Huskies poised for late surge
Rested squad has sights set on CAA
It mattered little to Northeastern basketball coach Bill Coen that his Huskies drew the No. 3 seed in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament, which gets underway today in Richmond. First, second, third, or fourth seed. It just didn't matter.
What was of paramount importance was the first-round bye that came attached to each of the top four seeds.
"We certainly left a few things on the table during the regular season, but our ultimate goal in our 18-game CAA conference schedule was to earn a bye and we did that," Coen said. "And now we have to win three games in three days."
Three games in three days. That is the mantra for the Huskies (18-11, 12-6), who will face the winner of tonight's matchup between sixth-seeded Drexel and 11th-seeded Towson in tomorrow's 8:30 p.m. quarterfinal at the Richmond Coliseum.
"We still have to win three games in three days," Coen said. "You can't win the second until you win the first, so this time of year it's one-and-done and everybody understands that."
The Huskies, who won nine of 10 games in a sizzling January by an average of 13.7 points to take sole possession of first place in the CAA, stumbled in the final month of the regular season, losing five of their last eight.
Despite wrapping up a bye after winning what Coen termed a "knockdown, drag-out fight" at Drexel, 47-46, on Baptiste Bataille's buzzer-beater, the Huskies tumbled out of contention for a first or second seed and settled for the No. 3 seed after absorbing a 57-54 overtime loss to Old Dominion in the regular-season finale last Saturday.
The Monarchs clinched the No. 4 seed with their 20th win while Virginia Commonwealth claimed the top seed and George Mason the No. 2 seed.
Following the Old Dominion loss, junior guard Matt Janning, NU's captain and leading scorer (14.3 points per game), said the team seemed to lack the intensity it had played with during a crucial three-game stretch at the end of January, when the Huskies beat George Mason at home, 58-57, then went on the road and scored back-to-back victories against Old Dominion (58-42) and Virginia Commonwealth (68-63). NU wrapped up the month by trouncing visiting Delaware, 73-59.
When NU lost four of its first five games in February, the last three in a row, it begged the question: Had the Huskies peaked?
"I think there was a lot of energy built up after beating Mason at home," said Janning, who waged his own struggles in the last eight games, shooting 33.3 percent overall (28 of 84) and 22.8 percent from the 3-point arc (8 of 35). "Then beating ODU on the road and the biggest one of those three was beating VCU on their home floor. Ever since then, we played Delaware at home and we won, but there wasn't nearly the same intensity that we had during that three-game stretch when we beat the other three teams that got the byes.
"I don't think we've peaked, but you can tell there was a difference in the intensity of our team and we've got to get back to it," Janning added.
Those lapses were best illustrated in losses NU suffered in its last two home games against Georgia State Feb. 18, in which the Huskies gave up a winning basket off an inbounds play with 1.3 seconds left, and vs. Old Dominion. NU rallied from a 43-36 deficit to take a 50-47 lead with 23.1 seconds left on Janning's 3-pointer from 25 feet, only to watch the Monarchs come back and tie it, 50-50, at the end of regulation and win it in OT.
"I don't think there's any doubt that we're not playing our best basketball right now," Coen said. "But I think this week off has come at the absolute best time for us. We get an opportunity to physically get healthy, mentally get freshened up."
Coen chose to take a positive approach, especially since three of his players were recognized at the CAA awards banquet last night. Janning was named to the All-CAA first team, junior Manny Adako made the third team, and sophomore Chaisson Allen was named to the All-Defensive team.
"I think they're all growth opportunities for us," Coen said. "We're still a developing team . . . We've already physically proven that we can beat every team in this conference. That gives us a measure of confidence, but now you have to do it again, three games in three days."
