Men’s Basketball

Senior forward Vic Law was named to the All-Wooden Legacy Team after finishing the tournament averaging 17.7 points per game and six rebounds.

Law was deadly from three-point territory, shooting 47 percent from deep over Northwestern’s three games in Fullerton, California. For the season, Law is shooting 45.2 percent from beyond the arc, well above his career average of 38.9 percent.

After struggling in the first game against Fresno State, Law rebounded with two big performances against La Salle and Utah. Against the Explorers, Law went to the free-throw line 16 times, connecting on 14 of the free baskets on his way to 21 points and eight rebounds. Then against the Utes, Law exploded for 14 points in the second half as he sparkplugged the Wildcats’ second half rally to turn a four-point halftime lead into a 22-point win.

Myles Powell, a junior guard for Seton Hall, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Powell dropped 40 points on 75 percent shooting in the Pirates’ first round game against Grand Canyon before scoring 17 points in Seton Hall’s victory over Miami in the Wooden Legacy championship game.

Pardon efficiently putting up big numbers

Despite averaging about five shots a game in The Golden State, senior center Dererk Pardon scored at least 11 points in all three games. These double-digit totals were a result of Pardon missing only two shots in three games — both of them coming against the Bulldogs — and hitting 13 of his 19 free-throw attempts.

Pardon, who is NU’s all-time leader in shooting percentage, is third among Big Ten players with a .658 field goal percentage on the season. If one takes out his game against American when he shot under 36 percent from the field, Pardon has missed only four shots this entire season. Yet Law, graduate guard Ryan Taylor and junior forward A.J. Turner have all taken significantly more shots than the 6-foot-8 center.

The Cats spend Sunday night in California

As many students were not able to return to campus following Thanksgiving break, the Cats dealt with the same issues. Due to the weather in the area, NU’s return flight to Chicago was cancelled Sunday so the team spent another night in California.

During their extra few hours in “SoCal” — where the temperatures reached a high of 77 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday — the team got food at an In-N-Out Burger. According to the NU men’s basketball Twitter, the team departed the Southern California in the morning Monday.

NU ranked No. 83 in new NET rankings

The NCAA announced over the summer that it would be replacing the RPI with a new rankings system called NET. NET — which stands for NCAA Evaluation Tool — will be a major tool during by the committee to select teams for the NCAA tournament.

“What has been developed is a contemporary method of looking at teams analytically, using results-based and predictive metrics that will assist the Men’s Basketball Committee as it reviews games throughout the season,” said Dan Gavitt, senior vice president of basketball for the NCAA, said over the summer.

The first NET rankings were announced Monday and NU finds itself slotted in at No. 83 right between Big Sky members Northern Colorado and Southern Utah.

While being No. 83 places the Cats in the top 25 percent of the country, 12 Big Ten teams find themselves ahead of NU in the NET rankings. Eight of the top 20 teams — including an undefeated Ohio State that claimed the No. 1 ranking — are from the Big Ten. The only team below NU is Illinois at No. 125.

Even in the Chicagoland area, the Cats find themselves in the middle of the rankings. Illinois-Chicago, despite being 3-3, and DePaul are both ranked in the 70s ahead of NU. The Cats are ahead of 2018 Final Four participant Loyola-Chicago, which is ranked No. 148, and Chicago State, currently at the bottom of the barrel at No. 353.

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