Good night Cat fans. Happy Thanksgiving all!
Game Thread: Northwestern vs. Liberty
- Thread starter mshelton33
- Start date
Audige and Berry were phenomenal. Barnhizer was a good stabilizer. It took a while to figure out what to do on defense but once they did they locked it down completely.
Getting a shot at Auburn is a great measuring stick and a better opportunity. Lose and no one pays mind, especially if it’s relatively close. Win and we’ll get a big ol’ dose of turkey hopium.
Last game we won because of Boo.Tonight we won because of Berry and Audige.Ty is turning into a good all around ball player and Chase is one of the top defenders in the Big and if he can play under control with his offense he is a helluva player.
We will see what we have tomorrow night as Auburn ranks right up there with some of the top teams in the Big.Good opportunity for a big win for the guys tomorrow night.
We will see what we have tomorrow night as Auburn ranks right up there with some of the top teams in the Big.Good opportunity for a big win for the guys tomorrow night.
What a DUB! Extremely satisfying second half. Everyone seemed involved. Liberty couldn't get anything in the paint. Stay competitive with Auburn and we've got ourselves an interesting season ahead.
Audige showed tonight why he is a big time player. Great defense and offense to go with it. He made some nice passes in addition to racking up 20 points. I predict Boo comes back strong tomorrow night. The guy doesn't lack for confidence. We'll need both he and Auduige at the top of their games to even keep it close with Auburn. The good news...Pressure is off after winning this one. Go out and have soime fun. No one expects you to win.
I agree with all the above but let’s include the big men. We got 10 points and 10 rebounds in total from the two of them. I’ll take that any night especially when you take into consideration how these two guys clog up the middle. Now for a lesson or a session in free throw shooting for Nicholson.
Liberty is a top 100 team in both KenPom and Barttorvik and while the Cats were favored in both, it was listed as close to a toss up.
Defensively, we’ve held opponents to a low 30% shooting across 5 games. Double digit steals tonight too. This is a solid squad. Tomorrow will be a real test.
Defensively, we’ve held opponents to a low 30% shooting across 5 games. Double digit steals tonight too. This is a solid squad. Tomorrow will be a real test.
With Roper unavailable, Coach Collins was reduced to a 7 man rotation.
The musical chairs (of substitutions) slowed down and Berry and Audige re-established their strong chemistry from last season, without constant lineup changes to mess things up.
I don't think its an accident that Berry, who played long, uninterrupted stretches tonight, had his best game in a long time.
I think the negative yapyap on this thread was classic. It made me laugh, reading it after the game had been won, because it was so vicious and so wrong. Credit to Collins for telling the team to get the ball inside and take it to the rim against our smaller opponent. Audige, in particular, responded. We attempted 34 shots inside the arc and only 17 outside. Halllelujah!!!! Nicholson played well again, after a slow start, but has to improve his free throw shooting. He draws a lot of fouls when he gets the ball. Barnhizer was very active, especially defensively and is proving his supporters right.
The musical chairs (of substitutions) slowed down and Berry and Audige re-established their strong chemistry from last season, without constant lineup changes to mess things up.
I don't think its an accident that Berry, who played long, uninterrupted stretches tonight, had his best game in a long time.
I think the negative yapyap on this thread was classic. It made me laugh, reading it after the game had been won, because it was so vicious and so wrong. Credit to Collins for telling the team to get the ball inside and take it to the rim against our smaller opponent. Audige, in particular, responded. We attempted 34 shots inside the arc and only 17 outside. Halllelujah!!!! Nicholson played well again, after a slow start, but has to improve his free throw shooting. He draws a lot of fouls when he gets the ball. Barnhizer was very active, especially defensively and is proving his supporters right.
We were talking about Boo 3 years ago versus now, not his performance tonight.
We won by double digits in a game that we were one player down, against a decent team. What more do you want?
Barnhizer plays real good defense. He collected four steals today not by reaching or slapping, but by being in position and moving his feet.
He led the most successful NU break in at last three years but taking it coast-to-coast himself after one of them. His handle is a little loose.
He led the most successful NU break in at last three years but taking it coast-to-coast himself after one of them. His handle is a little loose.
The difference between what people were posting in page one of this thread and now here on page three is amusing.
That's not a knock. I'm a fan too and my emotions and expectations do the exact same thing!
GO CATS! Keep on truckin' babe!
That's not a knock. I'm a fan too and my emotions and expectations do the exact same thing!
GO CATS! Keep on truckin' babe!
This whole board is simply discusting. Knee jerk comments that are 95% negative ..probably from people who never played the game since biddy basketball. Our coach and players work very hard to compete the best they can. There is no reason for personal attacks on any player. I fail to see any lack of effort by the team. The players feel worse for a bad game... why rub it in? Do you raise your children the same way? Do you degrade your childrs because they played bad or do you encourage them to do better?...and don't give me all the crap about a scholarship player should so great. It just does not work that way. I always hope the players never read this board but I am sure they do. I am sure they get an earful from the coaches ...maybe not on screen...for the mental mistakes made....there is no reason a player should get slammed on this board...especially by posters who never played at a high level....support do not bash
The funny thing is the team played pretty well. All the crap seemed to be directed to Boo. Pretty obvious he had a terrible game, but that happens and IMO if he doesn’t play well we don’t beat any Good teams. I didn’t notice any lack of effort or silly strategy by CCC. I found it best to avoid the game thread as much as possible. You are correct that people that played at a higher level typically bring a more objective analysis.
I was listening via WGN and Dave was mentioning Barnhizer a lot. It sounds like he had a big role in the game. With Roper out, my guess is that BB will take a lot of those minutes.
I'm perfectly happy with the game. But he's a 4 year starter, captain and we will live and die with his performance. He made one from the field, a banked 3 pointer. 3 PFs, 3 TOs, one lucky basket. No excuse for a game like this. Pretty sure "Boo three years ago" was better than that
So Collins / lack of development is to blame for this bad game by Boo? No chance. Everyone has bad games. And Boo has more than his share because he is not an elite, all-conference player like his half brother.
There have been times when I've been the head Boo cheerleader here. And I don't blame anyone who wants to tear apart his game yesterday. He was pretty awful.
I'd have no problem with the criticism if people were jumping up and down for the 50% he shot from the field and the 50%+ he shot from three against UPFW. Well, maybe not jumping up and down. It was UPFW, after all. But that was a pretty damn good performance.
We should know by now this is what you get with Buie - all or nothing. He's an imperfect player on a horribly imperfect team. There's several problems with his game, but I also try to consider him in the context of a good team. He's one of maybe two guys on this team I could see as a good piece on a strong team.
There's a couple guys on this team who I believe easily deserve FAR more criticism than Buie and they are nowhere to be found in the b*tch session above. They walk between the raindrops.
Lastly, I agree that part of the Boo problem is how he's been coached. It's part of the Boo problem. It's part of the Audige issue and part of the Berry dilemma. These guys are just given free reign to chuck it no matter how they're playing, their tendancies or the game situation. And it's obvious there are few consequences for poor decisions. For me, undisciplined shot selection is easily one of the top three long-term issues of why this program is where it is. It's not just a Buie thing.
I'd have no problem with the criticism if people were jumping up and down for the 50% he shot from the field and the 50%+ he shot from three against UPFW. Well, maybe not jumping up and down. It was UPFW, after all. But that was a pretty damn good performance.
We should know by now this is what you get with Buie - all or nothing. He's an imperfect player on a horribly imperfect team. There's several problems with his game, but I also try to consider him in the context of a good team. He's one of maybe two guys on this team I could see as a good piece on a strong team.
There's a couple guys on this team who I believe easily deserve FAR more criticism than Buie and they are nowhere to be found in the b*tch session above. They walk between the raindrops.
Lastly, I agree that part of the Boo problem is how he's been coached. It's part of the Boo problem. It's part of the Audige issue and part of the Berry dilemma. These guys are just given free reign to chuck it no matter how they're playing, their tendancies or the game situation. And it's obvious there are few consequences for poor decisions. For me, undisciplined shot selection is easily one of the top three long-term issues of why this program is where it is. It's not just a Buie thing.
Buie wants to be the man. So does Audige, but not to the same extent. Buie was at his best last year when teamed with Nance, Greer and Berry. Two of those guys are gone. Audige was at his best when paired with Berry specifically.
Net result, Audige appears to be getting his teammates involved more, whereas Buie seems to be trying to do more himself. But its still early.
Yeah, I think we might see the Hack a Matt before the end of the season.
I didn't see the game, I was watching the other NU basketball team roflstomp Niagara. But I've read the thread and what I see in the complaints is that we all know what both Boo and Chase are capable of on the court, and so we go into games with high expectations. We are more emotionally vested in their performance and their results than most of the other players. You complain about what you care about, after all.
Hopefully we'll get the same way about Ty and Brooks over the course of this year as they turn into the team's future leaders/stars.
On another note, one of the big things a team needs to keep winning is big contributions from multiple players. So, say, when a guy like Boo has a dumpster fire night, other guys can step up and carry the team to victory. I recognize the competition hasn't been great so far, but we have seen that from this team this year.
Sometimes it's Boo, sometimes it's Chase, sometimes it's Ty, sometimes it's Robbie, and sometimes it's the bench crew. That's a good sign to me. Of course, We'll see how it goes tonight against a theoretically superior opponent.
Hopefully we'll get the same way about Ty and Brooks over the course of this year as they turn into the team's future leaders/stars.
On another note, one of the big things a team needs to keep winning is big contributions from multiple players. So, say, when a guy like Boo has a dumpster fire night, other guys can step up and carry the team to victory. I recognize the competition hasn't been great so far, but we have seen that from this team this year.
Sometimes it's Boo, sometimes it's Chase, sometimes it's Ty, sometimes it's Robbie, and sometimes it's the bench crew. That's a good sign to me. Of course, We'll see how it goes tonight against a theoretically superior opponent.
The problem I have with Boo and what I found so frustrating last night is that I still feel like the offense doesn't run smoothly through him after all these years. Boo clearly has some skills. He handles the ball pretty well and has some quickness with the ball in his hands. He's also pretty fearless which is so important in basketball and often missing from NU players. (For example, I'd argue that Robbie Beran is our most talented player and could be a star if he had Buie's fearlessness.) But I feel that Buie doesn't utilize his gifts in a way that would make us consistently successful.
Buie has his moments where he is a star such as that PFW game the other night. But there was something about that performance that still was concerning. Buie was the star and had a big night, but it mostly involved him just going 1-on-5 and playing hero ball. The shots were falling, so that made for a big night, but that kind of game doesn't work well most nights and against better competition unless you're LeBron James or someone like that.
Last night, it was so obvious how much better the offense ran when Boo was on the bench. The ball was moving around. Guys were cutting and making great passes, leading to balanced scoring. You just wouldn't expect that to be the case for a senior point guard who has played a lot over 4 years. I don't see much improvement in that area with him. Even Audige, who many also criticize around here, appears to have developed more. He seemed to run the offense really well last night. He took a few cringe-worthy shots, but not nearly as many as he used to. Instead, I am seeing signs of Audige realizing he can create for other people and not just himself. I don't see Buie doing that. Audige had a great play last night where he drove by his guy and down the right side of the lane causing the D to collapse. Audige rose up and whipped a perfect pass across the court to a wide open Berry in the opposite corner who sank the 3. That was a big-time play and the kind of thing that Audige and Buie should be able to do a lot with their skills. The next time I see Buie make a play like that may be the first.
I also don't see how a guard's coach like Chris Collins hasn't developed that in him, but that's for another thread.
The best was someone saying how unskilled the team is and then questioning whether the players work hard enough to develop. From 5 minutes of basketball it was concluded that our guys don't have enough passion and work ethic to develop their skills. Some people just have to vent and share their feelings in order to make themselves feel better. No matter how irrational they are.
I'm not sure you are disagreeing with my thesis. I agree that Boo is maddeningly inconsistent.
I also agree, btw, that if Robbie played more fearlessly he would be more effective and open things up for the rest of the team on offense.
I want to point out that (small sample size so far) even after last night's terrible game, Boo is shooting 42% from three and averaging 4.6 assists per game. That leaves him at #2 in both categories, while currently being our top scorer - which goes to the hero ball problem you mentioned. The real problem, from my pov, is that he leads the team in turn overs, which is not what I want from my point guard. He and Chase account for about 50% of the total team turn overs, and that's just not good.
I think it’s pretty normal for your primary ball handlers to lead the team in turnovers.
McIntosh averaged 2.7 TO/g in 2017; next highest on the roster was Vic at 1.6.
Mc was also highest on a per-40 basis, at 3.1, followed by Brown (3.0), Skelly (3.0), and Vic (1.9).
The raw turnover numbers are pretty gross to this point, with Boo (4.6), Chase (4.2) and Nicholson (3.6) all higher than Mc’s number on a per-40.
Buie has regressed in turnover rate this year. 22.3% in '22 compared to 13.7% in '21. I think some of it has to do with feeling like he has to put the team on his back which I hope he realizes he has contributors this year who can shoulder the load.
Yeah, it isn't the leading the team part so much as the by just how many part along with the overall big numbers of turn overs.
Boo made a great pass to Verhoven in the PFW game and he blew the layup, so maybe that's part of the problem..
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