Fully rested and relaxed after a Thanksgiving holiday, Northwestern’s men’s basketball took to the Welsh-Ryan Arena court Sunday night to face the visiting Creighton Bluejays. With alumnus and current Chicago Bull Kyle Korver in attendance to cheer on his brother and a returning student body fresh off the academic respite, Northwestern surged to a 65-52 victory and a 4-0 record on the season.
Stat of the Game | 10 minutes and 8 seconds
Northwestern held Creighton without a field goal from the 18:19 mark of the second half until there was 8:11 remaining, a span of 10 minutes and eight seconds. During this time, Northwestern went on a 15-3 run, amassing a 16-point lead, their largest lead of the night, and taking control of the game.
The run, highlighted by back-to-back Juice Thompson three-pointers, followed by an emphatic Thompson alley-oop to John Shurna, got the crowd involved, swinging the momentum towards Northwestern.
Turning Point | Juice Thompson 3-pointer with 10:42 remaining in the second half
The Wildcats hadn’t made a shot from the field in nearly six minutes, Creighton was hanging around down 8 points, and much of the buzz created by John Shurna’s electric first half had left the building. With almost 11 minutes to go, the game was within the Bluejays’ grasp. Fortunately for Northwestern, Drew Crawford intercepted a Creighton pass and fired the ball out to a wide-open Michael “Juice” Thompson in the corner, who promptly drained the 3-point shot. Thompson would find himself open again two possessions later, hitting what would be the clinching shot. “It was [Northwestern’s] attack in transition that was the difference in the game,” Creighton head coach Greg McDermott said after the game, with Thompson’s crucial 3-pointer serving as a perfect example. After Thompson’s two 3-pointers the Wildcats held a 14-point lead, enabling them to run out the clock on the Bluejays for the double-digit victory.
Hero of the Game | Luka Mirkovic
While Thompson’s 18 points, 4 assists and 80 percent shooting percentage certainly stands out as the statistical performance of the night, and John Shurna’s monster dunks will be the oft-repeated highlights, it was the second half resurgence of center Luka Mirkovic that stands out as the most important element of the Wildcats’ 65-52 victory over Creighton. “The key was, Luka played really good defense on [Creighton forward Kenny] Lawson in the second half,” Coach Bill Carmody said. During the first half, the Bluejays were able to establish Lawson’s presence in the paint, lighting up a combination of Mirkovic, Davide Curletti and Mike Capocci for 12 points and allowing Creighton to largely dictate the pace of the game.
In the second half, however, Mirkovic took control. The junior’s lock-down defense held Lawson scoreless, forcing Creighton to run everything through guard Antoine Young (to his credit, Young scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the second half as his team’s only offensive threat). With the interior secured, the Wildcats were able to control the pace of the game, opening up the transition offense where Thompson and Shurna really wreaked havoc.
Where to Improve | Drew Crawford
Northwestern played a solid game in their first true test, but one question mark that arose was the maturation of Drew Crawford. Crawford led the ‘Cats with four turnovers, all of which came in the second half. He finished the night with seven points on 3-of-9 shooting (1-of-6 from behind the arc), one rebound, and one assist. Worst of all, his night was plagued with poor decisions: taking bad shots on multiple occasions, committing a silly foul after a Creighton rebound, and passing the ball into empty space on a fast break.
Crawford didn’t play horribly, but he showed that he might not be at a level yet where he can be a leader on the court. Luckily, that is not expected out of him right now, but if the Wildcats want to be able to compete against the likes of Michigan State and Ohio State, they will need better performances out of him. When Crawford is hot, he can be nearly impossible to stop, but when he is having an off night, he needs to be able to show that he can still find ways to contribute.