Game Thread: Northwestern vs. Minnesota

[prez77]

I think the thought was if Nick was open take the 3 to leave enough time to rebound if he missed. I don't agree with it but I wouldn't have been shocked if he made it.

He had about a 37% chance of making it.

 

[EagerFan]

I've got to agree the move should have been drive the lane and let them foul him on the shot. Good chance he can get the score and a chance for the and 1. It's a bummer for the Cats and Nick in particular. Two games in a row they've fought to the bitter end and just not been quite able to close.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

I've got to agree the move should have been drive the lane and let them foul him on the shot. Good chance he can get the score and a chance for the and 1. It's a bummer for the Cats and Nick in particular. Two games in a row they've fought to the bitter end and just not been quite able to close.

The inbound was handled poorly too, they burned five seconds just to get it into the front court and call a timeout

 

[CatManTrue]

The inbound was handled poorly too, they burned five seconds just to get it into the front court and call a timeout

This entire team just looks SLOPPY.

Four winnable conference games down the stretch, blown in various ways.

Much more frustrating than last year after Barnhizer’s injury effectively ended the season early.

 

[hdhntr1]

West doesn’t look right.

He had just come off of a sprained ankle that kept him out the last game

 

[hdhntr1]

Honestly it’s stupid Clayton doesn’t play more. This team has lousy guards and is lousy at shooting and he is a guard who can shoot. You don’t have to be a genius coaching mind to figure out that’s good.

Clayton is shooting better now but earlier in the year he was not hitting anything. He brought a lot of other things but scoring was not included

 

[hdhntr1]

Honestly they’ve played a lot better since the opening 8 minutes or so, but neither of these teams is very good and starting down 18-2 has Mrs Lincoln vibes to it

That first few minutes Minn was 6/6. That is always gonna .look pretty ugly

 

[EagerFan]

This entire team just looks SLOPPY.

Four winnable conference games down the stretch, blown in various ways.

Much more frustrating than last year after Barnhizer’s injury effectively ended the season early.

I've got to disagree on this. Losing Brooks so early in the year when we had a strong team with madness potential was much worse than seeing this super young team starting to pull things together at the end of a rough season, but not quite ready for prime time.

We had a legit chance to dance again last year with a healthy Brooks. Of course losing Leach a little later was a killer as well.

 

[LathamLad]

I hate the defense when we were up 3. Give up a dunk within seconds while we're still in the one and one? That was atrocious. A foul would've put them in the one and one and Hughes is a lousy foul shooter.

Yes and no question, it was called from the sideline. TV showed Collins give a hands-down "safe" sign, clearly ordering no foul as the Gophers attacked. That's a decision he probably would like to have back.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

Clayton is shooting better now but earlier in the year he was not hitting anything. He brought a lot of other things but scoring was not included

When he started hitting a few shots in the middle of conference season he should have been quickly given more time and then basically after his big game he should have been playing the big minutes like he did last night consistently. He isn’t a perfect player, but he’s not a defensive liability, he provides some handling (though not driving or creation), and ultimately basketball is a game of making shots to into the basket to score points and he’s better at that than a lot of our other players. I’m not even THAT huge a fan of him, I just feel like I’m taking crazy pills when a guy who can actually make shots instead of miss shots isn’t playing that much

 

[MCC_Cat]

When he started hitting a few shots in the middle of conference season he should have been quickly given more time and then basically after his big game he should have been playing the big minutes like he did last night consistently. He isn’t a perfect player, but he’s not a defensive liability, he provides some handling (though not driving or creation), and ultimately basketball is a game of making shots to into the basket to score points and he’s better at that than a lot of our other players. I’m not even THAT huge a fan of him, I just feel like I’m taking crazy pills when a guy who can actually make shots instead of miss shots isn’t playing that much

He's been Mr. Big Shot lately. Would've (should've) been the hero of the Purdue and Minny games and we'd be riding a 5 game win streak were it not for some late gaffes in both.