Cats’ Corner: Your source for NU basketball

Northwestern has been looking to turn the corner all season, trying to forget the team’s struggles last season. The team has played better, but still has not put together the complete game.

Against cross-town rival DePaul, the Wildcats are still looking for that win as they fell to the Blue Demons 60-51 at McGrath Arena on Sunday.

NU (2-7) held a three-point halftime lead, but DePaul opened the second half on a 10-4 run. The Cats scored only six points in the first 12 minutes of the half, enabling the Blue Demons (9-2) to take a 15-point lead. NU cut the lead to 10 with about five minutes left, but could not get any closer.

“I thought we did a great job in the first half of controlling the pace of the game. In the first half, we did everything right,” head coach Joe McKeown said. “In the second half, they got their run and we just had that bad four-minute stretch and we couldn’t bounce back.”

Senior forward Ellen Jaeschke led the team with 17 points and junior guard Kristin Cartwright added 13 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore center Amy Jaeschke added four points, but grabbed 11 rebounds. The Cats shot 45 percent in the game, but made just nine shots and hit 38 percent of their shots in the second half.

NU’s defense continued to cause problems for its opponents, forcing 15 turnovers and holding DePaul to 36.5 percent shooting in the game. The Cats though did not protect the ball, turning it over 24 times.

By Adam Fusfeld

For the second straight game, a major-conference opponent entered Welsh-Ryan Arena with high hopes, only to leave with their heads hanging in defeat.

Northwestern (6-1) started Saturday’s game with a 7-0 run, and did not look back on its way to a 63-36 victory over local rival DePaul. A Craig Moore 3-pointer sandwiched between two Kevin Coble jumpers ignited this early lead. On the other end, the Blue Demons (4-2) turned the ball over twice, and converted on only one of their first 12 attempts from the floor to facilitate the Wildcats’ early advantage.

“We came out really aggressively and we stopped what they wanted to do,” junior forward Kevin Coble said. “We stuck with our stuff, we ran through so much in such a short period of time that we made them play 25-30 seconds of defense. As the possession goes on, it’s hard to guard it for that long. Teams don’t usually like to play that much defense.”
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Northwestern scored the first seven points of the game and never looked back in a 63-36 rout of DePaul on Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Junior forward Kevin Coble scored 16 of his 25 points in the first half, as he single-handedly outscored the Blue Demons (4-2) by one in the first half. Senior guard Craig Moore added 14 points and three assists. Sophomore guard Michael Thompson scores even and eight assists.

NU (6-1) held DePaul to 24.1 percent shooting and were never threatened, despite Dar Tucker’s 17 points and 10 rebounds. Tucker, who is averaging more than 20 points per game, shot only six of 20 from the field.

The Cats outrebounded the Blue Demons 43-38.

Keep it here for more on the game.

DePaul has been unable to even get close in this one since falling behind by 16 at the half. The defense has completely stifled the Blue Demons and they have had no hopes of improving, even with sophomore Dar Tucker trying to single-handedly bring his team back.

Northwestern has allowed only 25 percent shooting and lead 59-36 with less than four minutes to play.

Kevin Coble has led the way with 25 points, but the other players have stepped up a lot in the second half. Craig Moore and Michael Thompson added 14 points and seven each and John Shurna added another nine.

Coach Bill Carmody is clearing his bench and getting his starters out of the game. It has been an impressive performance by the Wildcats and gives them something good to think about heading into finals.

The defense has kept up its intensity early in the second half. DePaul has found some more holes and is starting to score a little, but Northwestern has answered offensively too. It is no longer just Kevin Coble scoring — although he is still producing, scoring seven already in the half — as the Wildcats hold a 45-27 lead with 11:59 to play.

The Blue Demons’ Dar Tucker is not letting his team fall away completely. He came out hot early, making a few 3-pointers. The sophomore now has 12 points, inching closer to his 20-point average. But the Cats have had an answer.

Craig Moore and John Shurna have started to take and hit more shots as the ball is moving around nicely and picking apart the DePaul defense. NU is still struggling when Coble is not in the game, but the team is still relying heavily on its defense to hold the lead.

The Blue Demons have been unable to mount any serious run so far as they continue to struggle from the field, still shooting below 30 percent. The defense has found a nice groove after an impressive performance against Florida State on Wednesday and into today’s game. It does not even feel like DePaul is getting any good looks at the basket and the team has had few offensive rebounds and second chance opportunities.

Northwestern is once again putting a defensive number on its opponents. DePaul came into the game averaging 71.0 points per game, led by Dar Tucker’s 20.8 points per game. Neither have played well as far as putting points on the scoreboard.

The Blue Demons are shooting only six of 29 from the field and have scored just 15 as the Wildcats lead 31-15 at the half. Tucker has only four points.

Give all the credit to the defense. DePaul has not had good looks at the basket in this game. NU’s 2-3 matchup zone defense is preventing any player from getting an open look at the basket. No one on the Blue Demons has more than four points and no one is shooting better than 33.3 percent in the game. Turnovers are not DePaul’s issue. The team is just not hitting shots. The Cats’ strong defense deserves all the credit.

What might be more surprising is that NU is not leading by more.

The Cats are not doing too great from the field either (although not as bad). They are shooting 44.4 percent. But most of that offense is coming from junior forward Kevin Coble. He has 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting — the rest of the team has made only five shots.

DePaul has not closed the gap to less than 10 points for long in this game since NU took a commanding 7-0 lead early in the game. But the Blue Demons can put pu points and will make adjustments at halftime. While the Cats are playing fantastic on defense, they cannot rely on Coble to provide all of their offense. If the DePaul offensive juggernaut (OK, that might be hyperbole) awakens and starts scoring in bunches, NU will find itself in trouble and losing another halftime lead.

The Blue Demons will make a run of some sort in this game. The Cats have to be ready to respond at the beginning of the second half and put this game away early in the period.

You can usually tell within his first few shots whether junior forward Kevin Coble is going to have a big game. Coble might be in for one of his 30-point performances (think Indiana and Michigan games at home last year) tonight.

Coble hit a floater on the drive for the first points of the game, then sunk a hard hook shot from the post to spark a 7-0 spurt to start the game. Coble has added a couple 3-pointers and has 10 points as Northwestern leads 16-8 with 10:54 left.

You can tell the junior is feeling some confidence because of the shots he has taken. He is not afraid to get open beyond the arc and take some 3-pointers so far. He is two of three from behind the arc, and that one miss may tell you more about his confidence level than anything. The miss was a hurried 3-pointer as he came off a flare screen. Coble is feeling it tonight.

The Wildcats’ defense has been downright oppressive in the early part of this game. DePaul missed 10 of its first 11 shots (some on open looks). The Blue Demons have gotten back into the game offensively because of a clear strategy to get the ball inside to center Matija Poscic. Poscic drew two quick fouls on freshman center Kyle Rowley, bringing the smaller Ivan Peljusic into the game.

Otherwise, NU has been picking apart DePaul’s defense and stifling the team on defense to gain a comfortable lead.

This cross-town rivalry resumes with both teams on a hot streak while using young talent at the beginning of the season. Northwestern is coming off an impressive home win over Florida State, while DePaul lost its first game in its last outing at California. The Blue Demons (4-1) and Wildcats have always played each other close. The last four meetings have been decided by 10 points or fewer.

Last year, NU (5-1) went to Allstate Arena and nearly pulled off the upset at DePaul. But the Blue Demons hit a last-second shot to defeat the Cats, who played without Kevin Coble in that game. The two teams are relying on a lot of young talent this season so far and should make for an interesting matchup.

DePaul is led by sophomore forward Dar Tucker. Tucker is averaging 20.8 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game. Tucker has been held under 20 points just once this season. He figures to be a key part of the Blue Demons’ slashing attack against a staunch NU defense that is giving up only 51.7 points per game on 39.4 percent shooting.

Sophomore Mac Koshwal has also been strong for the Blue Demons. He is averaging 12.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-10 center has had some problems committing turnovers, averaging nearly four per game.

Keys to the Game:

1. Let Juice loose- Sophomore point guard Michael Thompson had a big game in last year’s trip to DePaul. The point guard scored a career-high 24 points at DePaul last season. He nearly single-handed defeated the Blue Demons, but fouled out late in the game as DePaul was able to hold on. Thompson has not been able to follow up his freshman year as strongly. He has not been quite as active in the offense, averaging 9.7 points per game and only 3.0 assists per game. This is another opportunity for Thompson to really assert himself. It is clear defenses are going to focus on junior forward Kevin Coble and senior guard Craig Moore. it is up to Thompson to really step up and be the third scoring otpion that can take the pressure off of those two. So far he has struggled to do so.

2. Protect the basketball- DePaul is a high-scoring team, averaging 71.0 points per game. The Blue Demons force 17.6 turnovers per game. The Cats have been decent taking care of the ball, but do have the propensity to get caught up in fast-paced games, increasing their turnover count. NU is turning the ball over only 11.5 times per game. But that number has been larger at times this season. Protecting the ball is a must for the Cats to succeed in this game.

3. Control the glass- this has not been much of a concern for NU so far this season. The Cats have won the rebounding battle in every game except one this season. The addition of big men Kyle Rowley and John Shurna have helped immensely in that category. But it bears reiterating considering this team’s history on the glass. If the Cats can limit the Blue Demons to one shot, they can control the tempo of the game and dictate how this game is played.