Posts Tagged ‘Robert Morris (Ill.) College Eagles’
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.
