After starting the game on a sensational 3-point shooting pace, the Wildcats were able to close out their second consecutive victory, beating the Iowa Hawkeyes 90-71 Wednesday night. The Big Ten win was crucial, buoying the ‘Cats’ NCAA tournament hopes and serving as a temporary vindication of Coach Bill Carmody’s new two-year contract.
Turning point | 10:28 left in the first half, Fran McCaffery’s technical foul
Faced with a must-win game in enemy territory against an opponent that deflated their tournament hopes last season, the Wildcats needed a hot start. After Iowa began the game up 0-4, Northwestern responded with a 22-7 run that carried the Wildcats towards the period’s halfway point, threatening to knock the Hawkeyes out of the game entirely.
During the Wildcats’ run, Thompson committed what was a fairly obvious traveling violation in transition, but Iowa coach Fran McCaffery’s dismayed reaction provoked a technical foul. The additional two points thoroughly cemented the Hawkeyes’ feeling of helplessness. Their listless play to close out the half left them down 21 and put the game firmly out of reach.
Stat of the game | Northwestern’s first seven scores of the game are all 3-pointers.
There are few things quite as entertaining as a Princeton offense when it clicks, and boy, did it click for the first seven minutes of Wednesday night’s game. In a perfect world, the Princeton offense yields open 3-point shots which, when converted, open up the baseline for backdoor cuts to the rim. By scoring their first seven shots from long-range, Northwestern was able to establish a brutally efficient offense that carried them for the rest of the game.
Three triples from Drew Crawford, two from Juice Thompson and one each from John Shurna and Alex Marcotullio helped the Wildcats race out to a 21-8 lead before they even scored a basket from inside the 3-point circle. The Wildcats shot 7-of-10 during that period, setting the pace for a long-range attack that shot 50 percent from three on the night. Crawford lead the way, nailing five 3-pointers en route to a 19-point, 6-rebound performance after being held out of double-digits the past two games.
Hero of the game | Alex Marcotullio
With the Wildcats showcasing a balanced attack that landed four starters in double figures, now is as good a time as any to look outside the box for the team’s hero of the game. Well, look no further than sophomore Alex Marcotullio, who has silently plodded his trade all season to little acclaim. As Wildcat fans peer into the future at a world where Juice Thompson can no longer average 36 minutes a game, they find Marcotullio staring back out at them. After tonight, they have to feel better about what they’re seeing.
Marcotullio is not Thompson, one of the greatest basketball players to set foot in Evanston, but he is an improving young player with a solid shot and the capacity to create. He has a solid 3-point shot, a deliberate style and, as a lefty, a level of unorthodoxy. Marcotullio spurred the Northwestern rally to open the game with his passing as well as his shot (he would clock three assists by game’s end), adding a level of depth on the bench that the program has lacked thus far this season. If the program is to sustain this level of play after Thompson graduates, it will need a lot more nights like tonight out of Marcotullio.
What to improve on | Pulling starters.
After a weak start to the second half that actually saw Iowa within 15 points with 15 minutes to go, the Wildcats eventually restored their comfortable cushion, staying more than 20 points ahead for most of the game’s final 10 minutes. Despite the obvious victory, Juice Thompson still played 38 of a possible 40 minutes, only being pulled with two minutes remaining. John Shurna and Drew Crawford both also played 31 minutes, a reasonable figure but a bit much considering Shurna’s recent ankle injury and Crawford’s hard fall in the first half.
Thompson’s time on the court is the most puzzling of Coach Carmody’s decisions. Why does Carmody insist on leaving Thompson in when he has long since pulled the other starters? In addition to adding even more miles to Thompson’s well-traveled legs, it wastes a valuable opportunity to give playing time to the players who will have to replace Thompson once he graduates. It’s a good problem to have, to be sure, but it is still one Carmody has really struggled to acknowledge.