Just Like Football
- Thread starter NJCat83588
- Start date
Not quite. This team scrapped and fought to the end. Maryland hit 4 (I think) last second 3's in the 2nd half which always kept us from arm's length to get back in it. I think had we cut the lead to single digits we could've had a chance. Awful 3 point shooting and incredibly indecisive play in the first half on offense did us in. Better days ahead though, I still love this team.
Let's not forget, the 'Cats were missing 2 of its starters - Law and Olah.
Take away Sulaimon and Stone and the Terps are a different team.
The hardcourt 'Cats are in better shape to take the next step forward (if Rap is as good as advertised, thinking more and more that Law will see more time at the 2).
Take away Sulaimon and Stone and the Terps are a different team.
The hardcourt 'Cats are in better shape to take the next step forward (if Rap is as good as advertised, thinking more and more that Law will see more time at the 2).
Maryland came to play after surviving a close one at home to Penn State. They have 3-5 NBA draft picks on their team. Diamond Stone was a top 5-10 high school player in the nation last season and is projected by draftexpress.com to be the no. 17 or 18 pick in the draft, Melo Trimble is projected to be drafted in the early 20s and for some reason unknown to me they have Jake Layman as no. 38. I think Carter and Sulaimon had the potential to be second round draft picks which means Maryland has the most talented Big 10 squad in the league. This is where Vic Law's athleticism and Olah's size is sorely missed. Sulaimon's perimeter defense on Demps caused a number of quick shots.
Positives: the crowd was electric in the second half particularly with the JVZ monster block and McIntosh layup, Falzon showed the ability to drive when his shot was not there and Pardon showed great hands on rebounds and blocked and altered some shots and was wide open on the pick and roll numerous times but McIntosh and more so Demps was not able to find him. He looks like a gem and will be for years to come.
On another note, the Tribune commended Barrett Benson who played great (20+ and 10+ rebs in the York Holiday Invitational). He is having a great senior season and appears to be in the running for first team All-State and maybe (more of a stretch) Illinois High School Player of the Year.
Positives: the crowd was electric in the second half particularly with the JVZ monster block and McIntosh layup, Falzon showed the ability to drive when his shot was not there and Pardon showed great hands on rebounds and blocked and altered some shots and was wide open on the pick and roll numerous times but McIntosh and more so Demps was not able to find him. He looks like a gem and will be for years to come.
On another note, the Tribune commended Barrett Benson who played great (20+ and 10+ rebs in the York Holiday Invitational). He is having a great senior season and appears to be in the running for first team All-State and maybe (more of a stretch) Illinois High School Player of the Year.
Northwestern has a pathetic basketball history and is clearly making progress. We played a top five team that has several veteran players and a couple of talented transfers from ACC schools. I really don't see a lot negative to take away from this game. We'll see how the season goes. From watching Purdue and Iowa last night, I can say with confidence that neither of those will be easy games.
we only play purdue iowa and maryland once i think. So if that is any consolation. Our guards need to get comfortable with Pardon. And demps needs to be taken out to the woodsheed by collins unless he tells demps not to pass. Demps knows better. He could have had a dozen assists and should have recognized they kept shifting his way to take him out of the game but he still forced those shots.
Have we been watching the same basketball team? Notwithstanding yesterday's game, Northwestern's strength has been its offensive efficiency, while its defense has been a weak point. As others have stated, our woeful 3 point shooting is mostly to blame for yesterday's result, which I think is clearly an outlier in the season so far. Moreover, kenpom's advanced stats, which rated Northwestern's offense near the top 20 before the MD game, bear this out. I suppose it's possible B1G play could see a reversal of this trend, but I think that's highly unlikely.
I was referring to Saturday's game. The offense was bad last night. MD played lights out.
I like Law at the 2. He's a huge matchup problem there. But he has to have free reign to crash the boards on offense. Somebody will have to rotate back for him. He is a good outside player. But he's a better inside/outside player, so I don't want half his game lost due to coaching decisions. Then it really would be like football where we are fielding half a team.
