A look at Northwestern’s 71-66 win over Dayton.
Is this post-Malachi Smith (injury) Dayton?
When you think of Smith, you think of a leader who brings a certain edge on defense. That wasn’t the case for the Flyers. Despite Boo Buie being in foul trouble, the Wildcats still had success on offense. Their ball movement/people movement gave Dayton problems.
Northwestern’s Board Work
Give the Wildcats some credit. They took the physicality to Dayton in a way that had plenty of second-chance payoff. The Wildcats out-rebounded Dayton 27-21. What was more impressive was the 12 offensive rebounds that led to 16 second-chance points. In a close game like this one, that was the difference.
Can Northwestern score with anyone in the Big Ten?
During the broadcast, the announcers said the Northwestern head coach, Chris Collins, is confident in the offense when facing Big Ten opponents. Some of that was displayed when Buie came out of the game with foul trouble. Instead of one player feeling like they needed to make up for Buie’s absence, it was a team effort.
Six players besides Buie scored in the second half, led by Brooks Barnhizer’s nine points. Ryan Langborg had eight of his team-high 19 points in the second half.
