That was a total TEAM win. They moved the ball and had balanced scoring. Barney and Matt a big part, didn’t rely on Boo and Chase to carry the load. No one-on-one iso plays. This is the formula for making a run in the NCAA tourney.
Team Win
- Thread starter The Purple Knight
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And I assume you're including the coaches in the "team win" description, because I thought Collins and company were fantastic tonight. Maybe Boo shouldn't have sat for as long as he did, but you can't fault much else tonight.
Even the offense, as bad as it seemed in the first half, wasn't THAT bad, and considering all the offensive rebounds NU pulled down, the second-chance points helped immensely.
Even the offense, as bad as it seemed in the first half, wasn't THAT bad, and considering all the offensive rebounds NU pulled down, the second-chance points helped immensely.
Agreed. Best thing they did was abandon the iso plays in favor of moving the ball and sharing the scoring.
I was quite concerned of seeing Buie on the bench and RU going on a full court press. But they did not do it. Maybe just not enough of a rotation to trust that they can physically handle it.
Cannot like this comment enough!
Buie in the post game interview (on-court) said that he was having a hard time getting loose in the first half, that they were doubling him, but in the 2nd half he got some good screens and the Rutgers guys were tired and a little bit slower. They had to be tired (4 starters played 34 minutes +) but the refs were letting Nicholson get away with a little extra tonight on almost every screen!
They did at times - and had success with it when Boo was on the bench at the end of the first half. They tried it a couple times during the 2H but (i) we have a lot of capable ball-handlers and passers now, (ii) Pikiell had to be cognizant of trying to preserve his team's legs, and (iii) we've evolved to now when we beat the press and we have numbers we sometimes attack and we got a few easy buckets. Those factors made the risk/reward more balanced for them pressing, even with Boo out.
They pressed very aggressively toward the end. Forced one turnover off a trap, and got another when we failed to exit the backcourt after getting a defensive rebound. But all in all the press break wasn't a disaster, IMO the bigger problem was the missed FTs. Hopefully we can clean that up going forward. And thankfully our defense just kept getting stops so they weren't really able to make any progress despite our missed FTs and 1-2 turnovers.
Re: breaking the press. My choice for play of the game was when it was 43-34 (I think) and Buie was struggling in the backcourt, but he passed the ball, we ran down the court, and got an easy Nicholbomb. After that, not sure Rutgers ever got within nine again.
And once they trapped Buie and we got away with a shove. Leading to a Nicholbomb on the other end of the court. I felt the ground shaking all the way in Indiana.
Huge win and an away game. I know they're missing a starter and he would have made the game closer, but this looks like a pretty decisive W for NU. Which NU really needed. After proving they can play with anybody, they proved they can also lose to anybody. NU needed to show they know how to win again to get some momentum back. Post season awaits.
Congrats to every NU fan who found a way to see this live. Script-like for NU. Sewed up #2 in the conference. A double bye in the conference tournament. And they're surely going to be a middle seed in the tournament. Whatta moment.
Will CCC have any trouble motivating the CATS to beat PSU or Ill? NU fans will likely travel far and pay what it takes to watch that game.
Congrats to every NU fan who found a way to see this live. Script-like for NU. Sewed up #2 in the conference. A double bye in the conference tournament. And they're surely going to be a middle seed in the tournament. Whatta moment.
Will CCC have any trouble motivating the CATS to beat PSU or Ill? NU fans will likely travel far and pay what it takes to watch that game.
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