Posts Tagged ‘Central Arkansas Bears’
Men’s Hoops Live Blog vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: Keys to the game
1. Northwestern must rebound tonight to win.
The Wildcats won the rebounding battle in their opener against Central Arkansas on Sunday. Tonight might be a tougher challenge. Despite fielding a small lineup, the Islander are averaging 40.5 rebounds per game in two outings. Chicago native Demond Watt is pulling down 9.5 rebounds per game this season.
For the first time in a while, NU has the bigger team. Center Kyle Rowley needs to be a bigger force on the boards and starting forward John Shurna needs to recover from a zero rebounding performance in Sunday’s game. If Kevin Coble leads the team in rebounding again tonight, the Cats might be in trouble.
2. The defense must continue to put pressure on the ball and on the perimeter.
With a bigger lineup in tonight’s game, the guards can be aggressive on the perimeter trying to force steals and turnovers. The press will set the tone and force Texas A&M-Corpus Christi into tough situations. The pressure worked in Sunday’s game as the Cats held the Bears to 25 percent shooting and just 39 points. NU needs a repeat of its stifling defensive performance to gain a similar result tonight.
3. Don’t overlook Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Cats have a history of losing to teams from non-major — or even non-mid major conferences — in the past. This is the kind of trap game after a strong opening effort that NU could lose if the team does not play its hardest.
If the Cats focus and play their game and dictate the tempo of the game on offense and defense, this should be an easy win.
Keep it here for updates from Welsh-Ryan Arena throughout tonight’s game.
Column: New season, new defense, new result?
After years of losing and one of the worst seasons in team history last year, it seems like it is going to be quite a task.
After all, all five starters and all but one of the key players returned from last year’s team. That fact may not be the best omen for this year’s team – even with the addition of five freshmen who figure to contribute heavily to this year’s team.
But with another year, comes another year’s worth of experience, I guess. Because something has changed with this team.
Men’s Hoops: Carmody confident in bench weapons
By Adam Fusfeld
Five minutes into Northwestern’s first opening game win since 2005, coach Bill Carmody made his first substitution of the season. Stuck in the midst of a sluggish 4-2 game, Carmody sent junior forward Jeff Ryan into the game to replace classmate Kevin Coble.
Ryan immediately stamped his mark on the game and recorded a blocked shot as well as a basket and the foul in his first few minutes of game action.
It was the energy the team needed to build an 18-point halftime lead and an 81-39 win over Central Arkansas on Sunday.
“That’s the job of a lot of guys off the bench,” Ryan said. “Just to come in, be a spark and have a lot of energy off the bench. I got myself in pretty good position on offense a few times and was able to get fouled and go to the line.”
The Wildcats (1-0) need to utilize this depth throughout the season, and Wednesday night when they host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1-1), to continue the defensive tenacity the team displayed against the Bears.
To read more click here.
Men’s Hoops: Rebounding a work in progress
With the addition of freshmen Kyle Rowley, John Shurna, Davide Curletti and Luka Mirkovic, Northwestern was expecting a big boost to its rebounding numbers. The Wildcats were last in the conference last year in rebounds and rebounding margin — getting outrebounded by a margin of nearly 10 rebounds per game.
This year, that might not be the case. After a 17 offensive rebound performance in an exhibition game against Robert Morris (Ill.) College last week, NU did not have the gaudy rebounding numbers some might have expected against a smaller Central Arkansas team on Sunday.
But the Cats won the rebounding battle for the first time since a loss at Iowa on Feb. 19.
“To outrebound a team for us is good,” junior forward Kevin Coble said. “It’s sign of progress after last season, finishing minus-10. That was a good step for us.”
Men’s Hoops: Improved defense drives Cats to blowout victory
By Matt Forman
For the last seven practices, coach Bill Carmody preached one thing: defense.
After losing its exhibition season opener 69-62 to Robert Morris (Ill.) College, Carmody knew his team could not allow a team to shoot nearly 50 percent from the floor.
It paid off.
Northwestern (1-0) played suffocating defense against Central Arkansas (0-1) on Sunday, allowing only 25 percent of the Bears shots to fall en route to an 81-39 win Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
“Every day in practice, that’s our focus. Defense,” junior forward Jeff Ryan said. “All the coaches say it and all the players have to believe, defense is going to win us games.”
After Central Arkansas scored the first two points of the game, NU went on a 22-3 run to build a comfortable lead. As the Wildcats’ defense pressured, their offense came around.
“Your defense helps your offense so much,” Carmody said. “When you defend you can score and press and get more possessions. Things just seemed to be in sync.”
NU forced 23 turnovers and allowed just 11 field goals. The drastic turnaround defensively was a result of defenders keeping their body in front of their man.
“Crazy, right,” Carmody said with a chuckle. “Something simple as that makes a difference, it’s like making shots.”
Four Cats scored in double digits. Junior forward Kevin Coble led the Cats with 15 points and eight rebounds, while freshman Kyle Rowley, sophomore Michael Thompson and Ryan added 10 points apiece.
Click here to read more at dailynorthwestern.com.
Second Half Thoughts: Central Arkansas getting testy
As expected in any game that is a blowout after the first half, the team that is trailinb made a bit of a run. Central Arkansas came out aggressively and applied a full-court press of their own and cut the lead from 18 to 13, leading to a quick timeout.
Coach Bill Carmody’s timeout seemed to calm the team down as the Wildcats have expanded the lead back to around 20 points. The offense is really getting into sync with Michael Thompson starting to assert himself and drive to the basket. It is opening up lots of cutting lanes for NU.
The rout is on, as they say, and the defense does not appear to be letting up on Central Arkansas. The team’s offense is a little more efficient now that it is protecting the ball a little. But the shooting percentage is still hovering around 30 percent.
End First Half: Cats pouring it on
Northwestern burst out of the gates after a slow start. The Bears scored the first two points of the game and then did not score for nearly ten minutes. The Wildcats, meanwhile went on a 15-0 run to take a comfortable lead.
Central Arkansas never seemed to keep NU in front of them. The Bears were quickly over the limit and the Cats took advantage from the free throw line. It has not been one player doing the damage. The Princeton is pecking away at the Central Arkansas defense and the team simply cannot defend it.
What has been most impressive is the defense. Central Arkansas has been unable to control the ball on offense. Central Arkansas has committed numerous turnovers and it has hurt them immensely offensively. The Bears are shooting only 22.2 percent from the field (four field goals made).
NU is shooting 50 percent on the other hand, led by Kevin Coble with 10 points.
It has been a very odd game for the Cats. They are shooting some quick shots in the Prinecton and making them. The pace has been sped up just a little, but NU is keeping the game at their pace as Central Arkansas has been unable to control the ball on offense.
The 1-3-1 has not been used today and instead the Cats are applying some full-court pressure and man-to-man defense. It is working wonders as the Bears are trailing by 18 at the half. If this keeps up this game, NU will win running away.
First Half Thoughts: Defense leads the way
The game started off very sloppy, but Northwestern is starting to come around offensively and defensively.
The Princeton offense is not working at maximum capacity yet, but Central Arkansas is having plenty of problems covering it so far. The Bears have committed eight team fouls in about nine minutes of play. The Cats are on a 10-0 run to take a 10-2 lead with 11:48 left.
Kevin Coble looks like he is going to be more aggressive out of the Princeton and he has had some decent post looks. Kyle Rowley got the start and showed off his range, making a free throw line jumper. And Craig Moore hit his first three of the game — an auspicious sign.
More interestingly, the defense is playing much more aggressive. NU is not playing its traditional 1-3-1 zone and has even shown some man looks and full court pressure. It has worked as Central Arkansas has been stuck at two points for quite some time and have turned the ball over more than a comfortable amount.
If the Cats keep up this defense, the offense should come around and help them pull away.
Men’s Hoops Live Blog: New season opens against Central Arkansas
No word if Scottie Pippen is in the building to hee his school take on Northwestern. But what is certain is that today is a very big game for the Wildcats.
NU has dropped its last two home openers — including a loss to Cornell two years ago — and a win would do a lot to increase the team’s confidence and make them believe something special might be brewing this season. Plus, it is always good to start off 1-0.
Here are some keys to today’s game and keep it right here for live updates from Welsh-Ryan Arena.
1. Take advantage of opponents’ mistakes: against Robert Morris (Ill.) College, NU grabbed 17 offensive rebounds. A pretty gaudy number. But the team only converted 13 second chance points. That stat alone kept the Eagles in the game when the Cats were struggling to shoot the ball. The Cats need to take advantage of turnovers and second chance opportunities to win today’s game.
2. Control the pace of the game: NU’s pace is often what gets the team in trouble against weaker opponents (it also helps them against better opponents). Against the Eagles, the Cats let them dictate the pace of play and were clearly not playing the way they need to be playing to be successful. NU needs to run when the chances are there, but otherwise keep the game at a comfortable pace for the team.
3. Relax: the first game can cause a bit of nerves. The freshmen showed it in their first game in the exhibition last week. If everyone takes a deep breath and plays the way they know they are capable, this should be a win.
Prediction: the Cats will be able to dictate the tempo and freshman John Shurna and junior Kevin Coble will shine in a relatively easy win for the Cats. NU 68, Central Arkansas 55
Weekend Preview: Men’s Hoops focuses on strong start with game one
By Adam Fusfeld
After a preseason centered on fitting the newcomers in with the team, it is finally time to see how it will all come together.
On Sunday, Northwestern kicks off the 2008-09 basketball season by welcoming Central Arkansas to Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats have lost their last two home openers, losing to then-No. 20 Stanford 71-60 last season and Cornell 64-61 the year before.
NU wants a win to get the season started in the right direction.
“We’d like to get off to a good start in non-conference play,” junior forward Kevin Coble said. “If we get some momentum going into the Big Ten that would be really good for us.”
To read more, click here.
