Good, Bad and Ugly: Northwestern State
This will be a much abbreviated GBU. In fact, it’s just going to be a short list of observations. I only caught the second half, and that was cut short by the Big Ten Network cutting to the Ohio State game with around six minutes left. Some people on the live blog said they had a second BTN for overflow, but after a scan through the channels, I came up empty.
He may have fouled out this afternoon, but Tom Pritchard looked alive on both ends of the floor during a stretch in the second half. He drew a charge, went strong to the hole on a couple occasions, and was active on the glass. In short, at times he looked like Mr. Reliable we remember from last season. Hopefully it’s a sign that if he stays out of foul trouble, he can start producing at last year’s level again. IU needs it up front badly.
Tijan Jobe scored on an athletic move around the rim. And he hit a layup earlier in the game for another two points. And he had two blocks. How ’bout that?
Derek Elston continues to be Mr. Energy off the bench. He made a heady decision to slow down after a steal and get the offense going. And speaking of steals, he had four on the afternoon, along with 12 points and six boards in 18 minutes. Not a bad afternoon in Assembly Hall for the freshman.
Free throws continue to get better. IU hit 34-of-44 tonight, good for 76.2 percent. If you’re wondering why this game dragged on for so long, it’s because IU shot 44 times from the line and Northwestern St. attempted 29 foul shots. Lots of fouls.
It was nice to see IU in control of this one, as it’s much needed confidence-wise heading into the Maryland game Tuesday night.
OK, that’s about all I got. For those who watched this whole thing, feel free to fill in the blanks in the comments.
Filed to: Derek Elston, Tom Pritchard