January 24th, 2009 at 9:51 PM ^
BTN announcers said Northwestern gets outrebounded on average by like 14 a game.
1-3-1 is not conducive to good rebounding numbers at all.
January 24th, 2009 at 10:15 PM ^
I watched the game and they don't have much of an inside presence, but they just seemed like they weren't into the game at all especially on the defense/boards. Our guys were consistently getting position on the boards (both ends) and out-hustling the NW guys to the long rebounds/loose balls. I don't know how those guys beat State. Maybe they were out of gas after that game?
January 24th, 2009 at 11:21 PM ^
I think JB lit a fire under some asses over the long break. We definitely were not surprised by passes and we were hustling all over the defensive side and offensive boards. NU just looked a step behind our guys and perhaps even deflated. Sims started the game with a solid punch to their chin and the Wildcats never responded.
January 24th, 2009 at 10:39 PM ^
This game featured one of the worst officiating mistakes of the season. Manny threw up a lob pass that hit the rim by mistake, which should have reset the shot clock but did not. The officials finally stopped play to review whether his pass-turned-shot hit the rim.
Despite the fact that the reply clearly showed it hitting the rim, and despite the fact that officials spent several minutes watching that very replay, they wound up giving us the ball without resetting the clock. We had to rush off a shot and missed, and then NW quickly went down and drilled a 3. It could have been a critical sequence, but fortunately it ended up not mattering. Still, it's just astonishing that they could blow a simple call that with the benefit of multiple replays.
January 25th, 2009 at 12:36 PM ^
After discussing the play, the official made a "pass-like" gesture during his talks with the coaches. So I think they just agreed at since it was a pass and not a shot attempt, there was no reason to reset the shot clock. JB didn't seem to upset about it.
January 24th, 2009 at 10:37 PM ^
Good team effort tonight and nice crowd support. I wanted to move into Kazakastan with my artillery.
I love watching Douglass and Novak and the rest of this team. Indiana kids--its in the backwater! Give me more Dr. Beilein.
January 24th, 2009 at 11:45 PM ^
you talked about also showed a two handed chop across manny's arm as he let the ball go. all 3 ref's missed it...as bad a missed call you'll ever see.
January 24th, 2009 at 11:47 PM ^
Northwestern was abysmal on the glass. Michigan consistently had guards beating them down low for offensive boards.
It is nice to see this team beat somebody even without all the shots falling. It wasn't a cold shooting night per se, but Michigan had several open looks refuse to fall. By driving the lane, they were able to stay on top even when missing from long range.
In the second half, they did a good job keeping NU at arm's length. They never pulled away, but they did eat the clock and typically waited for a reasonable look.