Having a center who can pass is critical for Carmody’s Princeton offense to be run effectively. Against the Hoosiers, the offense run wasthe best I’ve seen all season. The screens, fake screens, one-touch passes, and not just single, but double backdoor cuts were all buzzing like a well-oiled machine.
If the Indiana players were distraught by losing coach Sampson, it was not showing up in their play. They absolutely killed the ‘Cats from long range, especially in the second period where they made five of their eight attempts from distance.
Yet, unlike almost every other game in this struggling Northwestern campaign, Saturday night the ‘Cats had an answer for every Indiana knockout punch. Back and forth the game went, with Kevin Coble leading the way. He was doing everything on the offensive end: getting to the hole for easy layups, making mid-range jumpers, and killing it from distance, shooting 5-6 on threes. He finished with 37 points, a new career high.
As the minutes kept ticking off the clock, I kept waiting for Indiana to make a 10-0 run or something, and put the ‘Cats out of their misery … but, it never came. The game went down to the wire, and as Eric Gordon went to the line with 1:46 left after a Nikola Baron foul, the Wildcats were somehow up by one.
With the packed stadium as loud as it’s ever been, Gordon showed while he may not be quite as good as he thinks he is, he’s still no chump, and sunk both free throws. For the night, he was 13-16 from the charity stripe.
Down by one needing an answer, the ‘Cats gave the ball to their star Kevin Coble, only to see him turn it over. My heart fell into my stomach as I saw the game slipping away, when Craig Moore blocked an Armon Bassett layup. My hopes were dashed once again as Indiana got back the rebound and called a timeout.
If they scored again, odds were Northwestern would not have the firepower to answer with only 1:05 left. Thankfully, sophomore Jeremey Nash, who’s been one of the real unsung heroes of this squad, tipped an awkward inbound pass jumping a mile into the sky and got the ball back, for a 4 on 2 Wildcat fast break.
They misplayed the spacing, so they were unable to get an easy layup before all the Indiana players got back on defense. Nevertheless, Coble had been scoring all over their best defensive efforts all night, and the confidence seen in this ‘Cats squad was eerily calming, despite the stakes.
Drawing the defenders to him, Coble handed off to Craig Moore, who took one step, then smoothly, as he’s done thousands of time this year, raised up with no hesitation for a three. This was the first game I’d seen where Moore struggled on the offensive end, and while it was a good shot, it clanked off the rim.
0 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete