Good and Bad

Here is the good and the bad from yesterday's Big Ten home opening 79-68 loss to Penn State:

Good: First half intensity- It was nice to see Northwestern come out strong at home for once. After several times falling behind big early on in non-conference games, the 'Cats scored the first six points of the game, all from Craig Moore, and were up 18-9 before Penn State began chipping away.

Bad: Halftime Adjustments- Northwestern was leading by a point at halftime, and the 'Cats were playing well offensively and defensively. It had all the makings of another close game, one that Northwestern could pull out at home. But in between the time the 'Cats went in and out of the locker room at halftime, Penn State figured out how to beat Northwestern, and crushed the 'Cats in the paint. ESPN color man Steve Bardo said Northwestern was probably hoping no other Big Ten teams get their hands on the tape from last night's game, and he's definitely right.

Good: Coble back on the floor- He looked rusty and not exactly comfortable in the offense, but it was nice to see Kevin Coble back out there. He showed glimpses of the type of player he was last year and will be down the road this year. Coble has an ability that only Juice Thompson has on this team, which is the ability to create his own shot. Hopefully once Coble gets his legs back under him he'll return to the form that led to him to the freshman All-Big Ten team.

Bad: Craig Moore after the first 5 minutes- Moore was red-hot throughout the non-conference season, and it appeared that the woes of last year that plagued him throughout Big Ten season were behind him. After he scored the first 6 points of the ball game, there was no indication that his play was going to suffer at all. But then Moore got into foul trouble, sat on the bench for most of the first half, and was awful in the second stanza. Moore was throwing up air balls and blew a 4-on-1 break for the 'Cats that ended any chance of them coming back in the game. I think Moore needs one of those things that Will Smith used in Men In Black to completely erase someone's memory, because Moore gets down on himself far too easily and lets it affect his play.

Good: Juice- There was some concern among Northwestern fans about whether Juice would be able to keep up his great play once Big Ten season rolled around. It is still early, but Juice showed that he has what it takes to compete in this conference. He hustles on defense and simply creates on offense. Now that he has Coble back to take some of the pressure off of him to score, look for Juice to continue to rack up the assists. And next time Northwestern has a 4-on-1 break, pray Juice is the one bringing the ball up.

Really really really bad- Interior Defense- The 'Cats had problems guarding the perimeter during non-conference play, causing fans to clamor for Carmody to switch out of the 1-3-1. Last night, the exact opposite happened. Penn State still shot well from the outside, but the play of Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley took Northwestern out of the game in the second half. Why could Northwestern not adjust to Penn State's game plan? I understand the 'Cats don't have size, but there are other ways to defend big men. Namely, double teams and denial of entry passes. It was extremely frustrating to watch the 'Cats hit a three on one end and then get dunked on 10 seconds later. And Penn State does not even have close to the best inside game in the Big Ten. Here's hoping Bill Carmody and his staff figure this one out.

So bad I might not even watch: Sunday, 11 a.m.- NU @ Ohio State- This one is going to get ugly very quickly. Remember Virginia? Could be worse.