ANN ARBOR, Mich. — So much for the defense.
Early in the second half, coming out of a timeout and already down 21-12, the Northwestern men’s basketball team went to its newly retinkered full-court press.
It didn’t work.
With a few sneaky passes, Michigan easily broke the press, running circles around all five NU defenders. A few seconds later, Michigan’s Daniel Horton capped the possession with an easy lay-up.
With or without full-court pressure, the Wildcats (5-7, 0-1) couldn’t stop the Wolverines Wednesday night at Crisler Arena, letting them (10-2, 1-0) coast to a 78-54 win. Except for Jitim Young’s lay-up on the second possession of the game, which tied the score at two, the Cats trailed the entire 40 minutes.
“Any work we did on our defense didn’t seem to be effective,” NU coach Bill Carmody said. “I mean, they didn’t miss a shot. They were just so comfortable out there.”
Despite Carmody’s recent defensive tutorial, the Wolverines shot 65 percent from the field, making 16 of their first 21 attempts. Michigan also excelled from the free throw line, draining 17 of 19.
“We have a habit of making guys shoot the ball pretty well,” Carmody said.
As Michigan sunk most of its shots, the Cats’ offense remained cold. Mohammed Hachad didn’t score a point in 20 minutes on the court, spending long stretches of the game on the bench. Point guard T.J. Parker played 35 minutes but recorded just seven points and two assists.
“I don’t know what I’m doing out there,” Parker said. “I have got to find something out because I can’t play like that.”
The Cats’ taller players struggled against the strong Michigan frontcourt, allowing the Wolverines to outrebound NU 31-18. Freshman center Vince Scott, making his first start, pulled down five boards but fouled out with two minutes left. And although 6-9 Ivan Tolic played a season-high 14 minutes, he failed to log a single rebound.
Both Tolic and Scott were playing in their first Big Ten game and, at times, looked out of place near the basket.
“That’s not an excuse,” Parker said. “They’re still learning. We got beat down there, but it’s not an excuse for why we lost tonight. It’s everybody, as a team.”
As usual, Young carried the Cats with 20 points and seven rebounds. But the senior guard jacked up two airballs, and heard about it from the Michigan student section.
Vedran Vukusic managed 10 points, but the 6-8 swingman failed to bring down a single rebound in 30 minutes.
None of the NU players had much luck shooting, with the team sinking just 35 percent of its shots. The Cats did have more luck from the free throw line, making 13 of 16 attempts. Young questioned the team’s competitive spirit as it starts its Big Ten campaign.
Parker, mired in a shooting slump, has been watching film from last season. But even he’s not sure what’s going on.
“It looks like I’m playing scared out there,” he said. “I don’t know.”
