Minutes

[EagerFan]

I'm more than a bit concerned about our serious lack of bench minutes. Martinelli had 20 and Preston had 8, Clayton had 3 (all at the end of the first half I think) and....that's it.

Brooks played 44 minutes tonight.

I hope the guys get some serious rest and recuperation in before their next game on Saturday. I guess at least it's an evening game, so it's almost like two and a half days before it starts.

 

[Catreporter]

I wonder if Roper is having second thoughts since he is coming off the bench for a bad Notre Dame team just like he would have been for this exciting team. He would have helped spell Barnhiser.

 

[phatcat]

I wonder if Roper is having second thoughts since he is coming off the bench for a bad Notre Dame team just like he would have been for this exciting team. He would have helped spell Barnhiser.

Agree but I can't blame a kid for wanting to play. When he decided, I think Chase's status was still cloudy

 

[Zootcat]

I'm more than a bit concerned about our serious lack of bench minutes. Martinelli had 20 and Preston had 8, Clayton had 3 (all at the end of the first half I think) and....that's it.

Brooks played 44 minutes tonight.

I hope the guys get some serious rest and recuperation in before their next game on Saturday. I guess at least it's an evening game, so it's almost like two and a half days before it starts.

Yeah, I think the potential is there for a letdown. But, I think this is an opportunity for the senior leaders to prevent it. They’ve mostly done a good job of that this year.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I'm more than a bit concerned about our serious lack of bench minutes. Martinelli had 20 and Preston had 8, Clayton had 3 (all at the end of the first half I think) and....that's it.

Brooks played 44 minutes tonight.

I hope the guys get some serious rest and recuperation in before their next game on Saturday. I guess at least it's an evening game, so it's almost like two and a half days before it starts.

Undie did the same exact thing and only played 7 guys. It sure seemed to me that the e Undies were the team that was gassed at the end.

 

[GatoLouco]

Our minutes only become a concern if we have an injury. As of now, it's fine.

Want to feel better about it, check the box scores of other games around the league. And you will see a lot of similar situations.

 

[Zootcat]

I just checked on OSU’s last game. It was Tuesday night, so they’ll have an extra day of rest. And none of their players played more than 34 minutes. It may not make a difference, but I’m an NU fan……and I worry….😁

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I just checked on OSU’s last game. It was Tuesday night, so they’ll have an extra day of rest. And none of their players played more than 34 minutes. It may not make a difference, but I’m an NU fan……and I worry….😁

I try not to be that always worried Cats fan, but the OSU game has trap written all over it.

 

[Smolmania]

When i hear concerns about minutes, I think back to Coach McKay at USC, when asked why he was having Ricky Bell carry the ball 35 or 40 times per game. His response? "Why not, it's not heavy?" Collins called Barnhizer a gym rat last night and that appears to be correct. He'll be in the gym today putting up shots, getting in the work. This isn't the same old Northwestern basketball team...

 

[phatcat]

I try not to be that always worried Cats fan, but the OSU game has trap written all over it.

Cats must win home games, especially against mediocre to poor teams. Look at the home records of the rest of the league, except Mich. Rutgers, for instance, is 💩 this year but 9-1 at home.

It will be hard to steal more than one or two away games.

 

[DaCat]

I'm more than a bit concerned about our serious lack of bench minutes. Martinelli had 20 and Preston had 8, Clayton had 3 (all at the end of the first half I think) and....that's it.

Brooks played 44 minutes tonight.

I hope the guys get some serious rest and recuperation in before their next game on Saturday. I guess at least it's an evening game, so it's almost like two and a half days before it starts.

Collins was asked about it directly in the post-Illini conference. He basically said the guys are conditioned to play the whole game and no one ever wants to come out. Elite athletes in great condition and with great nutrition programs can recover pretty quickly. But I agree, it’s a long grind and how Collins keeps mindful of the minutes.

 

[SmellyCat]

Two days of rest is probably more than enough rest for elite athletes who are already well-conditioned in the middle of the season. It's when they play two days in a row, like when they played Mississippi State or in the BTT that I worry about how much they play in the first game.

 

[phatcat]

Collins was asked about it directly in the post-Illini conference. He basically said the guys are conditioned to play the whole game and no one ever wants to come out. Elite athletes in great condition and with great nutrition programs can recover pretty quickly. But I agree, it’s a long grind and how Collins keeps mindful of the minutes.

Using Wisconsin game as an example, they looked like they had tired legs. Didn't watch Neb but their 2pt and FT shooting was pretty bad.

"Saturday after a Wednesday night"

 

[GatoLouco]

I just checked on OSU’s last game. It was Tuesday night, so they’ll have an extra day of rest. And none of their players played more than 34 minutes. It may not make a difference, but I’m an NU fan……and I worry….😁

Counter argument to that is to point out they also lost the game. They even lost at abysmal Michigan. Weird to see us at 71% favorites according to the ESPN prognosticator.

 

[clarificationcat]

Two days of rest is probably more than enough rest for elite athletes who are already well-conditioned in the middle of the season. It's when they play two days in a row, like when they played Mississippi State or in the BTT that I worry about how much they play in the first game.

Agreed. Although, Boo, in particular, expends so much energy on both ends that I do worry about tired legs in the last few minutes. I think the home crowd can make a huge difference at the end of games.

The BTT is a really stupid way to get ready for the NCAA tournament. That year that Iowa crushed us in the BTT they played 4 games in a row and then had to fly home on Sunday night and fly out again on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning to play on Thursday. Even NBA players don’t play 4 games in a row. I wasn’t that upset big picture when we lost to Penn State last year (although it still sucked).

 

[EagerFan]

Our minutes only become a concern if we have an injury. As of now, it's fine.

Want to feel better about it, check the box scores of other games around the league. And you will see a lot of similar situations.

I looked at #13 Wisconsin's last four games, they had 6 players for 43 minutes off the bench vs NU, 7 players for 50 minutes against PSU, 4 players for 41 minutes off the bench vs. Hoosiers, and 5 players for 41 minutes off the bench vs. Minny.

I looked at #2 Purdue's last four games, they had 9 players for 78 minutes off the bench vs PSU, 7 players for 52 minutes against Hoosiers, 4 players for 48 minutes off the bench vs. Iowa, and 9 players for 75 minutes off the bench vs. Mich.

Not to be too B1G,

I looked at #1 UConn's last four games, they had 3 players for 43 minutes off the bench vs Xavier, 4 players for 46 minutes against the Hoyas, 7 players for 45 minutes off the bench vs. Creighton, and 4 players for 54 minutes off the bench vs. Villanova.

I looked at #4 Houston's last four games, they had 4 players for 51 minutes off the bench vs TCU, 6 players for 58 minutes against the Red Raiders, 6 players for 74 minutes off the bench vs. UCF, and 4 players for 43 minutes off the bench vs. BYU.

Our Cats had 5 players for 69 minutes vs Wisconsin, which is solid even when you realize that Hunger started and only played 7 minutes vs. 23 from Matt off the bench.

We had 3 players for 48 minutes vs. Maryland , although again that was 8 minutes of Hunger at starter and 31 from Matt off the bench. so 48 really seems like 25.

We had 3 players for 46 minutes vs. Nebraska, again with Matt coming off the bench for 27 of those.

And then 3 players for 31 minutes last night, with the bulk of that being Martinelli at 20 minutes.

-----

Now, some of that is easily attributed to the other teams I listed (especially UConn) playing scrubs the last four games and I skipped the Tar Heels because, good grief easy schedule and so many bench players filling out the blowout minutes. But I'm not going to deep dive the league for the overall deets.

I believe in the team and their conditioning is excellent. I'm just concerned our lack of depth on the bench might costs us a few games in February that we should win going away.

I'll be thrilled to be completely wrong.

 

[Baz=Heisman]

Cats must win home games, especially against mediocre to poor teams. Look at the home records of the rest of the league, except Mich. Rutgers, for instance, is 💩 this year but 9-1 at home.

It will be hard to steal more than one or two away games.

OSU is a solid albeit not spectacular team. We need to beat them. Will not be easy though given their athleticism and size. We will need our A game no question. Let’s get it done!