Sophomore forward Kevin Coble, who was scoring most of Northwestern’s points in the first half Saturday against Michigan, found freshman forward Mike Capocci streaming down an open lane for an easy layup.
But Capocci’s shot rattled in and out, and the Wildcats still trailed by six points with just less than seven minutes to play in the first half.
But the missed layup was the beginning of the end. Michigan’s DeShawn Sims powered his way to the basket for a layup, and Manny Harris made an acrobatic layup to spark a 22-5 run to end the period up 21.
“They came ready to play,” coach Bill Carmody said. “I thought our defense was very bad in the first half …. They made the first move, the initial move all the time.”
Michigan’s late first-half run put NU into a hole from which it couldn’t escape, despite outscoring Michigan 46-35 in the second half, including an 18-0 run.
The Cats shot 54.5 percent in the second half, but managed only 37 percent shooting in the first. Carmody said the team was playing well in the early parts of the game, forcing steals and getting their hands on the ball. But he said he was disappointed with his team’s defense as the game wore on.
“We need guys to make shots, when it matters, early in the game and get your feet under you so that you don’t fall behind,” Carmody said. “I just didn’t see the intensity that I felt we needed. Michigan stuck it right to us. They were the aggressors the entire game.”
This was not the first time the Cats had given up a late first-half scoring run, turning a close game into an uphill climb.
NU gave up 16 straight points, squandering a 20-14 lead, against Minnesota in its previous game. The Golden Gophers went on a 22-5 run to take a double-digit lead they did not relinquish.
In the Big Ten opener, Penn State erased a nine-point lead with a 10-4 run in the middle of the first half. The Nittany Lions then used a 10-2 run to begin the second half, giving them a lead the Cats could not erase.
Michigan ran away with the game in a similar fashion.
“In the first half, we were just accepting whatever they wanted to do,” Coble said. “We were very reactive to how they were playing. We weren’t adjusting accordingly. The second half, I think they relaxed a little on offense because they were up so much. I think it was a combination of us coming out and being more assertive and also them settling down a little bit.”
Opponents have outscored the Cats 156-111 in the first half of conference games. But NU only trails opponents 145-139 in the final 20 minutes.
Coble said the team is struggling with its rebounding and defense. He added that the team needs to remedy this problem in the conference or it will be, “a long couple of months.”
Michigan shot 56.7 percent in the first half. Without Coble’s 6-of-8 first half, NU was 4 of 19.
“You have to make some shots and you have to stop guys,” Carmody said. “If you’re good on offense, you have to be good on defense. I know I’m going to look at that tape and see some of these shots and say, ‘Whoa, take it easy.’ But in the first half, Michigan’s shots were much better than ours. They were getting to the rim. They were getting offensive rebounds.”
Reach Philip Rossman-Reich at [email protected].
