Basketball Opponent Pregame Glimpse: Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern Wildcats 6-16 (1-11 in Big Ten)

Last Result: Northwestern Wildcats 73, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 77 F/OT

The Northwestern Wildcats blew a golden opportunity to win their first game since January 11th and stop their now seven game losing streak, while also becoming the first road team to win at the RAC this season. Northwestern looked like they were going to win for the second time in their last 13 contests, as they started the game on a 29-11 run and led by double-digits after the run until there was just 6:11 left to play. However, Geo Baker, Rutgers star guard, had different plans, as he scored 25 points and had 12 of Rutgers last 16 points of the game to lead the Scarlet Knights to their largest comeback win since 1996.

With the loss, Northwestern now falls to 1-7 in games decided by five points or less. In addition, this contest wasn’t the first time Northwestern surrendered a huge lead, as they were up by 14 at the half against Maryland in a game the Wildcats ultimately lost by 11. The biggest reason for Northwestern's collapse was their inability to score the ball late in the game, as Rutgers finished the final 6:30 of regulation on a 14-3 run. These scoring droughts are not unusual for the Wildcats, though, as they rank worst in the Big Ten in points scored per game at 65.5. Despite hitting a season high 11 three pointers, while shooting 47.8% from deep, which is way better than their average 32.6% from long range, and only having four turnovers in the game, Northwestern still was unable to hang onto the lead. The Wildcats’ struggles late in games may be partly due to their inexperience, as they start four underclassmen and a senior in Pat Spencer, who didn’t play college basketball until this season, as he was a four time All-American in lacrosse for Loyola (Md.).

The freshman Boo Buie got his 3rd career start and played very well in the first half, as he led the team with 19 points in the game; however, Buie struggled late in the contest, only scoring five points in the final 24 minutes of action. Miller Kopp, like Buie, played very well in the first half, as he finished the game with 16 points, despite going 1-for-7 with just two points in the last 18 minutes of the game. The Wildcats also got a nice boost from Jared Jones, the freshman who averages 2.5 points per game, played great for Northwestern off the bench, scoring a career high 11 points.

Although Rutgers was horrific from three point range, going just 4-for-20, with three of those makes coming from Geo Baker, the Scarlet Knights were still able to come back and win this game in large part due to their offensive rebounding. The Scarlet Knights came up with 19 offensive rebounds, which was the same amount of defensive rebounds Northwestern had in the game. Rutgers’ domination of the boards, Northwestern’s inability to score the basketball late and Geo Baker simply taking over the game were the reasons that the Wildcats let another chance to win slip away.

Northwestern Wildcats Last Matchup Against Michigan:

January 13, 2019: Michigan Wolverines 80, Northwestern Wildcats 60

The No. 2 ranked Wolverines started the game on a 10-0 run and never allowed Northwestern to tie or take the lead the rest of the way, as Michigan improved to 17-0. The Wolverines dominated the first half, as they went into the break up 50-28, finishing the first half the same way they started it on a 10-0 run. Northwestern could never cut the lead into single digits in the second half, as the Wolverines went up as many as 24.

Michigan was led by Zavier Simpson, who had 24 points in the contest, which included five three pointers. John Teske also had a nice night, accounting for a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Charles Mathews added 13 points and Ignas Brazdeikis made it four Wolverines with double digits in points, as he scored 11. As a team, Michigan shot the ball extremely well in the contest going 31-for-59, which is 52.5% and a solid 11-for-27 from three, which is 40.7%.

Derek Pardon led the way for the Wildcats with 20 points in the contest on 10-for-16 shooting. Ryan Taylor also had a solid game for Northwestern, as he had 15 points, which included the only four three point makes the Wildcats had in the contest. The rest of the Northwestern team other than Taylor really struggled from long range, as they shot 0-for-10 from three. Michigan dominated the Wildcats from wire to wire in a game that was never close.

Players to Watch:

Miller Kopp, Sophomore, Forward

The 6-7 forward is Northwestern’s best scorer, averaging 13.5 points per game. Kopp is also the Wildcats best three point shooter of anyone who plays at least 19 minutes a game, as he is shooting 41.4% from beyond the arc while averaging 5.3 attempts from long range a contest. In seven out of the Wildcats’ last eight games, Kopp has scored at least 15 points. The sophomore forward has been one of the few consistent bright spots on a struggling Northwestern team, so in order for the Wildcats to upset the Wolverines, Kopp will have to continue to play extremely well, while also making a few big shots late in the game that he was unable to hit against the Scarlet Knights.

Boo Buie, Freshman, Guard

The freshman has played his way into a bigger role on this Northwestern team. Through the first nine games of the season, Buie was just playing 18.6 minutes a game; however, since then the freshman guards minutes have picked up and his play has done the same, as he has reached double-digits in points in six out of his last eight appearances. Buie has worked his way up to averaging 10.5 points per game, despite not having great numbers early in the season simply due to the lack of floor time he received. Buie is also a very solid three point shooter at 37.5%, and he is not afraid to take shots from several feet beyond the three point line. The 6-2 point guard seems to finally have solidified himself in the starting rotation for the Wildcats, and he will have to be able to compete with Zavier Simpson on both ends of the floor if Northwestern wants to pull off the upset to break their losing streak. 

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