NUHoops.com

UNC-Wilmington halted the Cats' march to the BCA Invitational championship with a 56-48 victory over NU Tuesday night.

Overall, the loss to UNC-Wilmington is less damaging than it appears. The Seahawks won 19 games last season and have made the tournament three times this decade. A 2-1 start to the season is still impressive as NU works out the kinks in its lineup.

And there are plenty of kinks -- and surprises early in the season. Consider:

• Michael Thompson averaging only 13 minutes per game, while Tim Doyle is averaging 32.
• Sterling Williams and Bernard Coté are non-factors so far this season at 5-6 minutes per game
• Vedran Vukusic is averaging 25 points per game, but is the only scorer averaging double figures

Thompson's lack of playing time appears to be a continuation of the playing time received at the end of the season. Coach Bill Carmody seems to favor Vince Scott's passing and shooting ability and how he runs the Princeton offense from the high post.

At this point in the season, we have to chalk up Williams and Coté's lack of playing time to being new in the system and Carmody working them into the lineup more frequently. We expect their playing time to increase dramatically.

Vukusic has the hot hand on offense, but he seems to be the one and only offensive option currently. Other scoring options like Mohammed Hachad and a player like Williams or Coté need to develop into alternative scoring options.