Even playing against the No. 10 team in the country, Northwestern beat itself.
The Wildcats, who averaged 10.3 turnovers per game last season, were doomed by offensive sloppiness, turning the ball over 16 times and never leading in the contest.
“That’s a very good team,” coach Bill Carmody said, “but I don’t even know that they played particularly well tonight.”
It didn’t matter as the Bulldogs ran away with a 67-54 victory, led by Gordon Hayward’s double-double and Shelvin Mack’s eight assists.
The turnovers came despite Butler’s defensive strategy of playing off the ball to counteract Carmody’s Princeton offense and its backdoor cuts.
“They played looser defensively than I thought they would,” Carmody said. “I expected a little more overplay, but I didn’t think it should have affected us so much.”
The question is whether the credit for the turnovers comes from a vigilant defense or an offense that needs work.
“I’d like to say it was Butler’s defense,” Bulldogs coach Brad Stevens said. “We played hard defensively, but I don’t think we were perfect by any means.”
The Cats kept the game close in the early going. After NU tied the game at 17, Butler scored seven unanswered points, and entered the half up 30-24.
“In the first half, we competed,” junior guard Michael Thompson said. “But we didn’t feel as though we played that well overall even though we were down just six.”
Then, Butler sprung. The Cats allowed a 12-0 second-half run that pushed the deficit to 18. When NU finally answered with buckets on two straight possessions, Butler’s Avery Jukes knocked home two straight uncontested 3-pointers to push Butler’s lead to 20.
NU couldn’t find a consistent scorer in either half. Thompson provided the bulk of NU’s first 11 points by nailing three 3-pointers, but his production evaporated as soon as Butler altered its defense.
“They keyed in on me,” Thompson said. “I was just trying to get through the offense and let the rest of my offense get some open looks.”
In last season’s matchup against Butler, Thompson led the team with 12 points, benefiting from a defensive focus on Craig Moore, who graduated last year. When Thompson heated up, he got the same attention Moore did.
“We had to change what we were doing,” Stevens said. “He’s a terrific scorer, and to his credit, he made us pay a little bit.”
Despite not leaving the floor the entire game, Thompson didn’t score for 28 minutes between his third 3 and a layup with three minutes to go. By then, the score was well out of reach.
“When you hit shots, they start guarding you,” Carmody said. “He kept us in the first half there, but he can’t do everything.”
Sophomore forward John Shurna took the reins of NU’s offense in the second half, scoring nine points and adding four rebounds.
“I’ve got to put together a full game,” Shurna said. “I played pretty poorly on defense. Offensively, I’ve got to make open shots and find the open man and make the right play.”
Carmody said he liked what he saw from Shurna, though it was too little, too late.
“He had a decent second half, but the game was over,” Carmody said. “When you’re down by 12, 14, it’s a little easier to do that. (It’s important to) have a good first half.”
The team’s inability to stop the Bulldogs from scoring also hampered the Cats’ chances. Butler carved up NU’s zone defense, with shooting specialist Zach Hahn camping out in the corners and routinely getting open looks at the basket. Hahn and Jukes combined to shoot 5-7 from beyond the arc.
“Our 1-3-1 zone wasn’t as effective,” Carmody said. “It didn’t seem as lively. Jeremy wasn’t forcing passes and turnovers, and it seemed like they were in control.”
The Bulldogs routinely skipped the ball from one side of the floor to the other, and NU didn’t rotate fast enough to stop it.
“We need to play (the zone) better,” Carmody said. “We were out of position too often, and that’s what I was disappointed in.”
Despite battling injuries, inexperience and a top-10 opponent, the Cats gave no excuses for the loss.
“We expect to win,” Shurna said. “When we play, we expect to compete. Our goals haven’t changed.”[email protected]
