Everyone on the Northwestern men’s basketball team would agree that the Wildcats’ strategy is based on defense.
But defense alone doesn’t win games.
Shooting – and scoring – helps too.
That was the one major part of the Cats’ game that was missing in Saturday’s 56-41 loss to No. 16 Illinois.
NU didn’t make a single outside shot.
Of the Cats’ meager 41 points, 28 of them came in the paint and 13 came from the free-throw line. That means no outside jumpers, and certainly no three-pointers.
NU went 0 of 17 from beyond the arc.
And the Fighting Illini had something to do with that. Illinois used good, intense defense, including seven steals and six blocks.
Before Saturday, the Cats were averaging 7.6 made three-pointers per game, meaning they were relying on treys for 37.5 percent of their offense.
Without outside shooting, NU’s offensive attack – already last in the Big Ten in scoring at 60.8 points per game – was weakened even further.
“We’re not just a three-point shooting team,” senior Tavaras Hardy said. “(But) we weren’t able to make threes. We weren’t able to make foul shots. And that was the key to the game.”
Five of the Cats attempted several shots from behind the arc, and all of them missed, many badly. Center Aaron Jennings took the most, going 0-for-4 from long range.
There were airballs, bricks, even balls rolling around and out – but no swishes.
“I’ve been coaching a long time, and I’ve never had a team not make a three, I don’t think,” Carmody said.
That’s true at least for Carmody’s NU squads. In the coach’s two seasons in Evanston, the Cats’ lowest output from behind the arc before Saturday’s loss was three baskets.
But three-pointers weren’t the only problem for NU.
The Cats made just four baskets in the first half, shooting an abysmal 18.2 percent and scoring only 13 points. NU did manage to improve their percentage after the break, but they still struggled, shooting 37 percent in the period.
Jitim Young was the only NU player to reach double digits in scoring, knocking down 4 of 13 shots for 11 points. But each of Young’s converted shots were layups.
Not only were the outside shots not falling, but the free throws also weren’t finding the net.
NU went 13-for-30 from the charity stripe, continuing a season-long battle with foul shooting.
Hardy was the biggest offender from the line, making only 3 of 13 attemps to lower his season percentage to 48.3.
But Carmody may have found a solution for Hardy’s foul-shooting woes.
With 10:30 left in the first half, Hardy was fouled hard by Illinois’ 7-foot-2 center Nick Smith. Injured and bleeding on the play, Hardy was forced to leave the game for one possession, allowing Carmody to send guard Drew Long to the line in his place. Long hit both shots to narrow the Illini’s lead to four points.
The Cats’ 17 missed foul shots would have made the difference in the game.
A side effect of NU’s awful shooting was Illinois’ 35 defensive rebounds. The Cats even grabbed 11 offensive boards.
Senior Collier Drayton said the Cats should take responsibility – not credit the Illinois defense – for NU’s shooting.
“It was more us than it was them,” Drayton said. “We were getting any shot we wanted, and tonight we weren’t making our shots.”
