The Northwestern men’s basketball team charged out to a 91-71 victory over Robert Morris University Thursday night. Coming off a 20-win season and with expectations of making the NCAA tournament buzzing around the team, the Wildcats looked sharp in their tune-up exhibition game before the start of the regular season. It also marked the public debut of heralded freshman JerShon Cobb and the second season of a team without the services of senior Kevin Coble.
Northwestern’s offense struggled early in the game, as Robert Morris scored the first five points of the contest before the Wildcats got on the board. Northwestern eventually tied it up at 21-21 on a John Shurna free throw, and took the lead for good moments later with a right-handed layup by southpaw sophomore Alex Marcotullio. The Wildcats pulled away towards the end of the first half thanks to returning scoring leader John Shurna, who poured in 19 points, including 4-of-6 from long range. They never looked back from there.
The game exclusively featured man-to-man and matchup-zone defensive schemes, with the Wildcats never reverting to the 1-3-1 zone defense that had been Northwestern’s calling card for the past two seasons. The Wildcats piled on ten blocks and six steals, led by sophomore Drew Crawford’s six blocks, but they also allowed 19 offensive rebounds and lost the rebounding margin 45 to 46. Questions remain about whether the Wildcats have the athleticism necessary for a man-to-man scheme — Robert Morris seemed to penetrate inside at will, but our help-defense collapsed quickly — and whether the roster’s depth can withstand another season.
Asked about his rotation scheme, coach Bill Carmody singled out veterans Jeff Ryan, Mike Capocci and Ivan Peljusic as potentially valuable contributors off the bench this season. He also expressed concern about limiting starting point guard Michael Thompson’s minutes to less than the 38 minutes per game he averaged last year. Guards Alex Marcotullo and JerShon Cobb, and even the 6′6″ Jeff Ryan, will be expected to aid Thompson during the season.
Northwestern begins its regular season campaign against the Northern Illinois Huskies next Friday, Nov. 12, with tip-off at 8:00 p.m.