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Home  Sports News College Basketball News Northwestern Wildcats College Basketball Picks Preview (12-13-2007) |
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Northwestern Wildcats College Basketball Picks Preview (12-13-2007) |
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Written by JeffAlexander
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Saturday, 15 December 2007 |
Not that the Wildcats have had much success during Bill Carmody’s reign as head coach, but it is apparent that the ‘cats regressed last season. Find out if Northwestern can show signs of improvement in our 2007 Northwestern Wildcats betting preview.
Last season’s two Big Ten wins were the fewest in Bill Carmody’s seven seasons at Northwestern and last season marked the first time in his tenure that he did not beat a ranked opponent. Carmody squarely blamed last season’s lack of success on a lack of talent. I can’t say I don’t agree. It’s hard to win when players shoot as poorly as his did from the field. However, Carmody may want to think about changing to a different style of offense if the Princeton-style does not suit his personnel. All the same, Carmody will be asked to close the gap in the Big Ten with essentially the same personnel as last season.
Any hope for a surprise season, and by surprise I mean one good enough to result in a NIT appearance, rests in the hands of Kevin Coble. The 6’8’’ wing man finished third in the Big Ten in scoring among freshmen last year at 13.4 points per game. His 190-pound frame could use some more beef and if he can take his fluid mid-range game behind the arc as well, the ‘cats will have a player who can cause serious matchup problems.
The backcourt players are going to have to stroke it better from the perimeter. A Princeton-style offense cannot work when the team running it is shooting barely above 30 percent from three-point range. Hopefully, freshman Michael Thompson can fill the point guard spot to open up shooters like Craig Moore and Jason Okrzesik. Moore suffered a shooting slump last season after being selected for the Big Ten All-Freshman team the previous year. He has to knock down shots for Northwestern to be effective.
Perimeter shooting and rebounding will likely fail this team again this season. I think improvement is inevitable, but not enough to make any postseason play. It comes as no surprise that the oddsmakers have picked the Wildcats to finish dead last in the Big Ten this season by a healthy margin. I think the Wildcats will surprise some teams this season though. It may not show up in the win column, but it should against the spread. Look to take the Wildcats as big underdogs in the right spots. Jeff's college basketball picks will show you the way all season long. Remember, just because a team is supposed to be bad doesn’t mean that they won’t be an asset against the number.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 13 December 2007 )
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