So Close, yet So Far

Northwestern’s 62-50 loss last night at Wisconsin was similar to nearly every other big game the Wildcats’ have played in the last several years. They kept it close and entertaining for a good portion of the game, but slowly fell behind, before eventually losing.

The game was a tale of two halves. In the first half, the ‘Cats were able to keep the Badgers off the glass. However, in the second half, as the pace of the game began to pick up, the ‘Cats’ rebounding became worse, and Marcus Landry and Brian Butch were able to control the glass for the Badgers.

In addition to their typical rebounding struggles, the ‘Cats seemed lost on the offensive end. Their spacing was poor and they lacked confidence in the Princeton offense. They were never able to get into a rhythm, and they struggled from behind the arch, shooting only 29% for the game.

The lone bright spot for the ‘Cats was Juice Thompson. He finally started taking people off the dribble before the last 2 minutes of the game. He can break down anybody in the conference 1-on-1, and his ability to get into the lane appears to be the only consistency in the ‘Cats’ offense.

Another major factor in the loss was Kevin Coble’s passive approach on offense. For long stretches of the game, he disappeared and seemed unable to break free from his defender to get an open shot. If the ‘Cats are going to win some conference games, Coble needs to stay aggressive on the offensive end.

Up next: Home vs. #11 Michigan State, yikes…