Game thoughts

[GatoLouco]

1) We showed we belong even losing in the double digits
2) Me likey the confident Nance
3) We really need to prepared to have Young and Nance on the court at the same time. Tonight showed that If one is giving you nothing, like Beran tonight, we should be able to play Namce at the 4

Let’s keep fighting

 

[jensberg]

Need our guards to shoot better.

 

[CappyNU]

We made far too many mental mistakes tonight, it feels like we got caught up in running to match Iowa's speed and our game suffered. The bullshit tech didn't help, and there's not much you can do with the shots Bohannon was making...At least we held Garza under 20, I thought we defended him well. Flush it and move on to the next one.

 

[wildcatpn]

1) We showed we belong even losing in the double digits
2) Me likey the confident Nance
3) We really need to prepared to have Young and Nance on the court at the same time. Tonight showed that If one is giving you nothing, like Beran tonight, we should be able to play Namce at the 4

Let’s keep fighting

Game was closer than the final score. Cats had 4 more turnovers than Iowa and shot 13 less free throws. Definitely need Buie and Beran to play better but this NU team certainly belongs and I think they’ll get to 10 wins in conference.

 

[7th Cir. Cat]

1) We showed we belong even losing in the double digits
2) Me likey the confident Nance
3) We really need to prepared to have Young and Nance on the court at the same time. Tonight showed that If one is giving you nothing, like Beran tonight, we should be able to play Namce at the 4

Let’s keep fighting

Agreed. Iowa is a potential Final Four team and we definitely showed we can hang with them in a tough road game. Super impressed with Nance. Cats were not going undefeated in the BIG, so hopefully this is a confidence builder and learning opportunity.

 

[Alan Smithee]

We made far too many mental mistakes tonight, it feels like we got caught up in running to match Iowa's speed and our game suffered. The bullshit tech didn't help, and there's not much you can do with the shots Bohannon was making...At least we held Garza under 20, I thought we defended him well. Flush it and move on to the next one.

I think it’s pretty simple. Ioa played like a top 10 team. We played like a top 25 team, but it wasn’t enough. Our main task was to slow Garza down, which we did, but their other weapons stepped up and did what they’re capable of. We can play better at a few spots, but no reason to hang our heads.

We didn’t lose against an underperforming team, we lost to a high performing team tonight.

 

[purplejustice]

Iowa’s shooting was insane. We had too many self inflicted turnovers. We did a great job on Garza but we had no answer for their three point shooting
Nance and Kopp played well. We can compete in the Big 10. Iowa was a good measuring stick. I really enjoy watching our team continue to grow.

 

[GatoLouco]

Iowa’s shooting was insane. We had too many self inflicted turnovers. We did a great job on Garza but we had no answer for their three point shooting
Nance and Kopp played well. We can compete in the Big 10. Iowa was a good measuring stick. I really enjoy watching our team continue to grow.

I do not disagree but they average 95 a game. They scored 87. If it wasn’t Frederick or Bohannan, chances are the points would come from elsewhere. Garza had only 18 after all. Wieskamp had 10. We needed to be fluid on offense. And get to mid to high 80’s. We shot 44% but still only scored 72. TO, etc. Playing such a fast paced game we are either ON on offense or we did not win

Refs were bad. But they didn’t beat us. We were always behind and they were always somewhat in control

 

[Deeringfish]

We made far too many mental mistakes tonight, it feels like we got caught up in running to match Iowa's speed and our game suffered. The bullshit tech didn't help, and there's not much you can do with the shots Bohannon was making...At least we held Garza under 20, I thought we defended him well. Flush it and move on to the next one.

CCC must have fallen asleep or he was talking to his girl friend on the phone in the second half. NU was on a run and had gotten within three, but at about 9 minutes they needed a time out to stay in it and CCC was absent.
Really bad in game coaching.

 

[GatoLouco]

CCC must have fallen asleep or he was talking to his girl friend on the phone in the second half. NU was on a run and had gotten within three, but at about 9 minutes they needed a time out to stay in it and CCC was absent.
Really bad in game coaching.

Audige hit 2 threes to start the 2nd, followed by missing one. And we did not look for him for several possessions. He’s streaky and could have made sense to run offense for him.

 

[Alan Smithee]

Audige hit 2 threes to start the 2nd, followed by missing one. And we did not look for him for several possessions. He’s streaky and could have made sense to run offense for him.

Let me compliment Audige. He took pretty good shots tonight. I think his decision-making is improving. There was a heat-check shot again tonight, but one a night is not excessive. Kopp provides a great example- he generally just refuses to take ill-advised shots.

 

[corbi296]

1) We showed we belong even losing in the double digits
2) Me likey the confident Nance
3) We really need to prepared to have Young and Nance on the court at the same time. Tonight showed that If one is giving you nothing, like Beran tonight, we should be able to play Namce at the 4

Let’s keep fighting

I agree. I also thought the guards have to do a better job of taking care of the ball and being more patient to get a good shot. They seemed intent on forcing the tempo to match Iowa and it caused many unforced turnovers and I thought some rushed/questionable shots. The other thing was the loose balls. Iowa seemed to get every loose ball or mishandled rebound. Sometimes that's just how the ball bounces but sometimes it's about the other team wanting it more.

Overall I thought a closer game than the score suggested. Nance showed me something tonight that I wasn't sure he was capable of. He is gaining confidence and his game is growing. I agree that playing him and Young on the floor at the same time may need to be a more frequent occurrence because I continued to be impressed by all the little things Young does for the team.

 

[phatcat]

Bohannon reminds me of how other teams' fans feel when they see our FB team and say "is Paddy Fisher still there??"
I am pretty sure I had heard of him in high school ball when I moved from Iowa...in 2013

 

[torque-cat]

1) We showed we belong even losing in the double digits
2) Me likey the confident Nance
3) We really need to prepared to have Young and Nance on the court at the same time. Tonight showed that If one is giving you nothing, like Beran tonight, we should be able to play Namce at the 4

Let’s keep fighting

Agree. We looked like we belonged, Iowa was hitting 3 pt shots including contested ones and got their hands on a lot of loose balls and got more foul calls. Iowa is better but its not a huge talent gap. We look like a reasonable to 25 team, but the margin of error in almost every big ten game will be small so a few made shots either way will be the difference. We could win 6 big ten games or 11 and the difference could be a few buckets.

 

[Vassar69]

Bohannon reminds me of how other teams' fans feel when they see our FB team and say "is Paddy Fisher still there??"
I am pretty sure I had heard of him in high school ball when I moved from Iowa...in 2013

Makes sense, he was conference all freshman in 2016-2017 season. He even played a handful of games in his medical Redshirt season last year

 

[GOUNUII]

I agree. I also thought the guards have to do a better job of taking care of the ball and being more patient to get a good shot. They seemed intent on forcing the tempo to match Iowa and it caused many unforced turnovers and I thought some rushed/questionable shots. The other thing was the loose balls. Iowa seemed to get every loose ball or mishandled rebound. Sometimes that's just how the ball bounces but sometimes it's about the other team wanting it more.

Overall I thought a closer game than the score suggested. Nance showed me something tonight that I wasn't sure he was capable of. He is gaining confidence and his game is growing. I agree that playing him and Young on the floor at the same time may need to be a more frequent occurrence because I continued to be impressed by all the little things Young does for the team.

You and I were watching the same game Corbi. Lot’s of little things added up to separate these teams. Iowa was a little cleaner and a little better across the board. And every close call - bounce of the ball seemed to go their way ... some at critical times.

Nance always had this game in his potential. He just had to get stronger and decide how much he wanted to be the best he can be. His shift to the high post has helped as well. He’s gone from being a relatively passive observer on the floor (dating back to HS) to an assertive playmaker. Very happy for him.

When was the last time you saw a player block a shot and gain possession of the ball only to be Teed Up by the official? How about the 2nd half blocking foul that occurred out of bounds when an out of control Hawkeye fell on our guy? My “only at Northwestern” moments of the night.

GOUNUII

 

[Catreporter]

That technical was ridiculous. Doubt the Cats would have won, as hot as Bohannon was, but the tech sure helped Iowa get control of the game down the stretch.

 

[clarificationcat]

You and I were watching the same game Corbi. Lot’s of little things added up to separate these teams. Iowa was a little cleaner and a little better across the board. And every close call - bounce of the ball seemed to go their way ... some at critical times.

Nance always had this game in his potential. He just had to get stronger and decide how much he wanted to be the best he can be. His shift to the high post has helped as well. He’s gone from being a relatively passive observer on the floor (dating back to HS) to an assertive playmaker. Very happy for him.

When was the last time you saw a player block a shot and gain possession of the ball only to be Teed Up by the official? How about the 2nd half blocking foul that occurred out of bounds when an out of control Hawkeye fell on our guy? My “only at Northwestern” moments of the night.

GOUNUII

How about the out of control guy being given 2 shots? Apparently he was shooting from behind the basket. Awful call made even worse. It was a really bad game for the refs.

 

[PURPLECAT88]

Bohannon reminds me of how other teams' fans feel when they see our FB team and say "is Paddy Fisher still there??"
I am pretty sure I had heard of him in high school ball when I moved from Iowa...in 2013

He's got about 12 older brothers, including one who played at Wisky. So, yeah, we've been hearing that name for a long time.

 

[Mister G]

Illini fan and NU season ticket holder here; this is what I posted on the Illinois Board. My post generated a very positive discussion on this year’s Wildcats:
Today at 6:29 AM

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NU is a tournament level team; their guards are athletic. I wish we had Kopp, kid’s a terrific shooter and has a real feel for the game. He has a chance to play in the NBA. Nance is a mystery, and if he figures it out, they could be scary good. Don’t let the 15 point loss fool you, this team will be tough for any B10 team to beat. Collins had a good scheme for Garza with a quick double that forced him to pass out; other guys made shots for Iowa. With the calls Garza gets from B10 refs, holding him to under 20 is an accomplishment.

 

[loyolacat]

Both teams had the same amount of 3s, 11 and we had the better percentage.......they won 1. the turnover to assist ratio......17 assists with 8 turnovers,,,,our was 15 assists with 12 turnovers 2. They were 20 outta 25 at the line and we were 9 outta 12....that is 11 points right there. I would like to see how many of their assists came off possessions where we had to double team Garza and how many of our fouls came off of possessions where we had to double team Garza.......they had very few turnovers .....so I am speculating that even though we held Garza to 18, our effort to contain him led to defensive players being out of position and fouling and good assist opportunities where they were 4 on 3 and we had someone defensively scrambling to get back.........HE IS A BEAST...WHY ISNT HE PLAYING FOOTBALL....

 

[NU Houston]

Illini fan and NU season ticket holder here; this is what I posted on the Illinois Board. My post generated a very positive discussion on this year’s Wildcats:
Today at 6:29 AM

• Add bookmark
• #42

NU is a tournament level team; their guards are athletic. I wish we had Kopp, kid’s a terrific shooter and has a real feel for the game. He has a chance to play in the NBA. Nance is a mystery, and if he figures it out, they could be scary good. Don’t let the 15 point loss fool you, this team will be tough for any B10 team to beat. Collins had a good scheme for Garza with a quick double that forced him to pass out; other guys made shots for Iowa. With the calls Garza gets from B10 refs, holding him to under 20 is an accomplishment.

Not only does Garza get the foul calls, but he also gets away with hooking the defender and shuffling his feet when he has the ball. NU was whistled for traveling at least three times last night, and yet Garza was out there dancing whenever he touched the ball.

 

[phatcat]

He's got about 12 older brothers, including one who played at Wisky. So, yeah, we've been hearing that name for a long time.

Since 1981 actually. See lyrics

Tom Tom Club Genius of Love - Google Search

g.co

 

[clarificationcat]

1) We showed we belong even losing in the double digits
2) Me likey the confident Nance
3) We really need to prepared to have Young and Nance on the court at the same time. Tonight showed that If one is giving you nothing, like Beran tonight, we should be able to play Namce at the 4

Let’s keep fighting

Buie will need to shoot better for us to win against the top teams. I am confident he will.

Agreed that Beran needs to give us more offensively. He has a nice stroke and needs to get more shots off. And he needs to finish his drives. I am hoping it is simply a confidence thing and he goes through a stretch where he carries us a little bit. He does a lot of good things defensively in terms of helping and rotating. We are generally better defensively with him on the floor but some games that won't be enough.

I did not like having Greer and Buie on the floor together. Greer just doesn't offer enough offensively if he isn't running the offense. And last night was not one of his better games. I hope that Roper can provide some minutes next year when Audige is on the bench.

I thought Young played great in the 2nd half. I thought that was his best stretch against a really good opponent. He matches up pretty well with Garza. He and Nance give him very different looks, which I think keeps him a little off balance.

Unlike most people on the board, I actually wish we had pushed the tempo even more, even if that meant taking a few bad shots. I felt like we were deeper in the shot clock on a lot of possessions and weren't able to get as many uncontested shots in transition.

I hated the referees.

 

[Figrating]

Holding Garza to 18 is an achievement, but Iowa showed how deep they are. Don't know what their shooting percentage was, but they showed why everyone says they're a strong offensive team. It seemed they hardly ever missed. Their D was supposed to be a weakness, but did anyone see a weakness? I doubt they lose another game in this very tough conference with 9 teams in the top 25.

Great effort by the CATS and there's plenty of hope for the rest of the season. In spite of CCC's assertion that they had the energy, I suspect that the previous three games had worn them down.

You rarely see any team hand their toughest opponent 4 consecutive tos, but I think NU did that in the first half. No better way to say you're ready to lose than that. The final nail was the technical. Until then, NU was somehow still in that game.

But this is the level of play NU will face again and again. UM is undefeated and we play them there.

 

[hdhntr1]

1) We showed we belong even losing in the double digits
2) Me likey the confident Nance
3) We really need to prepared to have Young and Nance on the court at the same time. Tonight showed that If one is giving you nothing, like Beran tonight, we should be able to play Namce at the 4

Let’s keep fighting

Beran was there for mostly for his D. At this point any O is a plus. The danger last night was that Garza tends to foul out teams and having both on the floor at the same time can lead to foul trouble

 

[hdhntr1]

Game was closer than the final score. Cats had 4 more turnovers than Iowa and shot 13 less free throws. Definitely need Buie and Beran to play better but this NU team certainly belongs and I think they’ll get to 10 wins in conference.

We also have to remember that this game was in Iowa City. It has traditionally been a very tough place for NU to play. I didn't think the turnovers were that close but maybe it was because they got so many points off them. IA did wat IA does. Lots of O rebounds (lead the league) and turnovers (lead the league) Remarkable we were as close to them in many categories as we were. Only outrebounded by 4 and 2 on the O end but the edge they had in FT hard to overcome

 

[hdhntr1]

Iowa’s shooting was insane. We had too many self inflicted turnovers. We did a great job on Garza but we had no answer for their three point shooting
Nance and Kopp played well. We can compete in the Big 10. Iowa was a good measuring stick. I really enjoy watching our team continue to grow.

Yes their 3 pt shooting was insane, but surprise, we had the same number. Stats were remarkably similar. They beat us at the line. We showed we belonged but still have some work to do. We stopped the Garza streak of 20 pt games. Also remember this game was at IA and traveling these days really puts the visiting team at at disadvantage. Throw in home court advantage. Hopefully the outcome when they come to Evanston will be more to our liking

 

[hdhntr1]

Makes sense, he was conference all freshman in 2016-2017 season. He even played a handful of games in his medical Redshirt season last year

So he has been there forever

 

[hdhntr1]

You and I were watching the same game Corbi. Lot’s of little things added up to separate these teams. Iowa was a little cleaner and a little better across the board. And every close call - bounce of the ball seemed to go their way ... some at critical times.

Nance always had this game in his potential. He just had to get stronger and decide how much he wanted to be the best he can be. His shift to the high post has helped as well. He’s gone from being a relatively passive observer on the floor (dating back to HS) to an assertive playmaker. Very happy for him.

When was the last time you saw a player block a shot and gain possession of the ball only to be Teed Up by the official? How about the 2nd half blocking foul that occurred out of bounds when an out of control Hawkeye fell on our guy? My “only at Northwestern” moments of the night.

GOUNUII

Loved seeing Nance drive the basket when he had the opportunity rather than settling

 

[hdhntr1]

That technical was ridiculous. Doubt the Cats would have won, as hot as Bohannon was, but the tech sure helped Iowa get control of the game down the stretch.

That could have been up to a 8 point swing right there. two free throws, the ball (can't remember did they score there as well) rather than us going on O and potentially scoring

 

[hdhntr1]

Holding Garza to 18 is an achievement, but Iowa showed how deep they are. Don't know what their shooting percentage was, but they showed why everyone says they're a strong offensive team. It seemed they hardly ever missed. Their D was supposed to be a weakness, but did anyone see a weakness? I doubt they lose another game in this very tough conference with 9 teams in the top 25.

Great effort by the CATS and there's plenty of hope for the rest of the season. In spite of CCC's assertion that they had the energy, I suspect that the previous three games had worn them down.

You rarely see any team hand their toughest opponent 4 consecutive tos, but I think NU did that in the first half. No better way to say you're ready to lose than that. The final nail was the technical. Until then, NU was somehow still in that game.

But this is the level of play NU will face again and again. UM is undefeated and we play them there.

Their D is a weakness but it was covered up by our inopportune turnovers. On many we did not seem to account for their reaches deflecting the ball.

 

[eastbaycat99]

One small observation is that Bohannon’s success on really deep 3’s raises the dilemma that NBA teams faced when Steph Curry started to take and make a sufficient number of shots beyond the defense’s normal extension. The dilemma is that if you challenge, you open gaps that give the other 4 players great looks, but if you don’t you give up a high effective FG percentage from the team with the deep shooter.
Seeing this happen relatively early in the year may be a plus. It will give the coaching staff an opportunity to concentrate on defining the best options on defense and really drill them. There are different ways to do it, and it is pretty much in every NBA team’s defense packages now. The next time the Cats face this situation, they should be able to respond more effectively.

 

[willycat]

CCC must have fallen asleep or he was talking to his girl friend on the phone in the second half. NU was on a run and had gotten within three, but at about 9 minutes they needed a time out to stay in it and CCC was absent.
Really bad in game coaching.

Ridiculous post!

 

[willycat]

Not only does Garza get the foul calls, but he also gets away with hooking the defender and shuffling his feet when he has the ball. NU was whistled for traveling at least three times last night, and yet Garza was out there dancing whenever he touched the ball.

Yep he hooks his defender just about every time he turns and goes to the hoop.

 

[willycat]

We also have to remember that this game was in Iowa City. It has traditionally been a very tough place for NU to play. I didn't think the turnovers were that close but maybe it was because they got so many points off them. IA did wat IA does. Lots of O rebounds (lead the league) and turnovers (lead the league) Remarkable we were as close to them in many categories as we were. Only outrebounded by 4 and 2 on the O end but the edge they had in FT hard to overcome

is it the state or the city that gives trouble? No fans and the floor is the same size and the basket same height, right? Remember Hoosiers!

 

[hdhntr1]

is it the state or the city that gives trouble? No fans and the floor is the same size and the basket same height, right? Remember Hoosiers!

Combination of things. Everything from likely having to travel (the same day or staying overnight for a weekday game?) to referee home team bias to familiarity with the court and baskets. It isn't any one thing. While you do not have to deal with the crowds, do still have to deal with everything else

 

[the24fan]

Hawk fan here . Just dropped by to say good game the other night. NW has a very good team and you will be a tough out every single time out. That being said, we’re happy JBO snapped out of his slump . He hit some big shots in the second half. And NW did a nice job slowing down Garza . Anyhow, great game.

 

[GatoLouco]

Hawk fan here . Just dropped by to say good game the other night. NW has a very good team and you will be a tough out every single time out. That being said, we’re happy JBO snapped out of his slump . He hit some big shots in the second half. And NW did a nice job slowing down Garza . Anyhow, great game.

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