More observations
it's not that i'm surprised NU choked the game away in the second half, but i certainly didn't expect it to happen like that. i actually thought the turning point would be a few minutes into the second half. NU had a 6 point lead when Coble was called for a questionable foul while banging inside. (Bruce Weber even knew they got away with one. you could see him tell Mike Tisdale, "Be careful.") McCamey hit a three and then another one to make it 39-37. but to the Wildcats' credit they responded to that sequence with a 12-0 run. McCamey was terrible - missing shots and barrelling into the lane out of control. he didn't make another field goal until the game winner.
it was during this stretch that Stephen Bardo commented that Illinois could get back into this game with defense since "they have no problem scoring the basketball." apparently Stephen didn't notice that Illini had only 37 points eight minutes into the second half. as if to further reinforce the absurdity of his point, the Illinois scored four points over the next six minutes.
it sure would have been nice to have a timeout left after that last bucket. 2.9 seconds is plenty of time to get a good shot, and Moore still had time to work with when he launched from midcourt. those panicky timeouts called against the press really hurt there.
Mirkovic played well in his 35 minutes. it was nice to see him wanting the ball in the low post; contrast that with Rowley, who usually doesn't know what to do when he accidentally gets an offensive rebound. even if they never throw it inside, Mirkovic appeared to have pretty good post position which helps keep the defense honest.
great job by the NU student section. they were loud and wearing a lot of purple. they even pulled off the whole distraction behind the basket thing on a couple free throws. i was also impressed they even realized Illinois had missed all their free throws and cheered sarcastically when they finally made one.
all the orange in the stands was not a shock, but damn, some of those people had good seats. i understand you can't track who gets each ticket and second-hand sales out of your control, but you can't even put purple shirts in the first row behind NU's bench?!? i don't care if they have to give tickets away for free to faculty or staff... the athletic department has got to do a better job than that.
it was during this stretch that Stephen Bardo commented that Illinois could get back into this game with defense since "they have no problem scoring the basketball." apparently Stephen didn't notice that Illini had only 37 points eight minutes into the second half. as if to further reinforce the absurdity of his point, the Illinois scored four points over the next six minutes.
it sure would have been nice to have a timeout left after that last bucket. 2.9 seconds is plenty of time to get a good shot, and Moore still had time to work with when he launched from midcourt. those panicky timeouts called against the press really hurt there.
Mirkovic played well in his 35 minutes. it was nice to see him wanting the ball in the low post; contrast that with Rowley, who usually doesn't know what to do when he accidentally gets an offensive rebound. even if they never throw it inside, Mirkovic appeared to have pretty good post position which helps keep the defense honest.
great job by the NU student section. they were loud and wearing a lot of purple. they even pulled off the whole distraction behind the basket thing on a couple free throws. i was also impressed they even realized Illinois had missed all their free throws and cheered sarcastically when they finally made one.
all the orange in the stands was not a shock, but damn, some of those people had good seats. i understand you can't track who gets each ticket and second-hand sales out of your control, but you can't even put purple shirts in the first row behind NU's bench?!? i don't care if they have to give tickets away for free to faculty or staff... the athletic department has got to do a better job than that.
posted by Fire Bill Carmody at
10:03 AM
1 Comments:
The only good to come of the last two debacles is the guaranteed continued existence of this blog. And, since we accidentally won a few games this year, I'm sure BC will return to subject us to another year full of futility/inanity. Here's to keeping Coach frustrated for a looooooooonnnngg time to come!
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