Defense steps up big for Wildcats in 2nd half
Bill Carmody insisted there wasn't a hint of desperation in the halftime locker room as Northwestern found itself deadlocked in a lifeless game.
Instead, Carmody stressed another D-word to his players, one they have heard often this season. Defense has been NU's downfall, and a fragile team needed a spark on that end of the floor.
The Wildcats got it in subtle ways: deflections instead of steals, kicked passes instead of runouts. But the slight disruptions rattled Chicago State and energized Northwestern, which surged to a 65-47 win Wednesday night before 977 at the Jones Convocation Center.
"They've got to reset it, shot clock's lower," Wildcats junior guard Craig Moore explained. "Just knowing that guys are getting ready to steal the ball, it kind of takes away from their self-esteem."
NU (6-8) was the team dragging a damaged psyche down the Dan Ryan after opening Big Ten play with 4 consecutive losses. A 24-point first half didn't do much to change things, but the Wildcats came to life after the break.
They had two deflections on the first possession of the second half, forcing an off-balance David Holston 3-pointer. NU forward Kevin Coble then stole a pass and fed Moore for an easy layup.
Moments later, another steal.
"Even if you're not coming up with something, the shots they were getting weren't quite as good," Carmody said. "They were taking a little longer on the clock and the passes weren't as crisp.
"The reversals are a little more slow, and that helps your defense."
Carmody stuck to the 1-3-1 zone Wednesday after scrapping it against Michigan, which scored 43 first-half points in Saturday's victory. NU shaded the zone toward Holston, the NCAA leader in 3-pointers (4.7 per game), and held him to 4-of-14 shooting.
"They were hungry," said Chicago State first-year coach Benjy Taylor. "For them to get their hands on a lot of balls to start the second half gave them the impetus to think they could finish us off."
The Wildcats scored the first 9 points of the second half and went up 38-27 on a Moore 3-pointer. They shot 55.2 percent in the half and led by double figures for the final 8:34.
Moore scored 16 of his game-high 22 points after halftime, going 6 of 7 from the field after a 2 of 5 start. Coble added 19 points and notched career highs in rebounds (14) and assists (7).
"You can't always control your shooting," said Coble, who recorded his first double-double of the season. "You've just got to make sure you're helping the team in other ways."
After being outrebounded 164-98 in league play, NU rallied to win Wednesday's board battle 36-34.
"If we get can get guys working together and playing like we did there in that second half, we have some special stuff, glimpses of how good we can be," Coble said. "That's something we have to build on."
Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
Northwestern's Mike Capocci is closely guarded under the basket while looking for a shot during Wednesday night's victory at Chicago State.
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