This season continues to prove tough for Wildcat fans. Saturday’s loss to Nebraska was the team’s sixth in its last seven games. Northwestern is still yet to record an in-conference win, and is currently
on pace to have its first losing season since 2022.
Did the Nebraska loss tell us anything we didn’t already know? It’s a question worth answering.
The “2nd Option” Spot is a Revolving Door
The number one question surrounding this basketball team coming into the season was where points were going to come from outside of Martinelli? The program dipped into the transfer portal, banked on continued development from last year’s first years and recruited its highest ranked prospect in history in hopes of solving that problem.
For the first month-and-a-half of the season, it seemed that Arrinten Page was the solution. Through Northwestern’s 11 games, the former Cincinnati man was scoring 15.4 points per game while shooting over 60 percent from the field. Page’s efficient scoring contributed to a 7-4 record over the span and the best offensive start to a season in the Chris Collins era.
But Page’s scoring has dropped off since. In his five games before the Nebraska matchup, the center was only scoring 9.8 points per contest. Saturday’s contest was his worst outing of the season, with Page failing to even register a shot attempt in only ten minutes played.
In those five games, Jayden Reid was the Wildcats’ next best scorer. Reid actually outscored Martinelli against Illinois, scoring 28 and led the team with 14 in Martinelli’s absence against Butler. He also contributed 19 alongside Page in a narrow loss to Minnesota. Reid has had high highs when it comes to scoring, but he’s also had lows, putting up only seven points on six shots on Saturday and eight points on 14 shots against Michigan State.
Aside from that, no one else has been a reliable scorer. Tyler Kropp had a day with nine points and no misses against Michigan State. Jake West also had a game with nine points against Rutgers and Singleton had an impressive 14 on Saturday, but these are all sporadic performances amidst strings of subpar outings.
By this point in the season it’s clear that, save for the occasional Virginia-esque performance, Nick will be Nick. But after three recent run ins with ranked opponents, it’s still uncertain where his offensive help will come from for the rest of the season.
Never Enough Wind in the Sails
The Wildcats ultimately lost this game by almost 20 points, but they went into the halftime break only down by five. NU outrebounded the Cornhuskers through the first half 21-13, winning the battle on the offensive boards 7-2. The six turnovers were problematic, but the deficit in points off turnovers was offset by NU’s advantage when it came to second-chance points.
But then came the second half. Nebraska started moving the ball quicker and NU couldn’t get to its closeouts. The Cornhuskers shot above 50% from three, turned four offensive rebounds into eight second chance points and turned five turnovers into eight points. The Wildcats simply couldn’t keep up.
This marks the latest in a long line of games where NU has lost steam late. Up six with two and a half to play in an eventual loss against Rutgers, up by seven at half in what turned out to be a ten point loss to Michigan State, and being down four with five minutes to go against Illinois before being outscored 12-5 the rest of the way.
Even with all things considered, it’d be harsh to say NU hasn’t played well enough to earn one conference win this season. But in order to get over that hump, the squad has to stop getting in its way down the stretch. This means Collins has to find a way to get this squad to come out of the second with the same intensity that they do start contests.
Looking Ahead in More Ways than One
More of the regular has passed than there is left to play. It is at this point in the season where it makes sense to start looking at the future. The ‘Cats sit in the basement of the Big Ten. Thanks to rule changes, the ’Cats don’t have to worry about missing out on the Big Ten Tournament this year thanks to all 18 teams making it. Still, it’s not a good look to be the bottom seed in a tournament that is hosted in your own city.
In terms of getting that elusive first conference victory, it’s really a toss up as to when it will come up. The best opportunity will be against Penn State, the only other winless team in the conference. NU also hosts Oregon and Maryland, two teams who are currently 1-6 in the conference.
But what is next for NU beyond this season? This is Martinelli’s final year, and much has already been said on the roster’s lack of scoring threat without him (refer to point 1). How will this team hold up in his absence?
You can hope that Reid and Page stick around and don’t decide to transfer elsewhere, seeing as they are the second and third highest scorers this season. After a promising first year season, KJ Windham hasn’t quite shown the improvement that Collins likely would have hoped for. The same might be true of Angelo Ciaravino, despite his improved numbers this year.
Out of this season’s first years, Tre Singleton and Jake West get more than ten minutes a game. Singleton, to his credit, has been the team’s fourth highest scorer on the season. But he has struggled in conference play, with Saturday being his first standout game against a Big Ten opponent. West has earned more trust as the season has gone on, and could become the team’s primary playmaker in a few season’s time, but up to this point he has yet to score in double figures all year.
A lot of NU’s avenues to improvement for next year are reliant on chance. NU will have to bank on first years building on promising but not extraordinary debut campaigns. It will have to hope that the sophomores can capitalize on the potential they showed a year ago. It will have to hope the juniors not only return, but return improved. Most importantly, it needs to recruit well.
That’s a lot of things to hope for after a season that has provided less and less reasons to do so as each week goes on.
