The numbers that defined Northwestern WBB

On paper, that should seem surprising.

Grace Sullivan is an intimidating 6-foot-3, and Tayla Thomas might be an even more imposing figure at the same height. Thus, the ‘Cats had decent size in the frontcourt. The issues came elsewhere.

Northwestern’s three most-used guards were all under 6 feet. Xamiya Walton and Caroline Lau averaged a combined 63.2 minutes per game and are 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-9, respectively. That’s not to say Lau and Walton had an overall negative impact on NU, but it’s to say that the lack of size in three of NU’s starting spots severely inhibited its ability to rebound the ball.

The result: Northwestern ranked 306th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage. That’s not good enough in the physical, forward-driven Big Ten.

0-16

Northwestern went 0-16 against Quadrant 1 and 2 opponents in the NET rankings.

​In simple terms: the ‘Cats couldn’t beat good teams.

And that might be an understatement.

The ‘Cats got destroyed against good teams. Against UCLA, Michigan, Michigan State and Maryland – four of the best teams on its schedule – NU lost by an average margin of 28.5 points. The Wildcats struggled to stay competitive.

Thus, it’s not surprising that Northwestern lost all 16 games it played against Quadrant 1 and 2 opponents. In fact, it only beat three power-five opponents on the year, whose combined record was 33-62.

In that context, Northwestern’s eight wins may overstate the team’s performance. A 6-0 start against low-level competition masked deeper issues that became clear in conference play.

​The Bottom Line

One can take these three numbers and begin painting the picture of Northwestern’s season.

50.2: NU couldn’t defend.

35.2: NU couldn’t rebound the shots that its opponents did miss, meaning its disappointing defense took center stage for longer.

0-16: The ‘Cats’ inability to defend and rebound resulted in a team that looked non-competitive for most of conference play.

Berube faces a significant rebuild if Northwestern is going to change its trajectory. This starts by aggressively hitting the transfer portal in search of height and athleticism to reflect the physical nature of the Big Ten.