MBB Game 8: Northwestern Wildcats @ LJVM: 9 pm ESPNU Tuesday

Wild runs at end of first half changed the game.

When we go on 13-0 run, and go up 32-20, that's when we need to really D up and keep them down 8-12 at half.

Instead of allowing their bigs to pop out and rain 3's.

BeachBumDeac said:

Yeah we pretty clearly hacked them right under the basket towards the end of regulation. Was very surprised it wasn’t called.

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Yup I was surprised as well.

Ball movement wasn't very good late in the game and we looked tired. With that said, glad we got the W.

Ball movement either looks incredible or nonexistent, nothing in between

saltydeac said:

This is Laravia and Alondes team with Williamson as their sidekick and contributions from others, but desperately need more quality mins from big men with rebounding and inside presence.

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I thought Walton played really well. His defense impressed me.

I expect more and better Marsh after the break. He needs the time to get better integrated into the team after missing so much time.

Ball State Deac said:

I thought Walton played really well. His defense impressed me.

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Yes, he hustled and had some good post up moves in the first half. Good back to the basket, patient, but did not quite finish.

His stats don't look great, but man, he is so important. Did have 2 blocks.

To me the problem with Walton shooting the late three was that it takes one more rebounder out of the paint. And rebounding is already a concern. Although he’s not a massive rebounder either.

Rebounding worries me, is what I’m trying to say.

post game comments entertaining
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hu2ksunc2k

pretty funny that manman is the only one that calls Jake "Larry Bird"

Looking back through the box score...

It is surprising to me that we were able to win with Williamson being mostly a non-factor. He needs to be a strong 3rd option on offense after Williams & LaRavia. The scoring balance we saw against the cupcakes has not shown up the last 3 games.

We only went 8 deep, even in an OT game. Sy has to play more than 13 minutes and he can't be a net negative when he's out there. Hildreth only playing 8 minutes and not doing much of anything is a concern... Expecting him to improve during the season, not fade away. The best thing to say about Whitt was that he ate up some minutes... I guess he also hit a couple of big shots, but even those were kind of forced. Need more than 7 points and 6 rebs from our bench.

Outrebounded 45-34... The difference was 100% on the offensive glass (14-3). Yikes.

I'm fine with taking a lot of 3s, but Mucius shouldn't lead the team with 7 attempts.

Walton playing 33 minutes is a concern. So is the fact that he only had 4 rebounds in those minutes.

Expecting us to get a bit of a wake up call against Virginia Tech this weekend, but then we get a few more cupcakes. Hopefully we'll use those games to make some adjustments and get Hildreth, Whitt, and Marsh some more important minutes.

WakeFanAdam said:

A win is a win. Take it and move on. The growth will continue. I still believe this team will finish top ten in the acc.

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There are 15 teams in the ACC.

Ball State Deac said:

I thought Walton played really well. His defense impressed me.

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Wow I’m genuinely perplexed by this. He’s soft with the ball, got bullied down low and offers very little in terms of post offense.

Sy just kinda had a mental meltdown last night. That wide open fast break opportunity he missed in the lane was just bizarre. Hopefully a one-off for him.

I saw the second half and OT, it was the first time I have watched us or any college basketball this season. Good Lord, college basketball is basically unwatchable at this point. Granted I watch a shitton of NBA, but I remember when college hoops was basically the "pure" version of the NBA and a comparable entertainment product. That was fucking horrendous. I kept watching for one reason only.

CreamyGoodness said:

I ty


I really wish I hadn't seen this

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Invision, huh?

Also should have mentioned from the box score that Buie was 4-11 (0-3) with 5 turnovers. That's a great job by the defense against a very good PG. He had 22 and 23 in his last 2 games (UGA & Providence).

Oh, and once again, we clear out half the floor when we post up. I understand clearing out the lane or whatever, but our guys go to the opposite side of the floor and barely move. Nobody ever rotates back in case somebody needs to pass back out of the post, which is usually needed. It's mindboggling. I mean, it's not like we have Tim Duncan in there where we can just clear out and watch in awe.

Ball State Deac said:

I thought Walton played really well. His defense impressed me.

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Williams has looked good all season. LaRavia looked promising and now is blossoming rapidly. Walton looked a little lost earlier, now looking good on defense. I look for his offense and rebounding to positively evolve.


Edited after checking box score.

LaRavia reminds me a lot of Domantas Sabonis, although I didn't realize until now that Sabonis is 6'11. But their games are similar. LaRavia a better shooter from range and a bit more mobile.

EatLeadCommie said:

Oh, and once again, we clear out half the floor when we post up. I understand clearing out the lane or whatever, but our guys go to the opposite side of the floor and barely move. Nobody ever rotates back in case somebody needs to pass back out of the post, which is usually needed. It's mindboggling. I mean, it's not like we have Tim Duncan in there where we can just clear out and watch in awe.

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I feel exactly the opposite. When we leave an offensive player on the same side with our bigs, particularly Dallas who is both slow to develop a shot and lanky/rangy when he does, it's way too easy for a defender to cheat down and get a hand in while still having time to return to contest a 3. When you rotate to through the help has too far to come. We got a great critical 3 from Daivien when his man tried to disrupt Walton on a post up coming from the top of the key and another from Alondes I think. Walton was 2nd in assists for us. We simply don't have a post guy that can operate quickly in traffic right now, if we don't clear out Walton gets it ripped like 50% of the time.

Really loved the Forbes presser after. Made a great point about how the timeout would have meant zone to close out regulation, 100% agree that Alondes against man is a better scenario, he just missed it.

I find some of the criticism odd here. Mucius went for 12/5/2 and only one Northwestern player outscored him. Clearly still finding his way on a team with actual talent but we'll take that every night from him. And Dallas had to play 33 minutes for us to even have chance in this one with Sy in meltdown mode. Not sure if folks are expecting him to turn into something he's not or just hate that 3 he took, but he hit some shots, got some blocks, was extremely disruptive all night on defense... Nance and Young average 30 a game combined, only had 20 despite Nance getting hot at the end.

Good win against a solid team. Critical to get this one before a really tough road game Saturday.

MichDeac25 said:

LaRavia reminds me a lot of Domantas Sabonis, although I didn't realize until now that Sabonis is 6'11. But their games are similar. LaRavia a better shooter from range and a bit more mobile.

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more similar to james johnson, imo.

put me in the pro-walton camp. his defense is good and if he's truly a ~35% 3-point shooter, i want him to continue jacking them up with confidence when open; thinking back i think NW was really sagging into the paint during the end of the game which impacted our ability to finish in the lane (but gave us some open 3s)