Game Thread: Northwestern vs. Prairie View A&M
- Thread starter mshelton33
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Not really, the favorite targets are Boo and Chase in that order. Why is it? It’s likely because people see the flashes of what we can be when Boo, Chase and Big Matt play like they can. Verhoeven is a filler, but you can’t play Big Matt when he isn’t rolling. Look at the difference on how he performed second half compared to first half.
It’s really too bad this team struggles so bad offensively because the defense is really good. Lowery has made an impact. Now if he only had a counterpart on offense.
The first game after exams is always tough. Got the W and move on.
Our defense will keep us in a lot of games. Our offense will also keep us in a lot of games.
We are now #1 in the country 2 Pt FG defense on KenPom. This squad blocks more shots and makes more steals than any NU squad I’ve ever seen.
OTOH, we are 340 out of 350 in offensive 2 Pt FGs.
Curious to see how this season pans out.
OTOH, we are 340 out of 350 in offensive 2 Pt FGs.
Curious to see how this season pans out.
And he is a HUGE human being. You can tell he's putting in the work at least in the weight room. And his FT shooting. Now get him some post moves, and he could be a good player for us.
Some folks on here just come out criticizing anybody on the team as soon as they make a mistake or a bad play.
(Not saying you do that PPD, just to be clear, because you don't) Its rather remarkable how quickly the attacks begin every game. Guy misses an open three and right away "He sucks." Audige threw a pass to Beran from ten feet away today and it hit Beran in the side of the head. Stuff happens. Sometimes its even funny.
We won. Our defensive intensity picked up late in the game and we took control.
Oh, and I'm not sure anybody noticed, but did Collins start Nicholson instead of Verhoeven coming out of halftime? Collins rarely (if ever?) comes out of the half with a different lineup than the one that starts the game.
PVAM scored 4 points over the final 10:25. Granted they are not a great shooting team, but it's not like they were missing tons of open looks. The defense at the critical moment was stellar, and allowed us a relatively easy win in a game that hung in the balance.
Big Matt was a force inside on defense. He also got out a few times and altered outside shots. He moves pretty well for a giant white guy.
And kudos to Chase, Berry and Boo for making some key shots over the final 10 minutes. We closed the game with a 19-4 run.
Not pretty, but we won a game where our shooting was abysmal for the better part of 33 minutes.
Big Matt was a force inside on defense. He also got out a few times and altered outside shots. He moves pretty well for a giant white guy.
And kudos to Chase, Berry and Boo for making some key shots over the final 10 minutes. We closed the game with a 19-4 run.
Not pretty, but we won a game where our shooting was abysmal for the better part of 33 minutes.
Yes, Nicholson started the second half. Collins mentioned on post-game that some guys were struggling with health issues coming out of exams. I have a hunch VerHoeven is one. He seemed sluggish all game.
When we went to the rim, we scored and/or got really clean looks from 3.
When we didn’t, it was all aboard the chuckwagon.
We beat Michigan State using the first strategy.
We lost to other teams using the second.
This shouldn’t be that hard. And tip of the hat to Robbie Beran, who put up mondo numbers at a time when literally no one else could score and kept it going throughout. Got beat on a couple box outs here and there but he gets the game ball today.
When we didn’t, it was all aboard the chuckwagon.
We beat Michigan State using the first strategy.
We lost to other teams using the second.
This shouldn’t be that hard. And tip of the hat to Robbie Beran, who put up mondo numbers at a time when literally no one else could score and kept it going throughout. Got beat on a couple box outs here and there but he gets the game ball today.
Kudos to Nicholson for improving his free throw shooting, Very important in today's game and it allows Collins to keep him in there late in close games. Big Matt's improvement will be key for this team because he gives it a much needed inside presence. He still needs to work on his game but he has good energy.
Right.
“Hey guys, get to the MF’ing free throw line!”
A lot of improvement and as others have said he moves surprisingly well. He needs a baby hook and a drop step and a couple other basic moves on offense. If he had the offensive moves of Young he’d be very formidable. It can happen if he works on it.
I agree. Every player will have bad games. I have been impressed with the teams effort all season. I still believe we will struggle to get B1G wins, but the players don’t deserve to get hammered after every bad play.
I assume that was the case. VerHoeven played 12 minutes, with only a missed shot, a turnover and a foul for his box score. Beran and Buie each played 38 minutes.
I'm going to hope Roper wasn't feeling too great either.
The main reason we won is that we went to the free throw line more. Hard to believe based on many of the observations made during the game. This has to do with our tenacious and relentless defense and our intention and (decent, not great) ability to penetrate on offense, more so in the second half. With a limited bench, this really speaks to the effort of the players and the confidence the coaches have instilled in them.
I guess it’s pretty easy to watch the game and not see underlying trends. I just wish more in-game posters would hesitate before offering blatantly incorrect observations and negative statements about coaches and players.
I guess it’s pretty easy to watch the game and not see underlying trends. I just wish more in-game posters would hesitate before offering blatantly incorrect observations and negative statements about coaches and players.
Matt had the ball with time to score and clearly took the extra second to gather himself / try to take the defenders before he went for the dunk. It worked and the dunk went in, he just missed the shot clock part.
Agreed. Matt is plenty strong enough now but if he can improve his hands and work on being more fluid around the basket for next year, I think he can be a consistent scorer against most of our opponents. He is in position for a lot more offensive rebounds but they often bounce off his hands. And even at his size, scoring around the basket is still too much of an adventure. Improved free throw shooting today was really encouraging, though. That will be critical for him to stay on the floor later in the game. And he's generally a force defensively around the rim.
It will be interesting to see when teams go small against us if he can develop into a consistent scorer down loan and force them to go bigger or if they will force us to go with a smaller lineup defensively.
“God dammit, Matt,” loud enough to hear clearly from the second deck after a missed box out led to PV second-chance points.
And then Matt responded with 10 boards. Good player. More development to happen, but good player.
Verhoeven had a splint on his thumb today. Not sure if new but may have hampered him.
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