Cats’ Corner: Your source for NU basketball

John Shurna and Northwestern showed no slowing down after a nine-day break for exams last week.

The freshman forward started a career night by scoring a layup on a backdoor cut along the baseline and hitting NU’s first seven points. Shurna went on to score a career-high 20 points. He also added eight rebounds to pace the Wildcats in a 77-62 win over UMKC on Monday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

UMKC did not make things easy for NU (7-1) throughout the game. The Cats took the early lead, but the Kangaroos (4-8) kept the game tight. They closed the deficit to four before the Cats extended the lead to nine at halftime. NU came out of the locker room and put the game comfortably out of reach. UMKC cut the lead under 10 points a few times, but a strong second half from junior forward Kevin Coble and the continued effort from Shurna closed the door.

Coble finished the game 22 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Sophomore guard Michael Thompson broke out with a season-high 17 points and had six assists as NU shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) from the floor.

Blocked shots were a key for the Cats especially early in the game as the Kangaroos attacked the basket and came up empty. NU had 10 blocks in holding UMKC to 40.7 percent shooting (24-of-59). The Kangaroos had problems mounting a serious run past the Cats’ defense.

NU next travels to Stanford on Saturday.

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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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.

Northwestern returns to action tonight against UC Riverside of the Big West after losing its first game of the season at Butler on Wednesday.

The Wildcats (3-1) led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but could not hold on to the lead late as they closed the gap on the Bulldogs to one point with about 30 seconds left. Sophomore guard Michael Thompson led the way with 12 points and junior guard Craig Moore and sophomore forward Ivan Peljusic added 11.

UC Riverside (4-1) is on a four-game winning streak and has its best record since becoming a Division I school in 2000. The Highlanders defeated Colgate 54-44 in their last outing. UC Riverside allowed only 40 percent shooting and just 4-for-16 shooting in the first half.

Guard Javon Borum was named the Big West’s Player of the Week after he averaged 16.5 points and 3.0 assists in two games last week.

Keys to the Game

1. Defense – in NU’s loss to Butler, the team struggled mightily on the defensive end. Big men Kyle Rowley and John Shurna got into early foul trouble forcing bench players to step up. The Bulldogs shot only 40 percent in the game, but stayed competitive by shooting 24 free throws. The Cats took only six.

2. Get Kevin Coble involved – Coble had his first game under double digits and has struggled to get involved the past two games. After scoring an average of 16.5 points per game in NU’s first two games, he has scored only 6.5 points per game, including Wednesday’s three-point effort. Coble needs to be involved in the offense for this team to find success later in the season.

3. Rebound – always the Cats’ biggest concern. They need to control the boards and use their size to get an advantage on the glass. If the Highlanders can get extra possessions, they can stay competitive longer and have a shot at pulling off the road upset.

There is no let up on offense early in the second half as the Cats continue to get the ball deep into the post through their offense. The teams are going up and down as the lead hovers around 20. The Wildcats have eased up on the defensive pressure as individuals begin asserting themselves.

The teams are exchanging baskets as NU’s lead hovers around 20 points. Neither team has made any serious run in the early stages of the second half.

John Shurna has continued his strong play and Kevin Coble is starting to assert himself more to maintain a comfortable lead. Shurna has 13 points and 6 rebounds while Coble leads the team with 16 points.

Kyle Rowley has had a couple good looks right around the basket that he has been unable to finish. The freshman center was advised before a timeout to slow down by senior Craig Moore.

Rowley has been rushing offensively, especially around the basket. Rather than collecting himself and rising for a finish, he seems to want to get the ball up on the backboard and rim as quickly as possible. He has gotten in really deep in bad angles to do this. Rowley only has two points so far tonight.

Northwestern got off to a slow start, but the team has the Princeton offense working well. Craig Moore and Kevin Coble hit threes to pull the team into the lead. Some good passing from the perimeter to free back door cuts to the hoop have helped the Wildcats open up a 17-9 lead.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi got off to an early lead as it seemed NU would struggle again to make easy, close up shots. On the Cats’ first possession, Coble got to the rim on a pretty pass by Moore, but his layup was (unbelievably) short. Kyle Rowley also had a nice chance up close, but found himself too deep to make the layup.

It seems like NU is still unwilling to use their height around the basket. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi center Demond Watt got past Rowley easily and dunked it. It might be good for the Cats to start throwing some through the hoop with authority.

It is not a hard thing to do. Dunks can change momentum in games and they bring the crowd into the game. NU struggled to finish around the rim in previous outings. This might be the solution.

On a happier note, Craig Moore hit his second attempt from behind the arc and passed Vedran Vukusic as the school’s all-time leading 3-point shooter with 213 makes.

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.

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.”

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