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Bryant McIntosh

NU vs Fairfield – Too Close for Comfort, 79 – 72

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Northwestern vs. Fairfield
NU Coach Chris Collins

Some fans might have been expecting an exhibition type game in Evanston but it sure didn’t feel like it, as the Wildcats held off the Fairfield Stags 72-79. In the end, the Cats were too big and fast for the MAAC team from Connecticut which helped the Cats improve to 2 – 0.

There were some familiarities between last year’s Cats and this 2015-16 team on the court tonight as the defense intensity was in midseason form. Half way thru last season, Coach Chris Collins instituted a 2 – 3 matchup zone defense that helped lead the Cats to a 5 – 3 record in their last 8 Big Ten games. Coach Collins has had a whole offseason to sharpen his team’s defensive prowess in the 2 – 3 zone and only time will tell if it can contain Big Ten opponents.

The Cats had freshman Aaron Falzon leading the way in scoring at half with 9 points and ended up with 13 for the game. The 6’ 8” forward from Newton, Massachusetts had another nice game after scoring 20 in the Cats season opener against UMass Lowell. Falzon brings a stretch 4 mentality to the Cats which has helped boost NU’s 3-point scoring.

With a year under his belt, point guard Bryant McIntosh looks to establish himself as a legitimate Big Ten point guard and lead this Cats team to the post season. McIntosh has bulked up from last year and continues to fill up the stat sheet as he dropped 20 points, with 5 assists, 4 steals and 5 rebounds. If it wasn’t for his heroics late in the game, NU might have been upset by Fairfield.

NU Sophomore PG Bryant McIntosh
NU Sophomore PG Bryant McIntosh

In his senior year, Alex Olah is looking to dominate down low and hopes to build off of a great junior campaign where he averaged 11.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG and 1.8 BPG. The Cats weren’t in dire need for a big game from Olah as he scored 10 points and pulled down 5 rebounds. Expect some big games from Olah this year as he will have to be one of the main contributors if the Cats want to have a great year.

The only unfamiliar part of this game was the lack of 2nd year forward Vic Law, who will miss 4 – 6 months with a torn labrum in his shoulder. The 6-7 wing averaged 7.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in 24.4 minutes per game during his freshman season.

“We’re certainly disappointed for Vic,” said Northwestern head Men’s basketball coach Chris Collins “He dedicated himself and made great progress during this offseason, and had a great summer and preseason on the court. I have no doubt that his attitude toward recovery and improvement will be relentless and that he will continue to be a tremendous teammate. We expect a full recovery in 4-6 months and Vic remains a foundational piece of our program for the future.”

Even without Law for the season, Coach Collins is trying building this program into a contender but will have to make some serious noise in the Big Ten for the tournament committee to believe his team is ready to take the next step.

WesEvans24

2015 Northwestern Basketball Preview

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Northwestern Head Coach Chris ollins
Northwestern Head Coach Chris ollins

76 years ago Northwestern hosted the first ever tournament, but they are still the only major conference school that has never made it to the post season. The 2015-16 NCAA Men’s Preseason poll came out and the Big Ten has 6 teams that make the top 25… but Northwestern is not one of them… yet.

In Coach Chris Collins first year, NU was tied for 10th in the Big Ten with a 6 – 12 record in conference play and had a 15 – 17 record overall last year. NU’s season had two “signature” wins as the Cats were able to beat Iowa and Michigan at home; both games took extra time for NU to pull the upset.

Northwestern returns five of its main contributors from last year, led by senior SG Tre Demps and sophomore PG Bryant McIntosh, the Cats look to build off of their young nucleus while hoping to get a career year from their emotional leader Demps.

Northwestern Center Alex Olah
Northwestern Center Alex Olah

Another large cog on the NU basketball wheel is 7 foot Romanian center Alex Olah, who was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection of the league’s media members. Olah averaged just over 29 minutes per game while accumulating 11.7 ppg and ranked 2nd in the Big Ten with an average of 1.8 blocked per game and 5th with 6.9 rebounds per game.

Coach Collins will look to 2nd year wing Vic Law to establish another scoring option for the Wildcats while providing some defensive prowess at the forward position. Law started 19 games during his freshman year and averaged 7.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg and shot 35.5% from 3-point range. Law was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Feb. 23 for back to back performances in wins over Minnesota and Penn State.

Collins’ safety glove Sanjay Lumpkin returns for his last year as a Wildcat as he is the Swiss Army knife for this team. Whether it is defense or an offensive spark, Lumpkin is a reliable player who will be asked to play many roles this year. Lumpkin started NU’s first exhibition game against Quincy but expect him to be moved in and out of starting line up with Law.

Northwestern Forward Joey van Zegeren
Northwestern Forward Joey van Zegeren

Another young star in the making that had a nice freshman season is Scottie Lindsay. The Fenwick High School product was not as heralded as Vic Law as a recruit, but can fill a stat sheet every once in a while when called upon. Lindsay brings another 3 point threat as he shot 35.4% last year and averaged over 40% from the field.

The Wildcats added some depth and experience up front in 6’ 10” senior Joey van Zegeren who transferred from Virginia Tech. Zegeren played in 13 games last season and was leading the Hokies in rebounding at 5.3 per game and 3rd in scoring at 9.8 points per game before getting suspended for violating team policy. He will be responsible for alleviating some of the pressure from Olah throughout the season.

Coach Collins was hired to build a program that would sustain a winning atmosphere for the foreseeable future. Collins has recruited well and is looking to take his team to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history but it will take a couple of big wins to create a resume that can get Northwestern basketball to the promise land.

@WesEvans24

 

 

Purdue Beats Northwestern 68-60

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Chris Collins after loss

Saturdays contest between Purdue and Northwestern University was a matchup between two teams on completely different paths.

Northwestern entered the game with a 10-10 overall record and a putrid 1-6 mark in Big Ten play. The Wildcats could have easily been 13-7 however, losing their last three games by a combined five points before Saturday’s matchup with Purdue.

The Boilermakers on the other hand visited Welsh Ryan Arena- coming off two big wins against nationally ranked opponents, and with a rejuvenated defense that leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense (.383)

None of that mattered to Northwestern however in the first half— as they opened the game by shooting 42% from the field, and took a 29-28 lead into the break after a buzzer beating-running jumper by freshman point guard Bryant McIntosh. McIntosh had another impressive first half, scoring 8 points and dishing out 3 assists to make up for the early struggles of Tre Demps (3-11 from the field)

The second half was another story however, as Purdue (14-8) would come out of the locker room looking like a totally different team. The Boilermakers would outscore the Wildcats 40-31 in the second half and improve to 6-3 in conference play, while beating Northwestern in Evanston for the first time since the 2011-2012 season– 68-60.

Northwestern center Alex Olah had no answers for Purdue big man, A.J. Hammons who would lead the Boilermakers with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Rapheal Davis would also have a big second half, scoring 12 of his 15 points for Purdue.

“We have had a tough time with Olah in the past.” Purdue head coach, Matt Painter said after the win. “ Obviously Northwestern beat us twice last year, and I thought he played really well. That matchup was really key and we were able to get the best of him this time.”

Bryant McIntosh would continue his strong play in the second half for the Wildcats and finished the game with 18 points on 7-12 shooting, but Northwestern struggled to get any stops in the final ten minutes and could never pull closer than six points.

“ The game was lost in the first six minutes of the second half” Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said after the game. “Give Purdue credit. They deserved to win tonight”

Northwestern guard Tre Demps would improve on his rough start— going 3-7 in the second half—to finish with 18 points, but it was not enough for Northwestern (10-11), who now has to travel to Nebraska on Tuesday to take on the (12-9) Cornhuskers.