Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: Minnesota In Review
1/6/2017 1:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Just over six minutes are gone now in the second half, and the 'Cats are up five on Minnesota in their Thursday night stare down at Welsh-Ryan.That old playpen is packed for this occasion and here it is crackling, rollicking, rumbling with an energy that has been extant from this one's very start. Back then, back at its front end, the 'Cats dropped their first four three-point attempts, dropped seven of their first eight field goal attempts overall, and eventually built a lead that grew to seven.
But the Gophs lead the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense (28.7), are second in the league in overall field goal percentage defense (37.9), and soon enough they slowed the 'Cats and turned this meeting into one of those familiar Big Ten brawls. Eleven. That is how many times it would be tied in the first half. Seven. That is how many times the lead would change in that half, which finally ended with the 'Cats up four.
Now, with just under 14 minutes remaining in the game, the Gophs' Akeem Springs is dribbling on the right wing and the 'Cats Jordan Ash, quicker than a hiccup, pokes the ball away. Then it is in the hands of Scottie Lindsey, and Lindsey goes air borne, and here comes the jam, and now the 'Cats are up seven and Welsh-Ryan is near-unmoored and, immediately, Goph coach Richard Pitino is up and calling a time out. "The pivotal point of the game," Chris Collins will later say of what now follows.
"We were down seven at Purdue," Pitino will say when asked his message to his group as it gathered around him. "I told the guys the same thing. 'Guys, we were down seven at Purdue (in a game it would eventually win in overtime). Let's calm down. Let's make a run.' They're believing. That's the most important thing. They're internally believing in each other. That makes you a tough out in this league."
••••••••••
The 'Cats, all season, have professed a similar belief in themselves, and this is a big reason why they too have also been a tough out. But this Thursday, after their explosive start, they were abandoned by the three-point shot, the most-fickle mistress in their game of basketball. This was no small matter against the Gophs' defense, which leads the league in block shots (6.5 pg) while featuring its top shot blocker (Reggie Lynch, with 3.4 pg). "You've got to take what they give you," Collins would later say, "which sometimes are the drive and kick threes."
The 'Cats would put up 22 more threes in the 34 minutes that followed their four-for-four start, but here they would hit just two of them (9.9 percent). "I'd like to say I specifically did something, but it was more a point of emphasis of getting out on the shooters," Pitino will say when asked what adjustments his Gophs made after the 'Cats early onslaught. "They're a great shooting team and they run really good stuff. So it was just addressing it, making sure everyone was alert to getting out on those guys. I thought our defense in the second half was absolutely terrific."
"They stayed in their same coverages the whole night," Collins would say of his team's second half offensive struggles. "I've got to look at the tape. But one-for-15 from three in the second half? It's hard to win a game if you do that. I've got to look at the tape. But I want to say at least 10 of those were wide open. It's not their (his players') fault. You shoot them with confidence and we weren't able to make them."
"I think we got a little fatigued, number one," point Bryant McIntosh said to the same question. "The first half was a fast-paced game. Then we didn't execute as well. I think our fatigue played into it a little bit. We didn't cut as sharp and then were forced to take tough shots at the end of shot clocks. We have to do a better job of cutting hard, setting everything up. We run great offense, but you got to run it sharp. There's no miracle offense that you can run if you don't run it sharp."
Still, despite their fatigued descent into Siberia, the 'Cats are up seven after Lindsey's run out, but now, shortly after the Goph time out, this one turns as Springs atones for his turnover with a three. Then, in quick order, a Gavin Skelly three goes in-and-out, and Goph Amir Coffey drops an open three, and Lindsey misses a three at the end of the shot clock, and Springs gets a layup on a controlled break, and Coffey dunks at the end of a fast break off a McIntosh turnover.
Suddenly, like that, the Gophs are up three at 10:35, and never again will the 'Cats either tie them or regain the lead. At 7:30, down three, McIntosh misses a tough three late in the shot clock. At 7:00, still down three, Lindsey misses a three, and at 2:40, down three once more, McIntosh misses a three from in front of his team's bench. This one Skelly runs down, which leads to another 'Cat possession, but at 2:33 Vic Law misses a three from the left corner. Forty second later and with the score unchanged, Skelly himself misses a three from up top, and now comes a Coffey layup to put the Gophs up five at 1:27.
A pair of Lindsey free throws pares that to three at 27.9, but now Goph junior Nate Mason pushes back every remaining 'Cat thrust by making eight straight free throws to ice his team's four-point win. "He's growing up in front of our eyes," Pitino is soon saying of his star. "The teams that win games, their veterans step up. He's our veteran and he's absolutely stepping up, doing great things."
"We've got to quit feeling sorry for ourselves," McIntosh later says when asked how his team must respond to its latest narrow loss. He was the 'Cats steadiest veteran this night, finishing with 21 on seven-of-15 shooting, and now he concludes, "No one feels sorry for us. I don't feel sorry for us. We didn't make enough plays down the stretch. We had plenty of 50-50 balls that we didn't get. We had plenty of open shots that we just didn't make. That's part of the game. We just have to make more plays down the stretch.
"Credit them. They made plays and we didn't. That's what it comes down to in this league. It's a good league."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Just over six minutes are gone now in the second half, and the 'Cats are up five on Minnesota in their Thursday night stare down at Welsh-Ryan.That old playpen is packed for this occasion and here it is crackling, rollicking, rumbling with an energy that has been extant from this one's very start. Back then, back at its front end, the 'Cats dropped their first four three-point attempts, dropped seven of their first eight field goal attempts overall, and eventually built a lead that grew to seven.
But the Gophs lead the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense (28.7), are second in the league in overall field goal percentage defense (37.9), and soon enough they slowed the 'Cats and turned this meeting into one of those familiar Big Ten brawls. Eleven. That is how many times it would be tied in the first half. Seven. That is how many times the lead would change in that half, which finally ended with the 'Cats up four.
Now, with just under 14 minutes remaining in the game, the Gophs' Akeem Springs is dribbling on the right wing and the 'Cats Jordan Ash, quicker than a hiccup, pokes the ball away. Then it is in the hands of Scottie Lindsey, and Lindsey goes air borne, and here comes the jam, and now the 'Cats are up seven and Welsh-Ryan is near-unmoored and, immediately, Goph coach Richard Pitino is up and calling a time out. "The pivotal point of the game," Chris Collins will later say of what now follows.
"We were down seven at Purdue," Pitino will say when asked his message to his group as it gathered around him. "I told the guys the same thing. 'Guys, we were down seven at Purdue (in a game it would eventually win in overtime). Let's calm down. Let's make a run.' They're believing. That's the most important thing. They're internally believing in each other. That makes you a tough out in this league."
••••••••••
The 'Cats, all season, have professed a similar belief in themselves, and this is a big reason why they too have also been a tough out. But this Thursday, after their explosive start, they were abandoned by the three-point shot, the most-fickle mistress in their game of basketball. This was no small matter against the Gophs' defense, which leads the league in block shots (6.5 pg) while featuring its top shot blocker (Reggie Lynch, with 3.4 pg). "You've got to take what they give you," Collins would later say, "which sometimes are the drive and kick threes."
The 'Cats would put up 22 more threes in the 34 minutes that followed their four-for-four start, but here they would hit just two of them (9.9 percent). "I'd like to say I specifically did something, but it was more a point of emphasis of getting out on the shooters," Pitino will say when asked what adjustments his Gophs made after the 'Cats early onslaught. "They're a great shooting team and they run really good stuff. So it was just addressing it, making sure everyone was alert to getting out on those guys. I thought our defense in the second half was absolutely terrific."
"They stayed in their same coverages the whole night," Collins would say of his team's second half offensive struggles. "I've got to look at the tape. But one-for-15 from three in the second half? It's hard to win a game if you do that. I've got to look at the tape. But I want to say at least 10 of those were wide open. It's not their (his players') fault. You shoot them with confidence and we weren't able to make them."
"I think we got a little fatigued, number one," point Bryant McIntosh said to the same question. "The first half was a fast-paced game. Then we didn't execute as well. I think our fatigue played into it a little bit. We didn't cut as sharp and then were forced to take tough shots at the end of shot clocks. We have to do a better job of cutting hard, setting everything up. We run great offense, but you got to run it sharp. There's no miracle offense that you can run if you don't run it sharp."
Still, despite their fatigued descent into Siberia, the 'Cats are up seven after Lindsey's run out, but now, shortly after the Goph time out, this one turns as Springs atones for his turnover with a three. Then, in quick order, a Gavin Skelly three goes in-and-out, and Goph Amir Coffey drops an open three, and Lindsey misses a three at the end of the shot clock, and Springs gets a layup on a controlled break, and Coffey dunks at the end of a fast break off a McIntosh turnover.
Suddenly, like that, the Gophs are up three at 10:35, and never again will the 'Cats either tie them or regain the lead. At 7:30, down three, McIntosh misses a tough three late in the shot clock. At 7:00, still down three, Lindsey misses a three, and at 2:40, down three once more, McIntosh misses a three from in front of his team's bench. This one Skelly runs down, which leads to another 'Cat possession, but at 2:33 Vic Law misses a three from the left corner. Forty second later and with the score unchanged, Skelly himself misses a three from up top, and now comes a Coffey layup to put the Gophs up five at 1:27.
A pair of Lindsey free throws pares that to three at 27.9, but now Goph junior Nate Mason pushes back every remaining 'Cat thrust by making eight straight free throws to ice his team's four-point win. "He's growing up in front of our eyes," Pitino is soon saying of his star. "The teams that win games, their veterans step up. He's our veteran and he's absolutely stepping up, doing great things."
"We've got to quit feeling sorry for ourselves," McIntosh later says when asked how his team must respond to its latest narrow loss. He was the 'Cats steadiest veteran this night, finishing with 21 on seven-of-15 shooting, and now he concludes, "No one feels sorry for us. I don't feel sorry for us. We didn't make enough plays down the stretch. We had plenty of 50-50 balls that we didn't get. We had plenty of open shots that we just didn't make. That's part of the game. We just have to make more plays down the stretch.
"Credit them. They made plays and we didn't. That's what it comes down to in this league. It's a good league."
••••••
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