Nice all-around win by the Wildcats, who outclassed the Gophers on a Wednesday afternoon.
Matt Nicholson led the way with very good all-around play in 31.5 minutes of action. He was +15 in a game we won by 8.
Jordan Clayton played his best game at NU, going 5 of 7 from the floor, with 4 assists against 2 turnovers in 34 minutes.
His other good game was also against the Gophers, not long ago. He has come a long way since the three poor performances after giving up his redshirt.
Nick Martinelli scored a lot of points and grabbed 7 rebounds, but missed the front end of 2 or 3 free throw opportunities, went 4 for 10 from the line and had two turnovers to lower his rating.
Justin Mullins played a nice game - even though he only took 2 shots.
Ty Berry ends up on the wrong side of the Net +/- ratings, mainly because of an uncharacteristic 5 turnovers.
This was the first game in which Clayton started and was not subbed out fairly quickly. Collins brought KJ Windham in for Mullins, not Clayton, after 3:23.
The starting 5 of Nicholson/Martinelli/Berry/Mullins/Clayton played to a 23-16 advantage in almost 13 minutes.
Coming out of the halftime break, Collins left the starters in for almost 6 minutes as they turned a 32-29 lead into a 44-34 advantage.
This sort of lineup patience is relatively rare for the coach, but it is good to see when things are going NU's way.
When Luke Hunger was on the court for 4.5 minutes, both teams scored 11 points, as both offenses kicked in.
It was a bit biblical to see Matthew and Luke out there together, if only for 27 seconds.
Speaking of Nicholson, he attempted a 3 pointer after somebody inbounded the ball to him outside the arc with 1 second on the shot clock.
If I knew who inbounded the ball, I'd probably just assign him a turnover.
I'd still like to see Angelo Ciaravino sub in for Justin Mullins. Didn't happen vs Minnesota, but we won, so there's no complaint here.
When Windham and Clayton were in the game together, NU got outscored 34-33 in about 18 minutes.
Lastly, the lineup I identified as "our best" (Nicholson/Martinelli/Mullins/Berry/Windham) only played 2:05 against Minnesota, but outscored the Gophers 5-1.
| Player | Minutes | NU Pts | Minn Pts | Raw +/- | Player +/- | Net +/- | Box Pts |
| Nicholson | 31.5 | 60 | 45 | +15 | +3.38 | +6.38 | 9.05 |
| Clayton | 34 | 62 | 54 | +8 | +1.59 | +3.19 | 7.95 |
| Mullins | 24.5 | 42 | 37 | +5 | +0.86 | +1.86 | 4.30 |
| Martinelli | 39.5 | 70 | 64 | +6 | -0.01 | +1.19 | 7.90 |
| Windham | 24 | 43 | 44 | -1 | +1.19 | +0.99 | 4.90 |
| Fitzmorris | 4 | 2 | 6 | -4 | +0.40 | -0.40 | 0.00 |
| Ciaravino | 2 | 2 | 2 | +0 | -1.04 | -1.04 | -1.40 |
| Hunger | 4.5 | 11 | 11 | +0 | -1.26 | -1.26 | 0.00 |
| Berry | 35.5 | 68 | 57 | +11 | -5.11 | -2.91 | 2.00 |
Matt Nicholson led the way with very good all-around play in 31.5 minutes of action. He was +15 in a game we won by 8.
Jordan Clayton played his best game at NU, going 5 of 7 from the floor, with 4 assists against 2 turnovers in 34 minutes.
His other good game was also against the Gophers, not long ago. He has come a long way since the three poor performances after giving up his redshirt.
Nick Martinelli scored a lot of points and grabbed 7 rebounds, but missed the front end of 2 or 3 free throw opportunities, went 4 for 10 from the line and had two turnovers to lower his rating.
Justin Mullins played a nice game - even though he only took 2 shots.
Ty Berry ends up on the wrong side of the Net +/- ratings, mainly because of an uncharacteristic 5 turnovers.
This was the first game in which Clayton started and was not subbed out fairly quickly. Collins brought KJ Windham in for Mullins, not Clayton, after 3:23.
The starting 5 of Nicholson/Martinelli/Berry/Mullins/Clayton played to a 23-16 advantage in almost 13 minutes.
Coming out of the halftime break, Collins left the starters in for almost 6 minutes as they turned a 32-29 lead into a 44-34 advantage.
This sort of lineup patience is relatively rare for the coach, but it is good to see when things are going NU's way.
When Luke Hunger was on the court for 4.5 minutes, both teams scored 11 points, as both offenses kicked in.
It was a bit biblical to see Matthew and Luke out there together, if only for 27 seconds.
Speaking of Nicholson, he attempted a 3 pointer after somebody inbounded the ball to him outside the arc with 1 second on the shot clock.
If I knew who inbounded the ball, I'd probably just assign him a turnover.
I'd still like to see Angelo Ciaravino sub in for Justin Mullins. Didn't happen vs Minnesota, but we won, so there's no complaint here.
When Windham and Clayton were in the game together, NU got outscored 34-33 in about 18 minutes.
Lastly, the lineup I identified as "our best" (Nicholson/Martinelli/Mullins/Berry/Windham) only played 2:05 against Minnesota, but outscored the Gophers 5-1.
