Avoiding Disaster

That could've been really bad.

The 'Cats, as usual, started off sluggishly against the Texas Pan-American Broncs. Everyone kept waiting for them to wake up and go on a run.

It took a while.

Northwestern trailed by 4 at halftime, and a fan base already incredibly frustrated with the team's lackluster performance this season was ready to pounce on one man: Bill Carmody.

Fortunately (or unfortunately if you really want Carmody to be fired no matter what), Northwestern had a flexible game plan that allowed them to score 34 points in the paint. Neither team had a size advantage, which allowed the 'Cats to finally use a talent disparity in their favor.

Kevin Coble and Michael Thompson, particularly in the second half, drove to the basket, drawing fouls and creating easy scoring opportunities. Coble finished with 29, Thompson with 18 and 7 assists.

Carmody has to be given credit here. He is often called inflexible and stubborn for refusing to match his team's style of play to the talent on the floor and the opponent on the court. That is a major fault of his, and among other things, could lead to his firing. But for one game, Carmody seemed to make the right moves in his half-time adjustments.

I was also happy to see Carmody keep Jeremy Nash on the floor in the second half. Though against Big Ten teams Nash might not be much of a scoring threat, he seems to be gaining confidence in the offense, which might prove helpful next season.

Still, this was Texas Pan-American. The 'Cats next travel to Bloomington to take on #11 Indiana, which probably won't be pretty. Northwestern needs to somehow find a way to save this momentum for next week when they take on Minnesota at home.