The Wildcats look to enter the win column in Big Ten Conference play as they head into their match up against the Minnesota Gophers at Welsh-Ryan Arena.  The ‘Cats come into the game at a disappointing 0-8 in the Big Ten, while the Gophers sit at 3-5 in conference play and boast an impressive overall record of 13-7.  In the previous match up between these two teams, Northwestern suffered an 82-63 drubbing on January 9^th at Williams Arena thanks to 19 points and 14 rebounds from senior forward Dan Coleman. 

In that same game, the ‘Cats star player, Kevin Coble, had an efficient night with 17 points on 7 of 14 shooting. His teammate, Craig Moore, finished the game with 11 points.  However, it has been the play of freshman point guard Michael “Juice” Thompson that has rejuvenated the otherwise lethargic Northwestern offense.  Thompson has averaged a solid 13 points on 44% shooting over his last 3 games, forming a cogent offensive attack with Kevin Coble.  Thompson’s least productive game came in the Cats’ loss to Indiana on Sunday. 

Northwestern rallied early in the second half, but did not have enough to stop Eric Gordon and the Hoosiers.  The Gophers enter tonight’s game coming off a loss to Wisconsin.  This game should be a close affair, as Minnesota has only managed one victory in their last three trips to Welsh-Ryan Arena.  NBN will be providing a live blog of the game beginning at 6 p.m., so check for updates as the game progresses.   

Pre-Game – A sparse crowd fills the arena 15 minutes before tip-0ff.  When I say sparse, I mean less than 200 fans and, even worse, half of them are Gophers fans.  The cold weather outside has probably dissuaded more than a few Wildcat fans from coming out to the game. As the captains shake hands at center court, the 6 foot 9, 225-pound senior Dan Coleman towers over the likes of Jason Okrzesik and Sterling Williams.  

As the two teams head to the locker room for a few last words from their respective coaches, I catch sight of Blake Hoffarber leading his Gophers off the court.  Hoffarber is averaging a mere 8.9 points on the season, but in his last outing against the Wildcats, he connected on 5 of 7 three-point field goals.  It is important that the ‘Cats watch both Hoffarber and Coleman closely on the defensive end.   

Gametime First Half 20:00 -  The crowd now totals an “impressive” 500 and the game begins.  Minnesota gains first possession and whaddya know, Blake Hoffarber hits a corner three!  

18:30 – Minnesota big man Spencer Tollackson converts a three-point play, but Kevin Coble counters with an 18-foot jump shot to bring the deficit to four.   

15:30 – Mike Capocci, fresh off the bench, commits a careless foul on Hoffarber who was in the act of shooting a three.  I’m sure this will help his cause in terms of playing time or lack thereof.  The ‘Cats head into their first timeout down 8-7.  Michael Thompson has scored a quick five points in these first 4 1/2 minutes.   

13:00 – Dan Coleman re-enters the game.  He has been ineffective thus far.  Sterling Williams and Kevin Coble have done a nice job clogging the middle.  Craig Moore hits his second three-pointer and threads the needle to Jeremy Nash on the ensuing fastbreak to give the ‘Cats a two-point lead.   

11:00 –  Craig Moore is feeling it!  The Cats’ second leading scorer, who is shooting a decent 37% from three-point range this year, has connected on all three of his attempts tonight.  The ‘Cats go into their second timeout with an 18-16 lead.   

7:30 – Bill Carmody pleads to the ref to give his players a call as Michael Thompson takes it hard to the rim to no avail.  Craig Moore connects with Kevin Coble once again on a beautiful back door pass.  The ‘Cats have done a nice job mixing their inside and outside games, but still trail 28-24.    

4:00 – Michael Thompson has scored the Wildcats last 5 points for a total of 12.  As Tubby Smith gathers his troops in for a timeout, the Gophers are up 34-29.  Minnesota is up 15-3 on the boards.   

2:00 -  Jamal Abu-Shamala knocks down Minnesota’s 13th and 14th free throw to give the Gophers a 39-31 lead.  Northwestern has only been to the line 6 times. Abu-Shamala hits a three to give him ten points and increases the Gophers lead to 11.  The Wildcats are starting to show signs of weakness both on the offensive and defensive end.  Blake Hoffarber, the guy who started it all off, hits a three with 2.5 seconds left in the first half to give the Gophers a 47-33 lead going into the half.  I’m sure Bill Carmody will use the half time intermission to rip into his players who, after starting the game strong, have tailed off dramatically.    

Stories of the First Half

1.  The Minnesota Gophers have dominated inside the paint. They are on the better side of a 19-4 rebounding discrepancy and have been able to feed Spencer Tollackson consistently inside as he has collected an effortless 13 points.
2. The Gophers have been to the line 11 more times than the Wildcats and have connected on 88% of their free throws.  
3. On offense, the Wildcats have had a well-balanced scoring attack, as Coble, Thompson and Moore have collected 8, 12 and 11 respectively. 

  The ‘Cats must step up their defensive intensity to get the ‘W’.      

Second Half 20:00 – Abu-Shamala hits a three to start off the half to increase the Gophers’ lead to 17.   Northwestern might want to start respecting Minnesota’s outside game — the Gopher’s are shooting a blistering 54% from beyond the arc.   

17:00 – Kevin Coble scores 4 quick points, but his team is having a tough time penetrating Minnesota’s effective zone defense.   Bill Carmody calls for a timeout before the Wildcats let this game get out of hand.  However, the timeout might have been called a little too late, the ‘Cats are down 20.   

15:00 – Northwestern is trying to slow this game down by getting to the charity stripe.  Thompson knocks down two free throws to bring the deficit to 18.  The Gophers have officially caught fire.  They are up 62-43 and are shooting near 60% from the field.  

13:30 – Michael Thompson takes his first rest of the game.  The Wildcats could really benefit from the addition of another ball handler.  Then again, they could also benefit from  a number of other things like size, skill, basketball i.q., but I digress.    

12:00 – To their credit, Northwestern is keeping the game interesting.  Kevin Coble has scored 8 points in the second half and has single-handedly brought the deficit to 13.  Northwestern gets an impressive defensive stop and looks to be on a run when Tubby Smith calls a timeout to try to break up the momentum of the suddenly revived Wildcat team.   

9:30 -  Bring out the umbrellas, it’s raining treys!  Kevin Coble seems to be trading 3 pointers with Minnesota’s  Hoffarber and Abu-Shamala. Speaking of 3’s, Michael Thompson hits a corner pocket three-pointer to bring the Wildcats within 12 points.   

7:00 – The Gophers have been effectively switching up their man and zone defenses to the bewilderment of the Wildcats’ players.   Although they are on pace to exceed their first-half output of 33 points, they are hanging on by a thread in this second half by converting highly contested three-point shots.  The Gophers are up 75-58.   

5:30  - It has been more of the same for the Wildcats in the second half as they have snatched only 8 rebounds to Minnesota’s 27.  Jeremy Nash has brought some much needed energy to the ‘Cats offense.  He follows two free throws with a smooth reverse layup and receives praise from his coach as he heads to the bench.  Oh yeah, he fouled out in a mere 10 minutes, but I’m trying to keep the mood light here so we’ll ignore that for the moment. 

3:00  - Craig Moore, who has gone M.I.A in the second half, ends his scoring drought as he hits a three to bring his scoring total to 16.  The Wildcats are down 82-69.  

1:00 – How fitting – the Gophers get to the line 6 times within the last two-and-a-half minutes of play.  They win the game 92-72.  

0:00 – Game over.  The Wildcats received impressive performances from their triumvirate of Coble, Moore and Thompson, who combined for a grand total of 60 points, but the solid rebounding and relentless offensive and defensive attack of the Gophers left the ‘Cats helpless and befuddled when it was all said and done.  Bill Carmody seemed pretty somber in the post-game interview as he conceded that he did not know what to tell guys like Michael Thompson, Craig Moore and Kevin Coble to keep their spirits up.  But as the old adage goes “when it rains, it pours” — the Wildcats play Michigan State on Saturday. Northwestern fans — brace yourselves!