NU @ Minnesota - WBB Live Blog

Thought we'd try something new today. As Aaron Morse and Ranjan Rohathgi bring you the action over the airwaves on WNUR 89.3FM, I'll be providing my running commentary on this blog. Could be fun. Could be stupid. Probably won't be read. But why not try it.

1:40pm -- Pregame begins...both team shooting around...We have starting lineups: Erin Dickerson is starting again. She got her first start on Thursday. Aaron and Ranjan talked to Coach Combs about this...she wants to use Meshia Reed off the bench. She did that a lot with Foamy two years ago. Not sure if it was effective, since they still only won 2 games in the BT, but hey, that's better than this year.

1:52pm -- Just heard the interview with Coach Combs. Most truthful quote: "we've got a lot of problems this year." It's tough to narrow it down to one issue. Turnovers, low field goal percentages, lack of offensive rhythm. No one else in the BT has less than 4 wins. It's a rough season...hopefully the main cause is injuries, because that will get better next year.

1:58pm -- What a ridiculous atmosphere in the Barn. This is a decent Minnesota team, receiving some votes, but they're bringing out fans like they're at the top. Probably around 6,000 people in stands. There is a special "Think Pink" event for breast cancer, which NU will host next week. But I this is the atmosphere they get every year. Borton's clubs play extremely well at home...and NU struggled at the best BT venue, Purdue (32 turnovers, anyone?)

2pm -- The guys are discussing guard play and how poor its been as a whole. I wonder how much of that is due to only one guard on the bench! Dickerson's the only sub with Stutz, Marshall, Hicks, and even Cartwright out. That's an awful lot of playing time.

Tip-off -- Ranjan's keys --- 1. limit turnovers (NU bad, MIN good)...2. win the three-point battle...3. Shut down Fox/Knight/Ellis-Milan

Tip-off -- Melissa Miller surprising start. It's gotta be because she's from Bloomington, MN and is a senior. Can't think of a reason she deserves it over Amy.

2:10pm -- The defense has been giving up an open look every possession. The Gophers have missed a lot and the turned the ball over twice...but they should be leading by 10.

2:13pm -- I know Aaron loves seeing Jenny Eckhart score early. How many times has he said "Eckhart needs to shoot more." She looked more comfortable just driving inside. Let's hope she does it again.

2:16pm -- Luck be a Lady today. The Wildcats, leading the Big Ten in turnovers, they've handed it to Minnesota 4 times so far. Luckily, the Gophers can't seem to hold on, giving NU plenty of chances. They've wasted them, though, with two shot-clock violations.

2:19pm -- First time in weeks I've seen a new inbounds play for the Wildcats. Instead of the quick spin around the right wing, usually Eckhart, they gave it to Reed underneath. What happened? A lay-in and one. Let's see it again.

2:23pm -- MESHIA REED. Misses a three, fights for her own rebound, gets it to Bibbs, follows up that shot with a put back. What a possession for her. Maybe being on the bench actually does give her a fire in the belly.

2:27pm -- Emily Fox just checked out. I'm very glad I put her on my pre-season All-Big Ten list. She is fantastic. My most vivid memory of her is last season, stealing the ball with 1 second left in Evanston and putting up a jumper to win the game.

2:31pm -- What is going on here? It's such a pleasure to finally see Northwestern playing well. The difference so far has been intensity on both ends. Every player seems focused and determined more than any game I've seen. I guess that big steak dinner last night isn't slowing them down.

2:34pm -- NU's got a completely different gameplan. They're attacking the basket, purposely looking to draw fouls. Bibbs, Reed, Eckhart, they've all done it. Unfortunately, Reed hasn't put it away at the line, but Minnesota's already in the bonus.

2:42 -- The reason NU's suddenly fallen is Korinne Campbell. Six straight points for her thanks to wide-open layups. The defense is so worried about the outside shot of players like Fox they're shading in front. A lack of awareness lets Campbell get behind her. 30-22 now.

2:44pm -- Melissa Miller got the start today because she lives 20 minutes away. She just made a shot from her patented location inside the arc and a whole contingent of fans behind the NU bench started cheering. I'm assuming her family and friends, including what looks like her grandparents. The grandfather's wearing a long-sleeve NU t-shirt with black suspenders. A man after my own heart.

2:47pm (halftime) -- It's 34-24. A 17-2 run in the last 7 minutes. The defense didn't break down...it was already broken. Minnesota has just figured out how to use it. Offensively, the problem lies in not understanding the offense, 12 games into the season. Ellen Jaeschke has been great on the boards, but she's tried nothing but off-balance hook/push shots. Amy's attempts have been nearly as ugly. If the Cats are going to come back and win, they'll need to actually post up, not get the ball and immediately shoot.

2:55pm -- The most frustrating thing to see from Northwestern is downright sloppy play. Of the 9 turnovers in the first half (which isn't terrible), three in a row, late in the half, were simply throwing the ball out of bounds. There were three shot clock violations, plus the end of the first half not getting the shot off in time. That's 5 inexcusable turnovers. Steals happen. But those unforced errors show a talent disparity.

2:59pm -- Usually both teams return from the locker room with 4 minutes left in halftime. The Gophers got on the court at 5 minutes remaining...the Wildcats walked out 2 and a half minutes later. That must have been quite a speech from Coach Combs.

3:00pm -- Kevin Fishbain and Andrew Gothelf, our in-studio crew, just mentioned Emily Fox's hidden talent: speed stacking. My 11-year-old sister is very good at it...it's tremendously difficult. Not sure how much that skill can translate into basketball, but I'll assume it increases her ball-handling ability and improves her concentration on fast breaks. I have no idea.

3:05pm -- Ellen Jaeschke just checked out for her cousin. I liked the adjustment though through the first two minutes. She twice faked that off-balance hook I mentioned earlier and passed it away quickly. Minnesota was left out of position. Unfortunately the Wildcats couldn't hit.

3:07pm -- Ellen hasn't done much on offense, but her absence was just felt on the defensive end. She's the only one who's able to box out. Amy allowed two offensive boards on one possession. She could really learn something from her older cousin.

3:12pm -- It's been a rough year for Sara Stutz. Poor shooting followed by an injury a few weeks ago. She's hoping to recover enough to play again before she graduates, but she's contributing right now on the bench. The majority of that last NU timeout was spent by Stutz giving the team a speech, not Coach Combs. Perhaps the peer motivation will turn things around.

3:14pm -- Ranjan's doing a great job assessing Savannah Stedman. I don't remember hearing anyone breaking her game down this much. But with so many post players, Stedman's getting the call today. No Boyd, no Bielawski. It's been a challenge finding suitable replacements for the Jaeschkes. Stedman's getting her shot, but like Ranjan said, she needs to build up some strength for next year.

3:17pm -- Just as I posted that, Boyd came in. Boyd needs to work on just the opposite of Stedman. She's got all muscle, but little finesse. Her shots seem designed solely to draw a foul, but she is a presence down low. If she can find the line between charging and posting up, she'll be a solid contributor.

3:23pm -- I'm confused why Amy Jaeschke doesn't get the ball more often right below the basket. She obviously has difficulty posting up, but she needs to work on it. Most of the time, she gets the ball well outside the lane and if she can't get closer, she just turns around and chucks it up. That's not taking advantage of her height.

3:25pm -- Today's a "Think Pink" event for Minnesota. It's quite a show of unity when everyone on the bench is wearing a bright pink t-shirt, and every coach a bright pink tie/dress/shirt. Breast cancer has made a number of headlines at NU due to Carlys Coble's situation. Hopefully Northwestern can get a lot of support next week against the Badgers when they host a Think Pink event of their own.

3:26pm -- Meshia Reed is clearly the best athlete on this team. I like Combs strategy of starting her on the bench, but she needs to play more. Just hit her first three, giving her 11 points, the other 8 in only 11 minutes in the first half. When Foamy would come in off the bench, she'd be on the court within 2 minutes. Reed's too valuable on both sides of the ball to be kept on the sidelines.

3:32pm -- Amy Jaeschke picked up her 4th block. She's played just 15 games but already has 37 blocks. That ties her on the single-season list with Anucha Browne and Sarah Kwasinski, the last highly touted NU recruit. A top 50 player who never really panned out. Decent player, but not the game-changer people expected. Hopefully Amy continues to exceed her.

3:34pm -- The women's tennis team loses to Georgia Tech this time, 4-2, but they're still a force to be reckoned with. They beat GT less than two weeks ago when they were #1, and they needed to go through a string of top 15 teams to get to the championship game. They'll probably get a Big Ten win before the women's team does (Tennis plays PSU on Saturday)

3:43pm (game over) -- The final score: 68-48. Northwestern looked great for most of that first half, but finally Minnesota's athleticism prevailed. This would have been a much closer game if the Cats did three things: Box out successfully on defense, limit careless turnovers (throwing the ball out of bounds, shot clock violations), and consistently feeding the ball inside. Two of those are coachable. Let's hope they focus on it before facing Michigan on Valentine's Day.

3:45pm -- One more thing, on a personal note. Today completed my Tour de League at WNUR. Minneapolis is my eleventh and final Big Ten city that I've had the pleasure of visiting for a broadcast. Thank you to all those previous and current Sports Directors who helped me attain this prestigious goal (following in the footsteps of Ray Garcia and Dan Platt, among others). But a special thanks to the teams and coaches who have been so generous to allow WNUR broadcasters to travel with them, especially Coach Beth Combs and this women's basketball team. I was lucky enough to call the lone road win for the Cats these past four years in conference play (@ Michigan). Hopefully, many more are in store after I graduate.

That's it and that's all for this waltz down memory lane (and periodic updates from the Barn). Thanks for reading. - Ryan "Bobo" Morton