Badgers humble Cats
Northwestern (9-6, 2-2) was thoroughly outclassed in Madison, Wisc. today by the Badgers, 68-52.
Vedran Vukusic led NU with 15 and freshman Craig Moore continued to be a viable scoring option on the outside and chipped in 14 points.
Wisconsin held the Cats to 35 percent shooting on the day, not unexpected considering their reputation for defensive play.
Finding alternative scoring options besides Vukusic continues to be a problem for the Cats. Moore has stepped up by hitting some outside shots, but should they really be relying on a freshman for so much scoring help?
Mohammed Hachad, who returned Wednesday from an appendectomy, scored a mere two points in 27 minutes of play. Tim Doyle, who has surprised this year with his play, scored only six points in 29 minutes, but continued with his exasperating moments of runners and hook shots in the lane. He was 3-for-10 on the afternoon. Oh yeah, and missed layups. Did you see the missed gimme on the 2-on-1 break?
And Vince Scott? Horrible. With him on defense, the Cats are playing with four players. He was abused today.
On the bright side, Sterling Williams is starting to look like a player who can create his own shot and score. We'd love to see him take it to the hoop even more. Bernard Cote hit a couple threes and showed a glimpse of being someone who can help, but he only played 12 minutes. Was Scott that much of a better option?
From the looks of it, the Cats have settled on Moore in the starting lineup (thankfully). But maybe Coach Bill Carmody should narrow the playing rotation to about seven guys. Moore, Williams, Vukusic, Cote and Doyle with Hachad and Scott coming off the bench. Michael Jenkins' 11 minutes seem a tad high. He should give Moore a two-minute breather and be done. He's not a threat on offense and that ain't cutting it in the Big Ten right now.
The Cats travel to Ann Arbor for a 7 p.m. CT game Wednesday against Michigan.