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Ohio is 5-7 and 0-1 in the MAC losing to Toledo 77-86. They have a NET rank of 221 compared to the 4-7 Huskies 235. Huskies looked pathetic at home and have not been impressive in the Convo since early November. Lets hope we play better in Athens.

Ajay Sheldon hit 4 out of five 3pt attempts vs the Rockets and is 15 for 26 for the season. A J Clayton is 24 of 53 3pt attempts for the season.

This is almost a must win for two teams who were picked in the top half of the MAC.

GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crump free throw watch: Apparently Anthony did some practicing as he was 2 for 2 against Miami and is now 7 for 37.

Apparently the Bobcat fans have similar gripes about their team as we do:

https://www.bobcatattack.com/messageboar...PID=365771

GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are 7.5 point dogs. That is more than we were against Akron and we only lost to them by 22.
ESPN has us losing 82% probability. We are both 6-7 so it should be a closer game than Akron.

NIU usually gets killed at Ohio so I’ll say Ohio wins by 20pts.

Far better start to this one with a depleted roster. Lovings-Watts back, no Konan or Nutter it appears.

Pretty lackluster first half, but, good to be up three with a depleted lineup.

Let’s see if we can avoid the usual second half slump

(01-06-2024 03:10 PM)7 Wrote:  Let’s see if we can avoid the usual second half slump

Nope. Outscored 14-3 to start the second half.

(01-06-2024 03:17 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(01-06-2024 03:10 PM)7 Wrote:  Let’s see if we can avoid the usual second half slump

Nope. Outscored 14-3 to start the second half.

That’s awful. You make a 3 at the buzzer and come out flat.

Been outscored now in the second half 25-7. The second half of games have become a real problem.

I have watched a lot of NIU men’s bball, and never seen a team that is this bad in the second half. WTH?

This team has no confidence right now. They are in a huge rut. Can Burno get them back on track or has he lost them so early into MAC play?

There is no getting back on track! NIU has one good win on the season beating APP St. beating DePaul was them beating a horrible team

(01-06-2024 03:52 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  This team has no confidence right now. They are in a huge rut. Can Burno get them back on track or has he lost them so early into MAC play?

I don't think Burno has lost the team. Injuries have made the team lose. When you lose Nutter (#2 scorer and #2 rebounder), and Konan-N (#2 reb and #5 scorer) andWilliams (#1 scorer until his injury) along other injuries (Loving Watts, Ibarguen, etc) this team will flounder. Until we get some players back this season is over. Hopefully Zarique gets back soon as he along with Coit is a leader of the team.

GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(01-06-2024 03:52 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  This team has no confidence right now. They are in a huge rut. Can Burno get them back on track or has he lost them so early into MAC play?

Agree with the confidence. Need to win the Western Michigan game Tuesday to try to stay in the mix for a MAC tourney spot.

Something happened with the Monmouth collapse, since it wasn’t televised don’t have an idea of how bad and demoralizing that was. Team hasn’t looked the same since. Need a player to step up and lead them out of this.

It wasn’t just the Monmouth collapse! The tournament in Georgia against bad teams was the eye opener for me if NIU was going to be good they should’ve easily won those two games instead the barely won both.

When does spring football start?

(01-06-2024 05:02 PM)CollegeMan33 Wrote:  It wasn’t just the Monmouth collapse! The tournament in Georgia against bad teams was the eye opener for me if NIU was going to be good they should’ve easily won those two games instead the barely won both.

33 I was there and Little Rock and Georgia State were not bad teams. And to say we BARELY won is wrong. We were never in trouble and always in the game and when push came to shove we did the shoving. Like I said earlier, injuries are killing us. Yes we have a problem when we go in bad stretches where we cannot make any baskets. My problem with that is Burno doesn't seem to want to call time outs to regroup and stem the flow. I am not giving up yet.

GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We beat one team by 5 pts and the other by 6 pts I would consider that close games.

Another net negative game for Zion Russell. Net negative as in the other team scores more points from his play than he scores. He started the game and played 7 minutes. I don't recall seeing him in the 2nd half or in the back half of the first half. Maybe even Burno gets disgusted with no points, 3 shots, 2 turnovers and 1 foul. Maybe the only player I've seen who regresses - gets worse each year. Went from 43% FG to 39% to 21% over his 3 year career at NIU. His 3pt shooting has gone from 37% to 33% to 14%. His turnover rate has significantly increased.
How does that happen?