For all of the talk about the added depth and skill on this year’s Northwestern roster, Tuesday night was the season premiere of the Drew Crawford Show.
He drained shot after shot on his way to 20 points, all in the first half, on 8-12 shooting as the Wildcats thrashed the Texas Southern Tigers 79-49. Freshman Kale Abrahamson added 15 more, and Reggie Hearn and Jared Swopshire accounted for nine points each.
Crawford started the game 8-8 from the floor, during which the senior forward outscored the entire Tiger squad 20-14, before sitting for the majority of the second half. By the time head coach Bill Carmody pulled him just six minutes after the intermission, the game’s outcome was in no doubt.
“[John] Shurna is gone, and it’s on him now,” Carmody said. “They were sagging and that shot was open…He gets in a groove, and that thing is smooth.”
“Smooth” was also used to describe the shot of Abrahamson, who Carmody said took advantage of added minutes given up by the ill Sanjay Lumpkin. The lanky guard from Iowa hit three of four shots from beyond the three-point arc, sending the few fans in attendance into a frenzy.
“They say my shot looks like [Shurna’s],” Abrahamson said. “I tend to disagree, but whatever. It‘s an honor to be compared to him in any way.”
Even with the added cushion from the offensive fireworks, the ‘Cats hunkered down all night on defense. Carmody praised the defensive effort, as the ‘Cats did not allow the Tigers to reach double digits in the scoring column until just over three minutes remained in the first half. The team gave up only 14 points in the first half, the lowest total scored against Northwestern since UC-Riverside was held to the same number on Dec. 1, 2008.
Texas Southern struggled all night to find openings in the defense, as perimeter pressure denied scoring opportunities until the shot clock was set to expire. As a result, the Tigers shot only 20.7 percent in the first half, and only 29.3 percent for the game.
Freshman center Alex Olah was perhaps the biggest reason Texas Southern, save for a short stint in the second half, failed to get much going offensively. In addition to his seven rebounds and four blocks, Olah added an aspect to Northwestern’s game, both offensively and defensively, that Tigers coach Mike Davis, formerly of Indiana, was not used to seeing from the Wildcats.
“We had one day to prepare. You need a week to prepare for [Northwestern],” Davis said. “I hadn’t played them in so long, but [having skilled big men] is like a new wrinkle.”
And it certainly did not help the Tigers’ chances that Oklahoma State transfer Raymond Penn only had 13 points against the ‘Cats, paling in comparison to his 25-point effort against Boise State on Sunday night. The lack of a big time scoring threat crippled Texas Southern as Northwestern ripped off a 27-2 scoring run that spanned almost ten minutes in the first half.
“We got open looks, we just didn’t make them,” Davis said.
One of Northwestern’s own players, guard Dave Sobolewski, most likely understands Davis’ frustration. The sophomore missed all four of his field goal attempts and seemingly struggled to create shots for himself all night long. He spread the ball with ease, finishing with nine assists, but a total of three points will likely not suffice against the type of opponents that the ’Cats will face as the season continues to progress.
Still, despite Sobolewski’s struggles, the Tigers quickly lost control of the game. Northwestern led by 31 right before the half, and the team pushed its lead to as much as 37 in the second half.
Arguably, the most exciting moment of the game did not even involve players from either team. Instead, the loudest reaction came when a child knocked another off of a chair with resounding force during a halftime game of musical chairs.
It was a scene indicative of the entire night, as the Wildcats pushed the Tigers around from the opening tip to the final horn. Aided by a mid-season performance from Crawford, and enough help from the supporting cast, Northwestern’s victory was never in doubt.