[NU Sports] how many...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

>It was the largest margin of victory over IU since, I believe, 1914. Far and

Yup - broke that nasty league opener streak too. But really, this is what
we HAVE to do this year. We HAVE to beat IU, Purdue, PSU and Minnesota. And
we HAVE to win our games at home. So this was a double whammy. Carmody's
turned Welsh-Ryan into a nice little home court for the Cats and seeing the
attendance at 7,000 for a heavy-snow warning weeknight shows that we're
starting to have a fan base for a home court edge, too.

Now we'll go to the other extreme with a trip to the Izzone. A win would be
a great start, but the big thing will be to see how we handle a hostile
environment.

>away the most complete game by the Cats this season.  Jenkins really stepped
>it up when he was needed, but across the board the Cats played better than

That was huge. When I saw TJ on the sidelines, I was worried. He's the
pulse of the team, but Jenkins stepped up big-time. That's another thing
Carmody's building - a bench. Doyle, Seacat, Jenkins. It's nice when we
have backup.

>I've seen them play all year.  Finally, there was good ball movement and
>terrific defense.  Thompson's presence in the middle was a big difference,

Definitely -- and he's looking much more comfortable than when I saw the
Cats on TV in December. I expect the team chemistry and Mike's role will
only get better.

>visitors.  It may be hard to get one of the next three but I wouldn't count
>these Cats out.  Remember, we beat Illinois at home last year.

Well, the Illini are looking mighty tough.:) But really, we're watching
Carmody in the building stages, and Cat fans should be encouraged with what
we're seeing. MSU, Wisky, Iowa, Michigan are all gonna be tough, but if we
can dictate tempo and have our home court edge and a big man in the middle,
who's to say we can't make a run? Yeah, it's just one game in, but there's
reason for optimism here on the court and in the stands.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT


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