I have to imagine when the season began that most of us figured we'd be 1-1 after these first two games. Of course, we all expected the opposite results. But, one could argue that if you took 1-1 as a given, then this was the best possible outcome. The loss to Merrimack was embarrassing for sure, but I have to think it taught our guys a lesson about the kind of effort it takes to compete at the college level and shamed them into working much harder. That showed last night for sure. The effort on defense was outstanding.
At the same time, the win over Providence gives them a boost of confidence unlike any other game we'll probably have until BIG play starts. If they play with that effort and that aggressiveness, they can compete. They also got the experience of withstanding an opponent's run and holding on to close the game. That is so valuable to learn how to finish. Not to start something here, but that was always a problem with Carmody's teams in the past which kept us from getting to the NCAAs sooner.
That all said, let's not kid ourselves. We are still not a very good team yet. I doubt Providence has another game this year where they shoot that poorly. I am willing to give NU credit for some of that due to their defensive effort, but some of that was just a lousy performance by Providence. Teams in the BIG may eat that zone alive with the corner 3 ball. It was open all night. But credit to Coach Collins... he knew the scouting report that Providence wasn't a very good 3-point shooting team and he designed a strategy to beat them. That zone was almost a 4-1 zone. While our guys, outside of Gaines, aren't very quick, they are long and I think that really disrupted the Providence passing lanes. It amazed me how ineffective Providence was at getting past that front line, because when they did, the blocks and corners were pretty wide open. But I imagine their guards just had a hard time seeing around our length. That's pretty cool!
At the same time, the win over Providence gives them a boost of confidence unlike any other game we'll probably have until BIG play starts. If they play with that effort and that aggressiveness, they can compete. They also got the experience of withstanding an opponent's run and holding on to close the game. That is so valuable to learn how to finish. Not to start something here, but that was always a problem with Carmody's teams in the past which kept us from getting to the NCAAs sooner.
That all said, let's not kid ourselves. We are still not a very good team yet. I doubt Providence has another game this year where they shoot that poorly. I am willing to give NU credit for some of that due to their defensive effort, but some of that was just a lousy performance by Providence. Teams in the BIG may eat that zone alive with the corner 3 ball. It was open all night. But credit to Coach Collins... he knew the scouting report that Providence wasn't a very good 3-point shooting team and he designed a strategy to beat them. That zone was almost a 4-1 zone. While our guys, outside of Gaines, aren't very quick, they are long and I think that really disrupted the Providence passing lanes. It amazed me how ineffective Providence was at getting past that front line, because when they did, the blocks and corners were pretty wide open. But I imagine their guards just had a hard time seeing around our length. That's pretty cool!
