The Skip Report: Chicago State In Review

12/14/2015 10:45:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: Nick Brilowski

By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor

HERE IS A MEASURE of the 'Cats dominance in their Sunday night rout of Chicago State. Nathan Taphorn went in for Tre Demps with 6:23 remaining in that affair and now their five-on-the-floor were him and Aaron Falzon at forward, Jordan Ash and Scottie Lindsey at guard and Gavin Skelly at center. That quintet, which was absent any of its team's three leading scorers, would now push their lead from 38 to the 42 it was at game's end.

NOTABLE HERE is the absence of Joey van Zegeren, the fifth-year who normally spells Alex Olah. He is suffering from a stress-related injury to his right foot and so watched this one in street clothes and a walking boot. "We're very hopeful we'll have him back for the start of the Big Ten," Chris Collins would say of him.

THE 'CATS, quite obviously, won this one every-which-way, but if a key must be picked, it was their defense. Its emphasis, going in, was defending the three-point line and keeping the Cougars off the foul line, and later Collins would say, "I thought we did a good job on both." Here's why. Chicago State attempted only seven free throws (making four) and shot a truly miserable one-of-19 (5.3 percent) from distance.

WITH 8:16 REMAINING in the first half, the Cougars had 13 points and trailed by only three. But over the next 15 minutes they scored just four points, which left them down 29 with a little over 13 remaining. So it was no wonder that Collins would say, "What I loved tonight was our defense."

THE ONE NIT TO PICK on this night was the 'Cats first-half offense, which here showed the effects of coming off exam week and a seven-day layoff. "We were a little brain dead offensively in the first half just shaking off some rust," said Collins. "I didn't think we were in rhythm. I thought we settled for some quick threes without getting the ball into the heart of the defense either by hitting Alex or driving. I thought at halftime we regrouped and played a really good second half offensively."

HERE ARE THE FACTS that give flesh to Collins' words. The Wildcats' first four possessions ended with a pair of missed threes and a pair of turnovers. The 'Cats did not get Olah a touch until 16:11 and did not get a two-point field goal until he hit a layup at 14:18. The 'Cats launched nothing but threes through one stretch of 6:30 in this half (going two-of-nine), and ended it putting up far more threes (18) than twos (eight).

THE 'CATS FINISHED that half five-of-18 on their threes (27.8 percent) and up only 16. "We settled for way too many rushed threes when he (Olah) should have been touching the ball," Collins said a second time. "We've got to improve on that."

THEY DID IMPROVE their balance some in the second half, here taking a dozen twos and 18 threes. But, even more importantly, they improved their accuracy a lot, dropping nine-of-their-first-13 from distance (62.9 percent) and ending 10-of-18 overall (55.6 percent). "A big part of our game is the three-point line," said Collins. "That's the makeup of our team. That's not going to change. As long as they're the right threes, I'm OK with taking a lot of threes because I know we'll shoot a pretty good percentage."

DEMPS WOULD HIT half of his 10 three-point attempts and finish with 23 points, and Taphorn would hit half of his six and finish with 11. They were the only 'Cats in double figures, but nine of them would get at least one field goal. This is notable as a manifestation of the kind of depth they will need in the Big Ten season just ahead.

ALSO NOTABLE WAS THIS. They had 24 assists on their 29 field goals. "I've said all along that's the kind of team we have to be," said Collins, explaining why. "We've got to cut. We've got to share and hit the open man."

ONE LAST FACT to note was the work of the freshman Ash, who in the future will be counted on to ease the heavy work load carried by Demps and point Bryant McIntosh. He put in a dozen minutes, scored eight points and, through that final stretch of this game, operated with both of the starting guards on the bench. "It was really good for him to have some success. It was good for his confidence," Collins said of him at one point. "I talk to him a lot. He's playing behind two really good players. But his time will come. He's got to stay ready. He's going to be needed."

"The minutes he plays when he doesn't have Tre or B-Mac on the floor with him are even more valuable," he said at another point. "Then he really has to run our team. He had the one turnover. But other than that I thought he did a really good job."

AND FINALLY: Chicago State, in late November, led Illinois late before falling by only three, and so it is not without some talent. It has also played (and lost to) No. 4 Iowa State, DePaul and Northern Illinois, and so its coach Tracy Dildy has some perspective. "I'm a fan of this team," he said of the 'Cats on Sunday night. "Everywhere I go—as coaches you talk about tournament teams. We do it all-year around. We don't wait until January, February, March. That's one of the 68 I've got in. I've told everybody that. Chris, he's not going to talk about that. And I'm not jinxing him. But I'm telling you, that's one of the 68 teams. That team we just played is better than a lot of teams we've played and close to being on the level of Iowa State. They've got everything they need to make them a good team."