Takin' Care of Business

Sure, it was only Benedictine, a D-III school. But Northwestern is off the shnide and has its first win of the season, defeating the Eagles 95-63.

And this was not a non-conference squeaker that fans have grown used to seeing from this team. Rather, this is the kind of win you see from the established programs during this time of the season. NU jumped out to an 18-3 lead early in the game and never looked back. In fact, Jean Marc Melchoir was in the game in the first half.

Great games by Jeff Ryan, who was very effective in the paint, and Craig Moore, who, when he's hot, can shoot with the best of the Big Ten. I was also impressed with Mike Capocci, especially defensively. Rumors have been that he has been slow to pick up Bill Carmody's system, and at times he looked a bit lost on the floor, but it seemed to me like he had a pretty good grasp and will only continue to be more effective.

Props to Ivan Peljusic for a fast break dunk, prompting the loudest cheers of the night and bringing the entire NU bench to its feet. It was really the only thing he did well tonight, though.

And lost in the 95 points was the performance of Juice Thompson, who sat most of the second half with Northwestern in complete control of the game. Thompson already has a great grasp of the offense, and had 7 assists in the game.

The most impressive thing about him is his leadership on the court. It takes a lot for a freshman to come in and assume the role that he has, point guard or not, but Thompson seems willing to embrace it. He seems to hold his teammates accountable for their play on the court, which was something that seemed to be lacking last season.

At one point in the game Thompson made a nice entry pass to Nikola Baran, who didn't go up very strong, was fouled, but missed the shot. Juice was visibly upset with Baran for not finishing strong. It's that sort of accountability that can push this team forward.

It's an unimpressive win in regards to the opponent, but important because NU took care of business like a legitimate program should. This team still has a ways to go, but it was another step in the right direction. Eventually, if these steps keep adding up, we may see some real progress