Busting Brackets
Fansided

Big Ten Basketball: Analyzing each team’s overall offense for 2020-21 season

By Trevor Sinodhinos

ANN ARBOR, MI - FEBRUARY 08: Isaiah Livers #2 of the Michigan Wolverines in action in the first half of the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Crisler Arena on February 8, 2020 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI - FEBRUARY 08: Isaiah Livers #2 of the Michigan Wolverines in action in the first half of the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Crisler Arena on February 8, 2020 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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EAST LANSING, MI – JANUARY 02: Miller Kopp #10 of the Northwestern Wildcats (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI – JANUARY 02: Miller Kopp #10 of the Northwestern Wildcats (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

Northwestern Wildcats

2019-20: 63.1 ppg in Big Ten play

Coach Chris Collins and Northwestern Basketball are returning everybody who could have started last season. The graduation of guard Pat Spencer will be noticed in the loss of leadership, rather than a loss in offensive scoring, as his 10.4 points per game will be quickly compensated for.

With a starting line-up of Boo Buie (10.3 ppg), Anthony Gaines (5.9 ppg), Miller Kopp (13.1 ppg), Peter Nance (8.5 ppg) and Ryan Young (9 ppg) the Wildcats’ will all be playing in their natural position, in addition to having a stronger bench.

Boo Buie will easily provide the offensive output that Pat Spencer produced as the starting point guard. To compare, Spencer scored a total of 53 more points than Buie while playing 261 more minutes. Spencer never should have been playing point guard as he needed to use off-ball screens to get to the strong side corner, or down screens by Young to get open up top. In contrast, Buie will bring the ball up and use an all ball screen in order to ‘read and react’ to what the defense gives him.

The defender’s best option is to go under the screen because Buie hit just 28 percent from three last season, which is still five percent better than Spencer. Buie however will take the defender off the dribble if they switch.

The addition of Anthony Gaines who started the 10 games he played last season will up their pace-of-play as he is an athletic 6’4 / 205 shooting guard who rebounds and pushes the fastbreak off of misses. Gaines’ addition will bring a different aspect to their post-game as Coach Collins shifts Kopp to the small forward and Peter Nance slides to power forward.

This change will free up Beran to bring offense off the bench. Kopp played a lot of shooting guard last season, as the three ‘bigs’ of the Wildcats would create mismatches, this resulted in Kopp dribbling more than he should.

Kopp will continue to use the double screen to get up top as well as be able to get a mismatch on the perimeter with the ‘big to small’ back screen on the stack set. Buie, however, will be creating more open looks when Kopp’s defender helps off the 40 percent from the arc shooter. Ryan Young will work great up top with Buie, as well as feeding Nance in the post from that spot on the floor.

Freshmen guard Ty Berry and freshmen center Mat Nicholson will be joining Beran as well as junior Ryan Greer and redshirt 2019 William & Mary transfer Chase Audige in bolstering the Wildcats’ bench and overall point total.

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