Northwestern Wildcats Coach Chris Collins following his teams 65-56 loss at the #23 Butler Bulldogs.
“This was a step in the right direction, we have not been playing well, although we were disappointed in the end result, this is the best we’ve played in awhile. We were right there. We just played a really good team on their home floor that’s tough to beat.”
“I like the way we played,” he continued.
“I felt like this is the first time we played like the team that I’m going to be excited to watch grow. I haven’t felt that in previous games.”
So even though it was a loss, it was a good sign that in Northwestern’s toughest match-up of the non-conference season (by far actually) that the Wildcats played their best game of the 2014-15 season thus far.
“We found a way to win some games earlier in the year, I didn’t like how we were playing. Today I like how we played, the spirit we had, the execution, our huddles were good. We game out of timeouts and scored. That shows a team that’s locked in.”
This fight between Cats and Dogs was closer than most experts thought it would be, as the Bulldogs failed to cover the spread for the national television audience today. If you believe in the Sagarin and KenPom, then you know how awful Northwestern’s place is among those rankings, and other similar metrics. So today, the effort put in by Chris Collins ‘ side was that of a team much better than those numbers indicated.
The Wildcats hung around until very late in the second half, and perhaps those shows some of the first “green shoots” of growth? Maybe. An attractive loss versus a really good team, is that much more promising than the hideous wins Chris Collins has had over Elon, North Florida or Houston Baptist? I would have to agree with Collins, this is the best effort, and most solid performance NU has turned in on the very young season.
Until Kellen Dunham made that steal and converted the lay-in on the fast break with 2:37 to play, NU was in this game the whole way.
The basket put Butler up 61-54 with just over 2 minutes to play and was indicative of how the late afternoon matinee went. Every time Chris Collins’ side got close, Dunham or Roosevelt Jones made a big basket to extend the lead. And of course the Wildcats were outshot from the free throw line 28-7. It’s very difficult to overcome that, especially versus a ranked team on the road; before a national TV audience in rocking atmosphere in a very historic, extremely picturesque venue.
Said Chris Collins:
“We were driving strong, I guess we have to drive stronger”
“This was a good game for us, Butler is an established program”
“Walking around for the shoot around you feel mystique, you feel history. This is as good a basketball state as there is. I have a lot of respect and admiration for how much people love basketball in the state of Indiana. How much they cheer for their teams. This is one of those special buildings. It was fun to be hear and experience that.”
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on KOZN 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2