Men’s Basketball

A look at the box score seems to show that Northwestern doesn’t miss senior center Alex Olah.

With Olah sidelined with a foot injury, freshman center Dererk Pardon snared 14 rebounds in the Wildcats’ (13-3, 1-2 Big Ten) 65-56 loss Wednesday to Ohio State. In the team’s conference opener at Nebraska, which was just Pardon’s second collegiate game, he dropped 28 points and 12 rebounds.

Pardon and graduate center Joey van Zegeren have combined to average 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game in the four games since Olah’s injury, seemingly more than compensating for Olah’s average 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game on the year. But it’s how Olah put up those numbers that was so valuable to NU and so missed in the Cats’ two straight defeats.

Olah’s presence in the post demands respect from opposing defenses in a way his replacements haven’t been able to match, forcing perimeter players to help in the paint and opening spaces for NU’s shooters. Olah is also a skilled enough passer to make defenses pay for over-committing to defending him, with his 1.2 assists per game leading all centers in the Big Ten.

Meanwhile, Pardon and van Zegeren have done good work scoring inside, but their vision and ability to set up shooters from the paint is not at Olah’s level. The duo has combined for just two assists in the last four games.

Coach Chris Collins acknowledged that there’s a dropoff in skill and defensive respect from Olah to his replacements.

“Joey’s an activity guy and right now Dererk is more of an energy guy as well,” Collins said. “Alex commands double teams with everybody we play.”

Olah’s ability to shoot from midrange also takes pressure off the other parts of the Cats’ offense. With Pardon and van Zegeren both non-entities on the perimeter, opposing big men have been able to sit back on screens with no fear of either popping free for a jumpshot, clogging the lane for NU’s drivers and cutters.

It makes things all the more difficult for the team’s guards, sophomore Bryant McIntosh and senior Tre Demps, to get into the paint and kick to open shooters. McIntosh said Olah’s absence has forced him and Demps to shoulder a larger load.

“Without Olah, we just don’t have that inside presence,” McIntosh said. “(Pardon and van Zegeren) have done a great job, but Olah’s an All-Big Ten center.”

With a dearth of open shots for the Cats leading to more misses in recent games, NU has compensated with a strong offensive rebounding effort. Pardon is averaging 4.3 offensive rebounds per game, up from Olah’s 1.8 per game.

Pardon said that he accepts his role as an “energy” player at this point in his career.

“That’s my role on the team right now, provide energy, be a great presence on the boards,” Pardon said. “Anything that helps the team win.”

But offensive rebounding hasn’t been enough to get wins for the Cats, who’ve shot just 17.8 percent from 3 in their last two games. With a suddenly important trip to Minnesota (6-9, 0-3) looming on Saturday, NU will be looking for a way to create good shots without Olah’s unseen contributions of smart post passing and spacing.

Collins said his injured center is doubtful to play Saturday but is getting closer to a return that can’t come a moment too soon for the now-struggling Cats.

“Not having a guy like Alex to be able to just drop it into the post … has really put a lot of pressure on our two guards,” Collins said. “It’s hard to loosen the defense when you can’t drop the ball into the post.”

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