It wasn’t until late in Tuesday’s game that Northwestern truly became dominant.
The final 11:57 of Northwestern’s Tuesday matchup against Howard displayed everything fans have hoped for out of Wildcat basketball.
Right up to that point, the ‘Cats were clinging to a 44-42 lead, unable to shake a scrappy Bison team that continued to make their presence felt defensively and on the boards. In the first half, Howard accumulated a plus-10 rebound margin. And although the Wildcats erased their rebounding deficit in the final 20 minutes, the Bison were still fighting hard and keeping the game close.
But starting with a huge Justin Mullins block to prevent a game-tying basket, everything shifted. Tyler Kropp converted a layup on the ensuing fast break, and from there, the ‘Cats coasted, sailing away to an 80-60 victory.
“This was a really good win for us, needless to say,” Wildcat head coach Chris Collins said.
And it was — if you considered the surrounding circumstances. Northwestern got a huge boost from the return of Nick Martinelli, who scored 32 points and added six rebounds following a one-game absence due to a concussion. The ‘Cats also got big games out of Tre Singleton (17 points and eight boards) and Mullins (12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range).
The presence of Singleton and Mullins proved huge for the Wildcats. But the arguably-bigger story was the absence of Arrinten Page, who was effectively suspended for the entire game due to “violating team standards,” according to the BTN broadcast. Without Page on the floor, neither squad had a player above 6-foot-10. NU’s lack of a center clearly hindered its rebounding output, especially in the first half.
Collins said he was “proud” of his other players for stepping up in Page’s absence and learning “on the fly” despite a lack of real practice time between the suspension and tip-off. But when asked to share what standards his starting center violated, the Wildcat head coach declined to answer.
“That’s something in-house,” Collins said. “I expect to move forward.”
Ultimately, the ‘Cats managed to escape from the Bison without Page, doing enough to secure a comfortable win. But the victory wasn’t without struggles.
Outside of the first-half rebounding issues, the ‘Cats were hindered by a poor performance from Jayden Reid. The point guard shot 0-of-4 from the field, scoring just one point and struggling on defense. Max Green came off the bench for 15 minutes, but his shot wasn’t falling on Tuesday. He ended up without a point after a 0-of-5 shooting day that included a 0-of-4 mark from beyond the arc.
But ultimately, the Wildcats managed to win by 20 anyway. Martinelli’s performance was truly electric, and Singleton’s impact in the absence of Page was encouraging for the first-year’s development. There’s no doubt that Howard was the easiest opponent left on NU’s schedule, and the ‘Cats managed to meet expectations and pull away for a blowout win by the end.
Now, the urgency intensifies. The Wildcats resume Big Ten play against Minnesota on Saturday with a 0-2 conference record, seeking a much-needed victory before a tough five-game stretch that includes ranked matchups against Michigan State, Illinois, Nebraska and USC.
“We’re going to have our hands full,” Collins said regarding the Minnesota matchup. “It’s going to be a big week of preparation for Saturday.”
Already, Northwestern has had more than its fair share of heartbreaking losses this season. Close defeats at the hands of Virginia, Oklahoma State, Ohio State and Butler still sting for a team that certainly has NCAA Tournament aspirations this season. The ‘Cats will need to stack up Quad 1 wins down the stretch, and those early-season defeats only toughen the road for them.
As of now, the Wildcats are out of the NCAA Tournament bubble. To climb back into contention, NU must find a way to emulate Tuesday’s final 11:57 while flushing much of the rest.
Category: General Sports
