Cal State Northridge Recap

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Final Score: 88-76 Husky win (6-1)

Four Factors:

The Huskies got back to offensive rebounding ways, posting an absurd OR% of 57.1.  For the second straight game, the Huskies put up a too-high Turnover Percent, something that needs to be remedied before the matchup this weekend with Georgetown. Neither team was great shooting from the floor, and the Huskies used a 32-21 advantage in fouls to get to the line 11 more times than Cal State Northridge did.

Summary:

The Huskies needed this type of game sandwiched between an emotional loss at Texas Tech and a big upcoming game against Georgetown. It took the Huskies a bit longer than expected to finally put CSN away, but there were a lot of encouraging things that happened in this game. Thomas had a much better shooting night (4/10) than he has in the previous two games, though at times he got a bit careless with the ball. He also continues to get to the line and make his free throws, which has and will continue to carry him when his shot isn't falling. Quincy Pondexter continues to be the team's rock, hitting a momentum shifting three pointer and scoring 15 second half points to put the game away. On a night where the team didn't shoot well the offensive rebounding and free throw shooting proved the difference.

Player of the Game:

Abdul Gaddy showed us a glimpse of things to come, scoring 11 points with 2 assists. He shot 5/8 from the floor and 1/1 from the line and was the only Husky who shot better than 50%.

It Was Over When:

With their lead just 1 point and the game at 48-47, the Huskies went on an 18-2 run.

Stat of the Game:

Matthew Bryan-Amaning collected a season high 10 rebounds, 5 of them offensive.

Other Observations:

Quincy Pondexter and Isaiah Thomas are averaging 17.3 free throws taken per game and are hitting a combined 84%. Elston Turner continues to struggle, going 2/4 and missing his first two.

Matthew Bryan-Amaning, for all the flack he takes from the fanbase, is putting together a much better season than he had last year, which was better than his freshman year. He's going to get a real test though when he has to match up against Georgetown's Greg Monroe.

Tyreese Breshers had another game where he fouled out. It wouldn't be such a bad thing, except that his conditioning is still such that he can't play many minutes and it's the second time he's fouled out in 10 minutes or less. Even when he does get into shape, is he going to be able to stay out of foul trouble long enough to take advantage of it?