BOSTON – It was only a couple of weeks ago that Northeastern looked like it was at the beginning of a very promising season. Despite not showing up against Michigan in their second game of the season, the Huskies bounced back with impressive wins at Providence and against Holy Cross. They stood at 3-1 through four games and had two more home games left before they would be on the road until the new year.
But nearly two weeks later, the Huskies stare at a three-game losing streak heading into Saturday’s CAA opener at James Madison. They haven’t been snake-bit in that stretch; they simply have not played well, and a couple of glaring issues have shown up along the way. The issues are glaring enough to make one wonder if this team is really as good as some thought before the season, when they were picked second in the CAA preseason poll and some in the national media picked them to win it.
The most troubling of all has been that if Matt Janning isn’t playing well offensively, the Huskies are in trouble. And unfortunately for the Huskies, in two of the three losses he struggled and in another one he was their only real offensive threat. Janning was 1-11 from the field in Saturday’s loss at USF, then went 4-14 against Rhode Island, including 0-3 from long range, and strangely went 0-4 from the foul line. Without their star playing to his usual level, especially the level he was at in wins over Providence and Holy Cross, the Huskies stood no chance.
Even when he did play well against Boston University in the first of the three straight losses, the Huskies got no one else going at the offensive end for stretches. Once the Terriers had Janning well-covered in the second half, the Huskies were in trouble, as they scored less in the second half than the first half, when Janning scored 14 of his 22 points. The offense stagnated because no one else could make a play. While the Huskies’ defense was primarily responsible for that loss, as they allowed a lot of dribble penetration that led to wide-open three-pointers, the offense didn’t help matters.
The Huskies haven’t been able to get any consistent production from other players. Eugene Spates continues to be feast (17 points on 5-7 three-point shooting against Providence) or famine (two points on 1-8 shooting at USF). Manny Adako didn’t take advantage of good matchups against Boston University and is only shooting 41.3 percent from the field, well below the 53.2 percent he posted in his first two seasons on Huntington Ave. Nkem Ojougboh hasn’t been the rebounder he was last season, let alone a good offensive threat. Vinny Lima had a nice game on Wednesday off the bench (14 points on 6-6 shooting and five rebounds), but hasn’t given them any consistency.
Chaisson Allen has yet to show the improvement in his jumper that preseason practices suggested would be there. He’s been judicious about not shooting often, but he’s shooting just over 28 percent from the field. While his numbers don’t look bad otherwise, he’s capable of being better than he has been. He was 1-7 from the field against Rhode Island, and once the Rams shut down him and Janning, the offense was sunk, especially in the second half. Other teams will surely see the benefit the Rams derived from hounding the Husky guards all night long. The comforting thing for Northeastern is that most teams don’t have a defensive backcourt like the Rams’ duo of Marquis Jones and Keith Cothran.
The lack of support for Janning is troubling enough by itself, but the Huskies have other issues as well. They are being out-rebounded by over six per game, and while six players average at least three rebounds per game, no one averages more than 4.3. Allen is tied with Ojougboh for the lead in rebounding and Janning is third at 3.7.
On Wednesday, the offensive struggles found another problem. Rhode Island isn’t loaded with shot-blockers; in fact, only one player averages more than one block per game, and Kahiem Seawright isn’t exactly the second coming of Shawn James. But on several occasions, a Husky guard was able to drive toward the basket and seemingly have a clear path to finish and/or get fouled, only to pass off to someone in the corner while being about a foot or two away from the basket. That changed a number of possessions, especially in the second half as the Huskies shot just 25 percent from the floor. They went from having a shot right by the basket where they could get to the foul line to having a tougher shot from about 18-20 feet away.
Two years ago, in Bill Coen’s first season, the Huskies moved the ball very well to win games. While seniors Bennet Davis, Bobby Kelly and Adrian Martinez joined a younger Janning in leading the way, no one dominated the scoring on the team. The Huskies got baskets from ball movement with good frequency and had some balance. At times earlier this season, they looked like that, but lately, they have looked nothing like it. Instead, they have opted for too much one-on-one play and not moving the ball as well.
While the Huskies are 6-1 against James Madison since moving to the CAA, they lost a heart-breaker last December at home and are facing an improved team. The Dukes have learned how to defend better, which means the Huskies need to find some support for Janning if they are to come back from Harrisonburg with a win.
Those who selected the Huskies to contend in the CAA undoubtedly did so on the premise that Janning would have good support, in addition to being a contender for CAA Player of the Year. Right now, that premise is looking a little questionable.
