To say this past week has been good for Northwestern basketball would be an understatement. The Wildcats defeated in-state rival Illinois by double digits in front of the home crowd on Wednesday — their first victory against the Fighting Illini since 2019. The wins kept coming on Sunday, with the Cats knocking off No.15 Indiana in Assembly Hall. 

And while their upcoming opponent Rutgers was coming off a loss, Northwestern Athletics announced that the student section would be expanded to 1,400 seats, giving the squad enough fuel to power through another high stakes conference battle.

However, in a slugfest among defensive-led teams, NU’s second half scoring boost wasn’t groovy enough on Retro Night versus the Scarlet Knights, dropping their first contest of the new year, 65-62.

With the Big Ten’s top two scoring defenses battling it out at Welsh-Ryan Arena, it was known from the get-go that whichever squad could maintain some kind of success on the offense for the longest period of time would come out victorious. And for the majority of the game, Rutgers had the floor. The Scarlet Knights star guard Cam Spencer’s right wing three to begin the contest set the tone for the first half, as NU was unable to cut Rutgers’ lead to less than three for the first 20 minutes.

NU showed signs of flipping the table multiple times throughout the game.  Following junior guard Ty Berry’s far corner three and redshirt senior guard Chase Audige’s putback that almost counted at the end of the first half, the Cats seemed to have the momentum heading into the half, only down by five points.

The same feeling came in the second half early, as NU cut Rutgers’ lead down to two points less than two minutes into the second block of 20-minutes following five straight points from Berry. As the clock closed into double zeros, the chances of a purple and white comeback became increasingly slim, with Rutgers holding a nine point lead nearing the seven-minute mark. 

But that’s when the motor finally got going for the Cats, specifically for Audige and senior guard Boo Buie. The two would combine for the game’s next 10 points, capped off by an Audige right-handed layup, a crowd eruption and a Rutgers timeout. Out of the break, the two squads went blow for blow, with NU packing a little more powerful punch, leading to a four point lead with less than a minute and a half left in the contest. 

However, a defensive miscommunication by the Cats resulted in a slimmer light for Spencer, pulling up, and knocking down a left wing three with 15 seconds remaining as Audige closed out less than a second too late. NU still had a chance to win the game with one possession, but Buie’s loss of ball control led to a jump ball in favor of Rutgers, silencing the Cats’ hopes.

Takeaways:

1. Cats inability to get offense going in first half leads to ‘catch-up’ ball for the majority of contest

The Scarlet Knights were on fire at the start of the contest. Following Spencer’s three, Rutgers hit four straight shots, leading to a five-point lead five minutes to the matchup. If this was last Wednesday or Sunday, this wouldn’t be a problem for the Cats’ offense, who averaged around 78 points their last two contests. However, against the Big Ten’s top scoring defense, they struggled to string together multiple scoring possessions in the first half — leading to them playing ‘catch-up’ all throughout the second half. 

2. Northwestern throws first (offensive) punch = Success

The Cats’ offense was hitting on all cylinders in the first half against Indiana, a tumultuous task at one of college basketball’s toughest environments in Assembly Hall. By the 13 minute mark in the first half, they were fully in the driver’s seat with an 11-point lead. Although the one-point victory didn’t show, the Cats had the Hoosiers exactly where they wanted them for the majority of the contest due to that early lead. 

The same could be said for their contest versus Illinois, using their six-point lead to start the game as a launchpad, a partial result of their seven-point lead heading into halftime. Although their 22-2 run in the second half was the nail in the coffin, an early game lead was clearly a momentum booster for an offense that scored 32 of their points off free throws.

Against Rutgers, though, the Scarlet Knights swung the first punch on offense, and NU was unable to recover — never securing a lead the entire contest. See the trend here?

3. Bad coaching in final seconds plays major factor in loss

Following Spencer’s dagger with 15 seconds left, the Cats and coach Chris Collins knew that this would be the last possession of the game. And with two timeouts to spare, there was no question that a timeout should be called to allow the Cats to set up a play, catch their breath and, most importantly, set themselves up for the best chance to score. However, as Buie crossed halfcourt and drove to the right hash, neither him nor Collins called a timeout. Less than two seconds later, both teams were scrambling for a loose ball, leading to NU’s chances slipping out of their hands. Knowing that other options were available, especially with multiple players with the hot hand, a timeout should’ve been called.

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