The halftime bad news outweighed the good news as Tulsa heated up from outside while Thompson got into foul trouble and handicapped our offense. Moore did about all he could, knocking down NBA threes. It came down to an open look down three points with about 30 seconds to go which came up short for Moore. Tulsa pulled away from there knocking down all their FTs.
The biggest difference was the presence of Jordan down low. We couldn't get points in the paint except for a couple of backdoors and some real difficult shots. That allowed Tulsa to press on the perimeter which really shut down the shorter Thompson and took away one of our offensive weapons. Mirkovic needed to step up from distance to draw out their big man, but he was shy on the shot. Let's hope next year that changes.
Showing posts with label Tulsa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tulsa. Show all posts
18 March 2009
NU lead 30-28 at the half in Tulsa
Good news is that NU got this lead despite both Thompson and Moore sitting the last 10 minutes of the half after picking up two fouls each. Mirkovic also hit a bomb, as did Shurna.
Bad news is that Tulsa's Jordan is having his way inside and Tulsa is getting o-boards like they're a poor man's MSU (no big coincidence given NU's lack of rebounding skills, Wojcik's learning from Izzo). Also, NU tends to play worse with the lead at half for whatever reason.
What kept NU in this was cold shooting from distance from Tulsa. Uzoh only knocked down one bomb by my count, and their sharp shooter had one, too. Will this continue? Will Thompson and Moore picked up where they left off with NU clicking while they were in? Let's hope so.
Bad news is that Tulsa's Jordan is having his way inside and Tulsa is getting o-boards like they're a poor man's MSU (no big coincidence given NU's lack of rebounding skills, Wojcik's learning from Izzo). Also, NU tends to play worse with the lead at half for whatever reason.
What kept NU in this was cold shooting from distance from Tulsa. Uzoh only knocked down one bomb by my count, and their sharp shooter had one, too. Will this continue? Will Thompson and Moore picked up where they left off with NU clicking while they were in? Let's hope so.
Game Day: NIT 1st Round @ Tulsa
NU begins its fourth NIT tonight at Tulsa. Odds makers set NU as a 7.5 point underdog, and the betting public ate that line up like a juicy low-hanging fruit. The line is now down to 5 points, and that is still too generous. NU has played well in the underdog role, a trend that NU fans hope will continue tonight.
Tulsa is led by Coach Wojcik, a Tom Izzo disciple. Yes, this is the same Izzo who lost to this resilient band of Wildcats earlier this year in E. Lansing. On the other hand, Wojcik hasn't faced a team like NU with its Princeton O and its switching 1-3-1 and matchup zone. Given that Tulsa has had only three days to prep for this game, NU has a decided tactical advantage in this game.
On Tulsa's side of the ledger, NU may not have an answer for their behemoth, 7'0" Junior Jerome Jordan, down on the blocks. Some NU fans have said this is the time for our own behemoth, Kyle Rowley, to step up and neutralize Jordan. While that sounds all well and good, Rowley has shown no hints that he is ready to do so as his better efforts have come against smaller centers. No, Luka Mirkovic will need to be called upon to set up camp at the top of the key, KNOCK DOWN A COUPLE OF BOMBS, draw the shot blocking phenom outside his comfort zone, get him into foul trouble in space. Davide Curletti may need to see some court time to give Mirkovic a spell and body up the Tulsa big man.
Penetration from Tulsa's Junior PG Ben Uzoh will also need to be kept in check, a task easier said than done. The hope is that NU's defenses will confuse and neutralize Uzoh's driving ability. If not, Jeremy Nash will need to see extra court time to match up with his athleticism.
Tulsa has the home court advantage which could possibly tilt this game in their favor. I think this can compensated for, however, as NU is hungrier (10 years have passed since NU's last post season tourney, Tulsa has been in the NCAAs recently). Plus, Craig Moore has been waiting his entire career for postseason play, and he doesn't want it to end just yet.
I'm inclined to think NU wins this one primarily due to the tactical advantage. The game will be a slow, Big Ten style slugfest. Hopefully we get some ACC-type refs who are used to calling ticky tack fouls which will open up our cutters and our offense.
NU 56 Tulsa 52
Tulsa is led by Coach Wojcik, a Tom Izzo disciple. Yes, this is the same Izzo who lost to this resilient band of Wildcats earlier this year in E. Lansing. On the other hand, Wojcik hasn't faced a team like NU with its Princeton O and its switching 1-3-1 and matchup zone. Given that Tulsa has had only three days to prep for this game, NU has a decided tactical advantage in this game.
On Tulsa's side of the ledger, NU may not have an answer for their behemoth, 7'0" Junior Jerome Jordan, down on the blocks. Some NU fans have said this is the time for our own behemoth, Kyle Rowley, to step up and neutralize Jordan. While that sounds all well and good, Rowley has shown no hints that he is ready to do so as his better efforts have come against smaller centers. No, Luka Mirkovic will need to be called upon to set up camp at the top of the key, KNOCK DOWN A COUPLE OF BOMBS, draw the shot blocking phenom outside his comfort zone, get him into foul trouble in space. Davide Curletti may need to see some court time to give Mirkovic a spell and body up the Tulsa big man.
Penetration from Tulsa's Junior PG Ben Uzoh will also need to be kept in check, a task easier said than done. The hope is that NU's defenses will confuse and neutralize Uzoh's driving ability. If not, Jeremy Nash will need to see extra court time to match up with his athleticism.
Tulsa has the home court advantage which could possibly tilt this game in their favor. I think this can compensated for, however, as NU is hungrier (10 years have passed since NU's last post season tourney, Tulsa has been in the NCAAs recently). Plus, Craig Moore has been waiting his entire career for postseason play, and he doesn't want it to end just yet.
I'm inclined to think NU wins this one primarily due to the tactical advantage. The game will be a slow, Big Ten style slugfest. Hopefully we get some ACC-type refs who are used to calling ticky tack fouls which will open up our cutters and our offense.
NU 56 Tulsa 52
15 March 2009
Better Know An Opponent: Tulsa
The first installment in the (potential, annual) 344 part "Better Know an Opponent" series (series title and description inspired by and credited to eminent fellow NU alum Colbert, Stephen of The Colbert Report. All associated royalties will be remitted to Mssr. Colbert)...
Get your kicks on Route 66 and learn about NU's first round NIT opponent:
University of Tulsa
Location: Tulsa, OK
Type: Private
# of Undergraduates: ~3K
Campus: "Urban" (ahem)
Motto: Wisdom, Faith, Service (don't they teach Latin in OK?)
Nickname: Golden Hurricanes (Ummm, how many hurricanes do they get in Tulsa? Perhaps they got confused and meant the Golden Tornadoes -- Tulsa is located in Tornado Alley)
Mascot: Captain Cane (this guy?)
Official Colors: Old Gold, Royal Blue, Yellow, and Crimson (with so many, why not jump in with both feet and go with ROYGBIV?)
President: Dr. Steadman Upham (name sounds snooty enough for NU!)
Conference: Conference USA (USA! USA! USA!)
Notable Alums: Paul Pressey, Hank Haney, Steve Largent, Nancy Lopez, Lovie Smith, Gus Frerotte, Ray Rhodes, Dennis Byrd
Basketball Team:
University of Tulsa (24-10, 12-4)
2008-09 Regular Season Finish: 2nd (1st: Memphis)
2008-09 Conference Tournament Finish: (2-1, 2nd place: L 39-64 Memphis)
Sagarin: #61, 0-6 vs Top 25, 1-7 vs Top 50 (NU: #54, 3-4, 6-10)
RPI: #53 (NU: #76)
Pomeroy: #58 Overall, #101 AdjO, #33 AdjD, #299 Consistency (NU: #66, #55, #83, #305)
Drilling down into the Pomeroy statistics, Tulsa is very good at eFG% defense (#5!) especially 3P% defense (#1!), is a good rebounding team (20th best at protecting the defensive glass), likes to play at a slow pace (#252 pace), and is a good shot blocking team (#32). Tulsa also appears to attack the rim as they are good at getting to the charity stripe (#47 in nation FTA/FGA).
On the flip side, they don't appear to be very good at protecting the ball. On offense, they are susceptible to ball pressure as they are the #229 worst team in turning the ball over and #271 in giving up steals. On defense, it's a similar story with an abysmal #329 ranking in forcing turnovers and #284 ranking in steals.
Sounds to me that Tulsa is a slow, tall team that doesn't take many risks on defense and is very deliberate about forcing the ball inside or driving the lane on offense.
Individually, they are led by Jerome Jordan, a 7'0" 240lb Junior center who is a rebounding, shot blocking, foul drawing, good free throw shooting fiend. Jordan is complemented by Ben Uzoh, a 6'3" 195lb Junior guard who is a workhorse with decent range and draws his fair share of fouls, too. Tulane has a couple long range bombardiers in Ray Reese and Justin Hurtt. The 5th player of note is Bishop Wheatley, a 6'6" Junior who does most of his work on the interior. Jordan subs out for Steven Idlet, a 6'10" frosh who isn't shy about shooting the ball but isn't nearly as efficient from the field or the charity stripe. Glen Andrews, a 6'3" sophomore, is their 7th man but does not shoot particularly well for a guard.
Get your kicks on Route 66 and learn about NU's first round NIT opponent:
University of Tulsa
Location: Tulsa, OK
Type: Private
# of Undergraduates: ~3K
Campus: "Urban" (ahem)
Motto: Wisdom, Faith, Service (don't they teach Latin in OK?)
Nickname: Golden Hurricanes (Ummm, how many hurricanes do they get in Tulsa? Perhaps they got confused and meant the Golden Tornadoes -- Tulsa is located in Tornado Alley)
Mascot: Captain Cane (this guy?)
Official Colors: Old Gold, Royal Blue, Yellow, and Crimson (with so many, why not jump in with both feet and go with ROYGBIV?)President: Dr. Steadman Upham (name sounds snooty enough for NU!)
Conference: Conference USA (USA! USA! USA!)
Notable Alums: Paul Pressey, Hank Haney, Steve Largent, Nancy Lopez, Lovie Smith, Gus Frerotte, Ray Rhodes, Dennis Byrd
Basketball Team:
University of Tulsa (24-10, 12-4)
2008-09 Regular Season Finish: 2nd (1st: Memphis)
2008-09 Conference Tournament Finish: (2-1, 2nd place: L 39-64 Memphis)
Sagarin: #61, 0-6 vs Top 25, 1-7 vs Top 50 (NU: #54, 3-4, 6-10)
RPI: #53 (NU: #76)
Pomeroy: #58 Overall, #101 AdjO, #33 AdjD, #299 Consistency (NU: #66, #55, #83, #305)
Drilling down into the Pomeroy statistics, Tulsa is very good at eFG% defense (#5!) especially 3P% defense (#1!), is a good rebounding team (20th best at protecting the defensive glass), likes to play at a slow pace (#252 pace), and is a good shot blocking team (#32). Tulsa also appears to attack the rim as they are good at getting to the charity stripe (#47 in nation FTA/FGA).
On the flip side, they don't appear to be very good at protecting the ball. On offense, they are susceptible to ball pressure as they are the #229 worst team in turning the ball over and #271 in giving up steals. On defense, it's a similar story with an abysmal #329 ranking in forcing turnovers and #284 ranking in steals.
Sounds to me that Tulsa is a slow, tall team that doesn't take many risks on defense and is very deliberate about forcing the ball inside or driving the lane on offense.
Individually, they are led by Jerome Jordan, a 7'0" 240lb Junior center who is a rebounding, shot blocking, foul drawing, good free throw shooting fiend. Jordan is complemented by Ben Uzoh, a 6'3" 195lb Junior guard who is a workhorse with decent range and draws his fair share of fouls, too. Tulane has a couple long range bombardiers in Ray Reese and Justin Hurtt. The 5th player of note is Bishop Wheatley, a 6'6" Junior who does most of his work on the interior. Jordan subs out for Steven Idlet, a 6'10" frosh who isn't shy about shooting the ball but isn't nearly as efficient from the field or the charity stripe. Glen Andrews, a 6'3" sophomore, is their 7th man but does not shoot particularly well for a guard.
NU tussles with Tulsa in NIT first round
First and foremost, congratulations are in order to Coach Carmody for his first NIT berth at NU and to the team for persevering this year after a couple of difficult years. It would be nice to have a little run and make it farther than any other team in NU history (i.e., past the 2nd round of the NIT).
So much for the NU-ND NIT match-up speculation. NU got the #5 seed and travels to #4 seed Tulsa for a Wed night battle @ 8pm central. Game will be broadcast on ESPNU and WGN Radio. Tulsa was the #2 team in Conference USA finishing a distant second to Memphis. Common opponents are a neutral site game vs Illinois (L 44-48), Texas A&M CC (W 66-43), and SMU (W 64-55 at home, W 74-64 @ SMU). NU had similar results so the transitivity property suggests this will be another vintage NU nailbiter.
The winner will then take on the winner of #1 Auburn (2nd place in SEC West) and #8 UT Martin (regular season Ohio Valley champion).
So much for the NU-ND NIT match-up speculation. NU got the #5 seed and travels to #4 seed Tulsa for a Wed night battle @ 8pm central. Game will be broadcast on ESPNU and WGN Radio. Tulsa was the #2 team in Conference USA finishing a distant second to Memphis. Common opponents are a neutral site game vs Illinois (L 44-48), Texas A&M CC (W 66-43), and SMU (W 64-55 at home, W 74-64 @ SMU). NU had similar results so the transitivity property suggests this will be another vintage NU nailbiter.
The winner will then take on the winner of #1 Auburn (2nd place in SEC West) and #8 UT Martin (regular season Ohio Valley champion).
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