1. Two words — ACE BAILEY. Holy mackerel. 37 points on 13-20 overall, 5-8 on threes, and 6-6 on FTs. Just a superhuman effort.
2. Acuff was a revelation tonight. Pike stuck with him and he came through with 13 points (5-7) and 4 assists.
3. Pike gets a lot of heat for his rotations, but tonight he stuck with what was working — JMike and Acuff — for probably the last 10-12 minutes of the game. JMike ended up with 7 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals. JWill and Derkack (who started both halves) but were ineffective, so Pike stuck with JMike and Acuff.
4. The defensive rotations were very good tonight. NW had some back luck with missing shots they normally make, but our defense made everything difficult for the Wildcats.
5. The offense was very efficient tonight, and it wasn’t just Ace. Overall, we shot 28-49 for 57.1%, including 8-14 from 3-pt range (also 57.1%). The team other than Ace was 15-29.
6. We almost lost the game at the FT line, going a putrid 15-25 (60%).
7. NW’s bigs don’t present a big threat, but Sommerville and Dortch did a pretty good job inside. Lathan with 9 points and 6 rebounds and Dortch with 2 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal. Dortch is giving Cliff-lite vibes with his length and shot blocking ability.
8. This doesn’t mean we’re back in the NCAA hunt, but it does help our chances of making the Big Ten Tournament.
