With 4:26 to go in the first half, Northwestern forward Tre Singleton picked up his third foul. He had played just five minutes up to that point, and Penn State was up 28-26 and about to make it 29-26 with a free throw.
The problem posed by Singleton’s foul trouble was amplified by Ivan Jurić, Penn State’s 7-foot big man who feasted early with 12 first-half points on 5-of-6 shooting. Northwestern was without 6-foot-11 forward Arrinten Page, who has missed two straight games due to illness, and the
Wildcats needed more out of their bigs not named Nick Martinelli.
“We had some goals pregame to go at them in the paint because one of the tallest players on their team was out,” Jurić said.
Jurić finished the game with 22 points and six rebounds, but his four fouls and five turnovers overshadowed an otherwise impressive outing. After his hot start, Northwestern was able to keep pace, and more, buoyed by a resurgent effort from its two freshman forwards.
Tyler Kropp stepped up first. In the first half he played 14 minutes in which he scored four points, pulled down five rebounds and had a team-high two steals. Of Kropp’s five rebounds, four were offensive as he helped generate extra possessions for the Wildcats. His first-half performance kept the game close as Northwestern led 34-32 at halftime, especially after Singleton went to the bench with three fouls as Kropp had three rebounds and a steal in those final five minutes.
Kropp started the second half over Singleton, and he scored the first basket and added a career-high third steal. While he did play just seven minutes in the second half, his impact was felt as he contributed to a team-oriented win.
“I’m really just doing whatever I can to help the team out,” Kropp said. “Bring energy, get some boards, finish if I need to. Really just help Nick out, help the rest of the guys out, do whatever I can.”
Kropp finished the day with six rebounds and a team-high three steals to cap off a much-needed performance from the tallest active rotation player available during Northwestern’s first-round win over Penn State. With Kropp at 6-foot-9 and Singleton at 6-foot-8, the two shared center duties with Page out.
“Being undersized, you got to play with a little chip on your shoulder,” Kropp said.
Singleton bounced back from a slow start in the first half, where he recorded no stats other than his three fouls and a team-low minus-5. His performance was almost the direct opposite of Kropp’s, as something changed when he checked back into the game with 11:56 remaining.
While he did play a few minutes earlier in the second half in which he converted one of two free throws, Singleton made his presence felt as he stayed in the game with three fouls for the remainder after checking in following the under-12 media timeout.
“It really just boils down to being smarter,” Singleton said.
He finished the game without fouling again, even adding a steal — an impressive feat considering he had fouled out of five of his 13 previous games and seven times total on the season. Northwestern went on to outscore Penn State 42-34 in the second half, and Singleton contributed nine points to that total. He also pulled down three rebounds, two of those being offensive.
Up 70-60 with under two minutes to go, Singleton had back-to-back layups that put a bow on the Wildcats’ eventual 76-66 victory over the Nittany Lions. He was a plus-9 in the final 20 minutes, tied for second-highest for Northwestern in the second half. He Singleton 4-of-5 from the field in the second and provided everything coach Chris Collins and the shorthanded Wildcats could have asked for, and then some.
“My goal and my role on this team is new. Whatever I need to do to help get a win,” Singleton said.
Singleton finished the game playing 19 minutes alongside Kropp’s 21. The two never shared the court and were playing the center position without Page in the lineup. Kropp stepped up in the first half, while Singleton had his moment in the second.
As Northwestern prepares for Indiana in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, the mentality for this freshman-heavy team mirrors that of a veteran-filled squad.
“Postseason, everybody’s record is 0-0,” Singleton said. “Whatever happened in the regular season, it’s over. This is a new season. We’re ready to attack it.”
