Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: Big Ten Tournament Primer
3/9/2016 2:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
The last time, back on the final Wednesday of February at Michigan's Crisler Center, the 'Cats jumped out to a 17-4 lead in the opening seven minutes. The Wolverines would creep back to within a point by the time halftime arrived, but here the 'Cats burst from their locker room with a Bryant McIntosh make and a pair of threes by Aaron Falzon. That put them up nine at 17:40. But just over six minutes later this one was tied at 44 and then, at 5:01, it was tied again, this time at 54.
••••••••••
Three days later, after his team had enjoyed a Saturday afternoon romp over Rutgers at Welsh-Ryan, Chris Collins would say, "The biggest growth for us now is going to be our ability to have a firm resolve with our mental toughness. We've gotten better with that in a lot of areas. But I still think at the end of games, it's reared its head a little bit. When you gotta get a rebound; when you gotta get a stop; when it's a loose ball you gotta get; when you gotta go up and make two free throws-- to me, those are mental toughness things.
"I think some of our younger guys, we're still evolving. That's what the good programs do. The good programs, they win those games. That's the fine line in this league. For us, we're six-and-10 right now. You could flip probably four of our games if we were just a little bit tougher down the stretch. We've talked about it and we've continued to try and instill that in our guys."
••••••••••
The last time, back on the final Wednesday of February at Michigan's Crisler Center, the 'Cats went three-of-12 from the field in the final five minutes; and Michigan hit eight straight free throws in the final 2:19; and the Wolverines finally raced away to a nine-point win. But those were just the obvious numbers that evening. For there was far more to this end game than just those stats. "That was one, I even said afterwards that was a game-- you know, sometimes you just get beat and you've got to take it on the chin," Collins would explain on Tuesday. "But we felt we played well enough to win in that game. . .and just wilted when it was time to get tough.
"There were loose balls to be had. There were rebounds to be had. We missed free throws. We didn't finish shots. We got beat off the dribble. Things to me, in my eyes, that are toughness plays that you need to make at the end of the game to win. We didn't. So that part of the game angered me. Now give Michigan credit. They made them. I'm not going to take away from what they did. The plays we didn't make they did, and they willed the game that day."
"Toughness," Tre Demps will add minutes later, "is little things that don't show up on the stat sheet. Getting a loose ball. Or making a rotation. Or getting a box out. Those things don't show up on a stat sheet. But those three things I listed, we didn't do and they did and they won the game because of that. Obviously, talent-wise, it's an even matchup. That's the reason it's an eight-nine game. So I think it's going to come down to those plays down the stretch."
••••••••••
This time, on Thursday morning at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the ninth-seeded 'Cats will face the eight-seeded Wolverines in a second-round game of the Big Ten tourney. "I know both teams are going to be ready to play," Collins said Tuesday, looking ahead. "I know they're going to have a great game plan against us. I believe in what we're going to try to do against them. It's going to be who carries that out and, at the end of the day, who makes the plays. Who shoots well. Who wins those toughness plays at the end of the game when they're there to be had. I think that's what the game's going to come down to."
Other factors, of course, will play roles as well, and one of them is Demps, who has averaged 17.8 points over the 'Cats last five games while shooting 46.5 percent from the field. The spotlight will also surely shine on McIntosh and Alex Olah, and then there are those choices facing their defense. Does it prime itself to take away Michigan's lethal three-point game? Or to shut off the penetration that slayed the 'Cats in their meeting three weeks ago? ("It's a Catch 22," Collins will say of that conundrum.)
But ultimately, as it did on that Wednesday night back in February, this one promises to be a stare down, a test of wills, a look at just how much toughness these relatively-young 'Cats have accrued over this season. "Both. Both. To me, when I say toughness, it's physical and it's mental toughness," Collins will finally say on Tuesday when asked if it's one or the other. "There's five minutes left, it's a tight game, are we going to be mentally tough enough, especially on the road, are we going to be physically and mentally tough enough to keep that ball out of the paint? Or, when there's a 50-50 ball and there's two or three guys going for it, can we get it? Can we execute under pressure? To me, those are things that measure a team's toughness."
"We've got to make the tougher plays," McIntosh will then conclude minutes later. "I felt like we controlled the (first) game those first 35 minutes, and we didn't handle business the last five minutes. They just out-toughed us and willed the win. Now the level (of play) in the Big Ten Tournament's going to raise about two notches. So we've got to be ready to make that jump, be ready to compete for 40 minutes.
"We have to be locked in. One play can decide the game in the Big Ten Tournament. That's the biggest thing. We have to be locked in for 40 minutes. The bottom line is, in the Big Ten Tournament, it's going to come down to who's tougher."
NOTE: Demps' wife, Heather, is not due to deliver their first child until Monday, the day after the tourney ends. But plans are in place to get him back to Evanston if she goes into labor early. "If we get that call, he's coming home. There's no other answer to that," Collins said when asked about that possibility. Said Demps himself: "You set priorities. That's what everyone here wants and that's what I want. Obviously I care about the team. But I think family always comes first."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
The last time, back on the final Wednesday of February at Michigan's Crisler Center, the 'Cats jumped out to a 17-4 lead in the opening seven minutes. The Wolverines would creep back to within a point by the time halftime arrived, but here the 'Cats burst from their locker room with a Bryant McIntosh make and a pair of threes by Aaron Falzon. That put them up nine at 17:40. But just over six minutes later this one was tied at 44 and then, at 5:01, it was tied again, this time at 54.
••••••••••
Three days later, after his team had enjoyed a Saturday afternoon romp over Rutgers at Welsh-Ryan, Chris Collins would say, "The biggest growth for us now is going to be our ability to have a firm resolve with our mental toughness. We've gotten better with that in a lot of areas. But I still think at the end of games, it's reared its head a little bit. When you gotta get a rebound; when you gotta get a stop; when it's a loose ball you gotta get; when you gotta go up and make two free throws-- to me, those are mental toughness things.
"I think some of our younger guys, we're still evolving. That's what the good programs do. The good programs, they win those games. That's the fine line in this league. For us, we're six-and-10 right now. You could flip probably four of our games if we were just a little bit tougher down the stretch. We've talked about it and we've continued to try and instill that in our guys."
••••••••••
The last time, back on the final Wednesday of February at Michigan's Crisler Center, the 'Cats went three-of-12 from the field in the final five minutes; and Michigan hit eight straight free throws in the final 2:19; and the Wolverines finally raced away to a nine-point win. But those were just the obvious numbers that evening. For there was far more to this end game than just those stats. "That was one, I even said afterwards that was a game-- you know, sometimes you just get beat and you've got to take it on the chin," Collins would explain on Tuesday. "But we felt we played well enough to win in that game. . .and just wilted when it was time to get tough.
"There were loose balls to be had. There were rebounds to be had. We missed free throws. We didn't finish shots. We got beat off the dribble. Things to me, in my eyes, that are toughness plays that you need to make at the end of the game to win. We didn't. So that part of the game angered me. Now give Michigan credit. They made them. I'm not going to take away from what they did. The plays we didn't make they did, and they willed the game that day."
"Toughness," Tre Demps will add minutes later, "is little things that don't show up on the stat sheet. Getting a loose ball. Or making a rotation. Or getting a box out. Those things don't show up on a stat sheet. But those three things I listed, we didn't do and they did and they won the game because of that. Obviously, talent-wise, it's an even matchup. That's the reason it's an eight-nine game. So I think it's going to come down to those plays down the stretch."
••••••••••
This time, on Thursday morning at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the ninth-seeded 'Cats will face the eight-seeded Wolverines in a second-round game of the Big Ten tourney. "I know both teams are going to be ready to play," Collins said Tuesday, looking ahead. "I know they're going to have a great game plan against us. I believe in what we're going to try to do against them. It's going to be who carries that out and, at the end of the day, who makes the plays. Who shoots well. Who wins those toughness plays at the end of the game when they're there to be had. I think that's what the game's going to come down to."
Other factors, of course, will play roles as well, and one of them is Demps, who has averaged 17.8 points over the 'Cats last five games while shooting 46.5 percent from the field. The spotlight will also surely shine on McIntosh and Alex Olah, and then there are those choices facing their defense. Does it prime itself to take away Michigan's lethal three-point game? Or to shut off the penetration that slayed the 'Cats in their meeting three weeks ago? ("It's a Catch 22," Collins will say of that conundrum.)
But ultimately, as it did on that Wednesday night back in February, this one promises to be a stare down, a test of wills, a look at just how much toughness these relatively-young 'Cats have accrued over this season. "Both. Both. To me, when I say toughness, it's physical and it's mental toughness," Collins will finally say on Tuesday when asked if it's one or the other. "There's five minutes left, it's a tight game, are we going to be mentally tough enough, especially on the road, are we going to be physically and mentally tough enough to keep that ball out of the paint? Or, when there's a 50-50 ball and there's two or three guys going for it, can we get it? Can we execute under pressure? To me, those are things that measure a team's toughness."
"We've got to make the tougher plays," McIntosh will then conclude minutes later. "I felt like we controlled the (first) game those first 35 minutes, and we didn't handle business the last five minutes. They just out-toughed us and willed the win. Now the level (of play) in the Big Ten Tournament's going to raise about two notches. So we've got to be ready to make that jump, be ready to compete for 40 minutes.
"We have to be locked in. One play can decide the game in the Big Ten Tournament. That's the biggest thing. We have to be locked in for 40 minutes. The bottom line is, in the Big Ten Tournament, it's going to come down to who's tougher."
NOTE: Demps' wife, Heather, is not due to deliver their first child until Monday, the day after the tourney ends. But plans are in place to get him back to Evanston if she goes into labor early. "If we get that call, he's coming home. There's no other answer to that," Collins said when asked about that possibility. Said Demps himself: "You set priorities. That's what everyone here wants and that's what I want. Obviously I care about the team. But I think family always comes first."
••••••
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