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Game Thread: Northwestern vs. UIC

mshelton33

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Jun 16, 2021
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Northwestern (1-1) hosts UIC (2-0) tonight at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The game tips off at 6 pm and will air on BTN.
 
Nice defensive play by Windham to prevent what might have been an easy basket.

Cats getting good shots, but they aren't all falling yet.
 
Where's Berry? I Can't watch the game because I'm in Mexico. All I can see is the live updates.
 
Great pass from KJ to Nicholson for a dunk. Nicholson doesn't always catch those, but good vision from Windham.
 
Man do we find ways to always screw up fast breaks…
That fast break had everything we could want...except for the basket. Loved Nick's little spin at the beginning which opened up so much space to get down the court. Nicholson should have gone stronger though on the dunk.
 
UIC up 15-8 on the boards, but also 6-1 on turnovers. As a result, NU has taken 18 shots to UIC's 16.
 
Being out rebounded by a smaller team, being outshot and turning the ball over excessively not a recipe for success. This team is a lot of work to compete in the Big 10
I agree, but only two turnovers in the half is pretty good. The rest: blech.

Happy to see Windham swish those free throws. He's not shooting well tonight, but maybe that'll get him going.
 
Key half-time stats:

NU 11-for-30 from the field (37%)
Rebounds: UIC 21, NU 16
Turnovers: UIC 10, NU 2
Leach in foul trouble with 3 (and Martinelli with 2). Offense stagnated with neither on the court.
Martinelli missed all three of his free-throw attempts and one easy layup. When the shots were harder, they fell (he has a team-high nine).
 
These 6pm weekday start times are rough on a fan, I gotta say.

Caught the last four minutes of the half. 3s come and go, but we need to hit the close ones.
 
2 pt. lead at the half. With Leach and Martenelli on the bench for the last 4:30 the guys hung in there and did alright. Now let's make our layups and free throws and go from there.
 
Good news is defense is good.

Bad news is offense is bad.
Where does the offense come from? Martinelli has been it this year. Jello looks like he can score if needed, but if Windham, Leach, Berry, Hunger (3-for-16 combined) can't get points when they're on the floor, there isn't much.

I wonder what Windham is thinking right now. He's 0-for-5, but he has three assists and Collins' confidence. How much longer will he have Collins' confidence if he throws up bad shots in the second half? Not sure, but NU needs the offense from somewhere, and Windham has so much to give.
 
Nice start to the second half for Leach. Definitely being more involved offensively. Yes, a silly turnover, but he's made a couple of good shots and almost made a third when he was fouled.
 
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Where does the offense come from? Martinelli has been it this year. Jello looks like he can score if needed, but if Windham, Leach, Berry, Hunger (3-for-16 combined) can't get points when they're on the floor, there isn't much.

I wonder what Windham is thinking right now. He's 0-for-5, but he has three assists and Collins' confidence. How much longer will he have Collins' confidence if he throws up bad shots in the second half? Not sure, but NU needs the offense from somewhere, and Windham has so much to give.
Poor shooting from our guards is definitely a major issue so far
 
Play of the night: Martinelli's bullet pass to Berry for three. That's what we came to see!
 
Great defensive move creates opportunity for dumb turnover.

Great defense creates opportunity for bad shot.

Great defense creates opportunity for dumb turnover.

Good golly.

Cats are playing much better this half, but they’re also killing me.
 
If we can get Barnhizer back with Martinelli, Leach and Berry, we’ve got a great scoring nucleus that others can complement.
 
Poor shooting from our guards is definitely a major issue so far
Yep. But at least Leach is starting to feel it. NU 8-for-14 from the field in the second half. A few wide-open threes keeping UIC in the game. Otherwise, the defense has been stifling!
 
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Where does the offense come from? Martinelli has been it this year. Jello looks like he can score if needed, but if Windham, Leach, Berry, Hunger (3-for-16 combined) can't get points when they're on the floor, there isn't much.

I wonder what Windham is thinking right now. He's 0-for-5, but he has three assists and Collins' confidence. How much longer will he have Collins' confidence if he throws up bad shots in the second half? Not sure, but NU needs the offense from somewhere, and Windham has so much to give.
Barnhizer should help. We will be very dependent on having both Brooks and Nick available. Hoping Leach figures it out and is the third leg of the tripod. Berry will never be a creator.

The less threats the easier for the defense to close out on Berry, to make KJ rush his shots, etc.
 
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