Tip-off

Following the win over Hampton University on Sunday, Northwestern coach Joe McKeown was clear about what the Wildcats (2-0) needed to improve on.

“Turnovers and rebounding,” he said. “We need to clean that up.”

After sprinting out to victories over Chicago State and Hampton last weekend, NU’s coach didn’t seem to have much to complain about with regards to his team.

The Cats’ defense has been smothering to open the season, allowing opponents to shoot only 25.7 percent from the field and 21.2 percent from three point range so far. With the return of the starting five from last year’s team, which was top-50 in the country in opposing field goal percentage at 37.3 percent, this defensive performance has some precedent.

On the other side of the court, NU has been off to a sizzling shooting start that has helped the Cats put their early-season opponents away. The Cats have shot 54.2 percent from the field and 47.2 percent on threes this season, helped by junior guard Maggie Lyon making 9 of her 13 three-point-attempts.

That shooting start may be unsustainable for NU, which shot just 33.3 percent from three point range last season. For a team with aspirations of improving on last year’s 5-11 record in Big Ten play, navigating a deep conference with nationally-ranked teams Maryland, Michigan State, Nebraska, Iowa, Rutgers and Purdue will require clean basketball on both ends of the floor if the Cats’ offense comes back to earth in the future.

But NU has turned the ball over 21 times on average per game so far, giving away opportunities to score when it has the ball. On the other end, the Cats have allowed 13.5 offensive rebounds per game on average, allowing their opponents more chances to score after their defense has forced a stop.

Turnovers and offensive rebounding are two factors shown to be highly correlated with winning in basketball, as they directly influence the number of chances a team has to score in a game. For the Cats to make good on their potential with a seasoned lineup led by star sophomore and Preseason All-Big Ten Team forward Nia Coffey, focusing on controlling these factors will be critical.

“We have to play our game,” Coffey said after the Hampton game. “The consistency will come. We have to focus on ourselves and what we can do to win.”

With a tough conference slate looming, NU will use Friday night’s matchup against Kent State (0-2) as an opportunity to play the fundamentally-sound basketball they will need to end the season in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cats will host the Golden Flashes in Welsh-Ryan Arena, with the game tipping at 7 p.m.

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