Heavily favored to win all their non-conference matches, Northwestern stumbled in its bid for its first-ever NCAA tourney appearance, falling to St. John’s by a final score of 85-69. The loss leaves Northwestern with a record of 8-1 and sends the Wildcats back to Evanston to face Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday to round out the non-conference schedule.
Hero of the game: John Shurna
While St. John’s standouts Dwight Hardy and Justin Brownlee deserve significant recognition for their 20-plus point efforts in their victory Tuesday night (particularly Brownlee, whose dominant second half sealed the game for the Red Storm and won him the Lou Carnesecca tournament MVP award), the single most impressive, if ill-fated, performance under the Garden roof belonged to Northwestern’s John Shurna. His 28 points, all scored in the first 28 minutes, kept the Wildcats in the game. His final 12 minutes, however, were excruciating.
With the game still close, St. John’s began to apply more pressure to Shurna on the perimeter, forcing the ball out of his hands and into the hands of his struggling teammates. After a promising start, Drew Crawford struggled the entire second half, notching five turnovers. Luka Mirkovic, rather than taking advantage of the Red Storm’s shift to the perimeter as a chance to dominate in the trenches, shot 1-of-6 from the floor before fouling out. Ultimately, the crushing loss suffered by the Wildcats exposed not only how indispensable John Shurna is to this team, but also how little they can produce when Shurna’s teammates cannot take advantage of the openings he creates.
Stat of the Game: St. John’s shoots 80-percent from the field in the second half
The second half against St. John’s was easily Northwestern’s worst period of basketball all season; not a single other 20-minute stretch even comes close. The Wildcats were dominated in the paint, with St. John’s scoring 38 of their 48 points down low on high percentage shots. The Wildcats’ perimeter shooting prowess couldn’t match the bruising play of forwards Justin Brownlee and Justin Burrell, who both racked up double-digit point totals in the second half. Burrell’s physical post skills, as well as a number of shifty drives by guard Dwight Hardy, forced Northwestern into foul trouble despite a disciplined first half (the Red Storm shot two free throws in the first and 19 in the second), with Alex Marcotullio and Luka Mirkovic eventually fouling out. The 80-percent shooting percentage is no aberration: The Wildcats simply did not have an answer for the Red Storm’s paint prowess, and gave up high percentage shot after high percentage shot.
Improvement: Perimeter Defense
During the Wildcats game against St. John’s, one thing was apparent: Northwestern struggled to stop dribble penetration by the Red Storm guards. Even in the 1-3-1, Northwestern struggled to keep their opponent’s guards at bay. Dribble penetration opened up a series of opportunities for the Red Storm big men to put the game away. After Dwight Hardy opened up the Wildcats defense with a barrage of 3-pointers in the first half, the interior of the zone became vulnerable. Dwayne Polee Jr. and Justin Burrell (10 points and 17 points, respectively) did the majority of the damage, but St. John’s as a whole put on a clinic in dribble penetration and interior passing.
Turning Point/Momentum Changer: Burrell three-point play with 7:01 left in 2nd half
Though the Johnnies took the lead for good with just under 13 minutes to play, the 3-point play by Burrell was the dagger. As alluded to before, Northwestern struggled mightily against the efficient St. John’s offense, but the Burrell bucket with the foul was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Northwestern has spent the majority of its season in the lead and playing from behind was not good to the ‘Cats. After Burrell’s shot, the Red Storm pushed their lead to double digits and never looked back. No doubt — the fact that Crawford and Shurna faded in the second half hurt the Wildcats, but it was Burrell’s 3-point play that essentially put the ‘Cats down for the count.