| Player | Minutes | NU Pts | Jack St Pts | Raw +/- | Player Adjust | Game +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berry | 38 | 72 | 61 | +11 | +2.0 | +4.2 |
| Martinelli | 21 | 36 | 27 | +9 | +2.3 | +4.1 |
| Preston | 19 | 29 | 24 | +5 | +1.5 | +2.5 |
| Langborg | 35 | 61 | 60 | +1 | +1.7 | +1.9 |
| Barnhizer | 32 | 62 | 55 | +7 | -0.8 | +0.6 |
| Hunger | 4 | 10 | 5 | +5 | -1.1 | -0.1 |
| Nicholson | 15 | 33 | 32 | +1 | -1.2 | -1.0 |
| Buie | 35 | 67 | 51 | +16 | -4.4 | -1.2 |
Ty Berry had his 2nd consecutive strong game, propelling the Wildcats to a comfortable victory over Jackson State. Nick Martinelli had another good game off the bench. When he plays the 4, things tend to go fairly well.
As noted by Matthew Shelton, Boo Buie had a very nice-looking +16 in his 35+ minutes, leading NU to a 67-51 advantage. No doubt the team is most effective when he is on the floor (Buie, not Shelton).
The notable thing here is that Jordan Clayton was not subbing in for Buie. Clayton did not play. Not sure if it was a health issue.
In this game, Buie got 3 short rests. In each case, we saw Martinelli/Barnhizer/Berry/Langborg with a center. In the first half Collins used those 4 with Preston and we won 5-4 over the two segments. With 11:08 to go in the 2nd half, Collins paired those 4 with Nicholson and Jackson State scored 8 points in 3 possessions. We scored 2 points in 2 possessions.
Luke Hunger played 4 minutes and we had a nice 3 minute segment that we won 8-3 with Hunger/Martinelli/Barnhizer/Berry/Buie.
I listened to this game on the radio before watching a replay the next day, At halftime, Special Assistant Brian James was interviewed. His statements were not particularly re-assuring. "Most teams would take advantage of Jackson State's lack of size by getting it inside to a big guy to score, but thats not what we do" or "thats not what we're good at or "we can't play that way" and continued "We have sort of a three man rotation at center and...." (yuck)
Not what you want to hear from the assistant coach who apparently is supposed to be developing the big guys.
If Clayton can't come off the bench and provide decent minutes, we're looking at a rotation consisting of 3 centers and Martinelli subbing for the other 4 starters. That can work until one of the non-centers can't play, for whatever reason. (I never got to see Hunger playing the 4, alongside Preston at the 5, which is one potential alternative).
Thru the 10 games I'm using, our best 5 man lineup remains Nicholson/Martinelli/Barnhizer/Berry/Buie, who have played to a 39-10 margin in 15 minutes. That group did not play against Jackson State, although Hunger did play with those other 4 (mentioned above) and won 8-3.
Another 5 man group that has put up sterling numbers is Hunger/Barnhizer/Berry/Langborg/Buie which is 62-30 in 28 minutes.
