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2007 College Basketball Predictions
2007 Northwestern Basketball Predictions & Season
Preview
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 predictions
and season preview.
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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. Jimmy Boyd’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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