	+32	+4.23	+36.23
Berry	34	83	52	+31	+2.88	+33.88
Nicholson	27	65	44	+21	+4.45	+25.45
Barnhizer	32	73	49	+24	-7.68	+16.33
Martinelli	24	53	41	+12	-1.03	+10.98
Langborg	24	48	39	+9	-3.03	+5.97
Hunger	6	9	5	+4	+0.63	+4.63
Preston	5	13	12	+1	-1.13	-0.13
Clayton	7	15	19	-4	+0.68	-3.32

I attended this game, thinking that we might lose - based on how we looked in the prior games. Thankfully, the Cats responded with a big 2nd half effort and torched the Huskies, who seem like a decent team to me. It was encouraging to see.

From the statistical perspective, I should note that I did not include the last 2:27, as the game was well out of hand (87-61) at that point, when Mullins took the court.
Buie and Berry played very well. Nicholson looked more agile than he had in earlier games - I think it is possible that he had a minor injury that was limiting his mobility.

There were several things that grabbed my attention. Most importantly, Blake Preston did not play in the 2nd half and only played 5 minutes in the first half. Luke Hunger got those minutes against Northern Illinois. Hunger, despite what some have opined, looks quite capable. Its only a matter of experience for Luke - he will contribute this year. Not sure what others see when they watch him. I see a big mobile guy with a positive attitude who can shoot the basketball. Is he the dominant force that Nicholson presents? No. But he is a big, solid, legit athlete who has a low center of gravity. He will not be pushed around by anyone other than Zach Edey. His shooting touch is much better than Nicholson or Preston. In other words, somebody you want on your team.

The other thing that jumped out at me was that Collins primarily used 6 guys, with 3 others seeing limited minutes - clearly just to rest the other 6.
Thats a bit of a departure for the coach - and from my perspective, a good sign.
NU was particularly successful when Nicholson / Martinelli / Barnhizer were on the court together. The Cats outscored NIU 39-24 in 16 minutes of game time.
However, 6 of those minutes involved Clayton and we lost those segments 14-9.
So that means when Nicholson, Martinelli and Barnhizer were out there with Buie, Berry or Langborg, we annihilated NIU 30-10 in 10 minutes.
The starting lineup (Nicholson / Barnhizer / Berry / Langborg / Buie) produced a 22-13 advantage in 9 minutes.

Through 5 games (NIU, Mississippi State, Rhode Island, Western Michigan and Dayton) NU has outscored its opponents 348-308 ignoring garbage time.
NU has been outscored 113-103 when Jordan Clayton has been on the court.
Preston is also below water - NU has been outscored 112-105 during his time on the court.

Clayton is a freshman with a solid build, adapting to college ball. Unfortunately, when he has been on the court with Nicholson, NU has been outscored 57-41.
In the rest of Nicholson's playing time, NU has outscored its opponents 166 - 102.

Purdue will have something to say about that on Friday.

 

[SmellyCat]

Good stuff. I think most of us think Clayton will be a nice addition to the team and it's nice he's getting some early run, so it's interesting that the numbers are saying he's a net negative right now. We'll give him time.

 

[FeralFelidae]

Nicholson looked more agile than he had in earlier games - I think it is possible that he had a minor injury that was limiting his mobility.

It was his best game of the season, by far. He did not look the same earlier in the season, so hopefully he's over whatever was ailing him.

 

[ballerog711]

First of all. Welcome back.

One thing that was mentioned is Barnizor and Lanborg were only 2 for 11 in the first half. Boo was on the bench for a period and the lead evaporated

Boo carried them the second half. Barnhizor and Lanborg were 3 for 4.

To me that's a concern because teams are taking away the Barnhizor low post game and he does seems to have an answer .45 percent Lanborg is a great catch and shoot guy, but is struggling g from 3. Only .22 percent.

They have to step up for the season to beat success

Martenelli has and is helping out a lot.

So you can take Clayton and Preston out as they will only be playing 2 games a week during the season and go with 7. but how do you make for Barnhizor and Lanborg lack of scoring??

 

[IGNORE2]

Welcome back PWB. I had Hunger on my NU bingo card as the lottery play. Glad to hear he just might be this years surprise emergence.

Not surprised by the MN, BB, Mart success. I think BB is underweight for the 4. Hope this line up can kick purdue in the balls while MN bruises up Edey again.

 

[No Chores]

Player	Minutes	NU Pts	NIU Pts	Raw +/-	Player Adjust	Net +/-
Buie	30	76	44	+32	+4.23	+36.23
Berry	34	83	52	+31	+2.88	+33.88
Nicholson	27	65	44	+21	+4.45	+25.45
Barnhizer	32	73	49	+24	-7.68	+16.33
Martinelli	24	53	41	+12	-1.03	+10.98
Langborg	24	48	39	+9	-3.03	+5.97
Hunger	6	9	5	+4	+0.63	+4.63
Preston	5	13	12	+1	-1.13	-0.13
Clayton	7	15	19	-4	+0.68	-3.32

I attended this game, thinking that we might lose - based on how we looked in the prior games. Thankfully, the Cats responded with a big 2nd half effort and torched the Huskies, who seem like a decent team to me. It was encouraging to see.

From the statistical perspective, I should note that I did not include the last 2:27, as the game was well out of hand (87-61) at that point, when Mullins took the court.
Buie and Berry played very well. Nicholson looked more agile than he had in earlier games - I think it is possible that he had a minor injury that was limiting his mobility.

There were several things that grabbed my attention. Most importantly, Blake Preston did not play in the 2nd half and only played 5 minutes in the first half. Luke Hunger got those minutes against Northern Illinois. Hunger, despite what some have opined, looks quite capable. Its only a matter of experience for Luke - he will contribute this year. Not sure what others see when they watch him. I see a big mobile guy with a positive attitude who can shoot the basketball. Is he the dominant force that Nicholson presents? No. But he is a big, solid, legit athlete who has a low center of gravity. He will not be pushed around by anyone other than Zach Edey. His shooting touch is much better than Nicholson or Preston. In other words, somebody you want on your team.

The other thing that jumped out at me was that Collins primarily used 6 guys, with 3 others seeing limited minutes - clearly just to rest the other 6.
Thats a bit of a departure for the coach - and from my perspective, a good sign.
NU was particularly successful when Nicholson / Martinelli / Barnhizer were on the court together. The Cats outscored NIU 39-24 in 16 minutes of game time.
However, 6 of those minutes involved Clayton and we lost those segments 14-9.
So that means when Nicholson, Martinelli and Barnhizer were out there with Buie, Berry or Langborg, we annihilated NIU 30-10 in 10 minutes.
The starting lineup (Nicholson / Barnhizer / Berry / Langborg / Buie) produced a 22-13 advantage in 9 minutes.

Through 5 games (NIU, Mississippi State, Rhode Island, Western Michigan and Dayton) NU has outscored its opponents 348-308 ignoring garbage time.
NU has been outscored 113-103 when Jordan Clayton has been on the court.
Preston is also below water - NU has been outscored 112-105 during his time on the court.

Clayton is a freshman with a solid build, adapting to college ball. Unfortunately, when he has been on the court with Nicholson, NU has been outscored 57-41.
In the rest of Nicholson's playing time, NU has outscored its opponents 166 - 102.

Purdue will have something to say about that on Friday.

Thanks and good work. I always look forward to reading this.

 

[NJCat]

Barnizor Lanborg

Barnhizor Lanborg

Barnhizor Lanborg

Martenelli

Barnhizor Lanborg

Barnhizer -1
Langborg -1

But you get extra credit for getting Martinelli correct

 

[Hungry Jack]

Good to see you back PWB.

Mountain Matt is going to have a big performance vs Edey.

 

[Zootcat]

I’m glad you’re back PWB. I appreciate your +/-. It makes for an interesting discussion.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

Encouraging to read about Hunger. Looking forward to watching his development at NU.

 

[GatoLouco]

Didn't MN give Edey an owie at some point of the game last season?

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Are we going to need Big Matt in the game whenever Edey is? I like the potential of Hunger on offense and he could have the ability to bring Edey away from the basket on defense, but that seems like a bad match up for NU when Edey has the ball. Preston might use all 5 fouls today.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Didn't MN give Edey an owie at some point of the game last season?

According to PU fans, he bled like Jesus on the cross.

 

[GatoLouco]

Are we going to need Big Matt in the game whenever Edey is? I like the potential of Hunger on offense and he could have the ability to bring Edey away from the basket on defense, but that seems like a bad match up for NU when Edey has the ball. Preston might use all 5 fouls today.

Last season's "double whenever the ball goes inside" has been turned on and off, with mostly off periods this year. Hunger could play and we could automatically double when he's on the court.

I am guessing we will not see doubling all the time or never in a pick your poison and let Edey get his, or don't let Edey get his, but risk the other guys get hot from the outside, kind of way. I think we will see periods of both.

Edey, despite seeing from above and long harms, is somewhat turnover prone and not a great passer. He had 6 turnovers against us last year.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Last season's "double whenever the ball goes inside" has been turned on and off, with mostly off periods this year. Hunger could play and we could automatically double when he's on the court.

I am guessing we will not see doubling all the time or never in a pick your poison and let Edey get his, or don't let Edey get his, but risk the other guys get hot from the outside, kind of way. I think we will see periods of both.

Edey, despite seeing from above and long harms, is somewhat turnover prone and not a great passer. He had 6 turnovers against us last year.

One thing I noticed last year is that Edey will hold the ball above his head when he posts up, thinking thats safe, but when he lowers it slightly, Nicholson tries to dislodge it. I just hope the refs don't mess up the game calling fouls.

Not too confident about tonight, though. Purdue has played good teams and beaten them. We haven't.

Luke Hunger will feel small for the first time in his life tonight...

I'm hoping Collins occasionally tries Preston and Hunger together against Edey and Furst.

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

Last season's "double whenever the ball goes inside" has been turned on and off, with mostly off periods this year. Hunger could play and we could automatically double when he's on the court.

I am guessing we will not see doubling all the time or never in a pick your poison and let Edey get his, or don't let Edey get his, but risk the other guys get hot from the outside, kind of way. I think we will see periods of both.

Edey, despite seeing from above and long harms, is somewhat turnover prone and not a great passer. He had 6 turnovers against us last year.

The key against Purdue last year was making Edey work for his points and make his passes out of doubles difficult. That resulted in those 6 turnovers. NU played schematically pretty similar against Purdue as they did the rest of last year. They just executed phenomenally and the crowd brought a ton of energy. Our guard play was also much better than Purdues. That was their biggest weakness last year and it’s drastically improved this year.


I expect a similar mentality going into this one. Edey is going to get his. Let’s make him work for it and force some turnovers. Limit the other guys from scoring and limit our mistakes. Gotta have our guards dominate. Don’t make dumb fouls. Don’t turn the ball over. Don’t miss open shots. Slow the game down and play NU style basketball. No major changes needed just execute. Purdue is a great team going to have to play great basketball to beat them.

 

[EagerFan]

The move NU used to make Edey struggle was not just doubling him, but bodying him up front and back, so he couldn't really move other that to shoot or pass. Short guy in front just preventing him from dribbling, tall guy in back to pop at the ball held up top from behind.

 

[IGNORE2]

Are we going to need Big Matt in the game whenever Edey is? I like the potential of Hunger on offense and he could have the ability to bring Edey away from the basket on defense, but that seems like a bad match up for NU when Edey has the ball. Preston might use all 5 fouls today.

I did so see last game, only monitor on game cast. So my question is whether hunger played strictly the five or if he was used at the four. And for those that have watched him recently, like last game, can he be a stretch four?

I remember an impressive nba team down in Texas that has a couple 7’ers. Even if not for long stretches, could it be a short change of pace thing?

 

[DaCat]

Barnhizer -1
Langborg -1

But you get extra credit for getting Martinelli correct

I like the spelling of Barnhizor, makes him sound deadly.