I know of many Cyclone fans that were hoping for Notre Dame. They wanted a Harongody vs. Brackins matchup. Unfortunately, Notre Dame played like ass last night, and Northwestern got the W. What I'm liking about that is the game is going to be on the Big Ten Network at 7pm tonight.
Northwestern is 4-1 on the season, losing only to #10 Butler, 67-54. After Northwestern lost Kevin Coble and Jeff Ryan for the season, no one has really expected much from them.
On the next page, we will look at some of the stats, and see how ISU stacks up against Northwestern
ISU | NWU | Adv. | |
Records | (6-0) | (4-1) | |
Pomeroy Rank | 31 | 124 | |
Sagarin Rating (Predictor) | 42 | 103 | |
Vegas Line | -2 | +2 | |
Sagarin Line | -6.5 | +6.5 | |
Off. Efficiency | 106.6 | 103 | ISU |
Def. Efficiency | 85.3 | 96.4 | ISU |
eFG% | 58.5% | 53.2% | ISU |
TOV% | 20.3% | 18.1% | NWU |
OREB% | 37.7% | 26.8% | ISU |
FT Rate | 32.6% | 43.5% | NWU |
The good news is that ISU looks like they are better than Northwestern in some key areas like shooting, offensive rebounding, and defense. The bad news is that the margins on the single most important stat in shooting, is not that large, and on a given game, Northwestern could probably put up a higher shooting spot than ISU.
I'm not surprised that Vegas has this at 2. I think it's going to be really close as well.
A couple of players to watch for on the Wildcats are: #22 Michael Thompson and #24 John Shurna. Both guys dropped 20+ points last night, but both have been playing well all year. Thompson is averaging 38.6 minutes per game while averaging 16.8 points, including shooting 38% from beyond the arc. Shuma is averaging 31.8 minutes per game and averaging 14.6 poins, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. Both of these Illinois natives are leaned heavily on, and are the key to Northwestern's success. If ISU can slow them down, they win this game. If these guys have another great night, it's going to be tough for ISU.
Looking forward to seeing this game tonight. Go Cyclones!