Riding a three-game win streak and having been recently awarded with an AP Top 25 ranking, No. 25 Northwestern ended its four-game homestand against Chicago State Wednesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena with a shocking loss.
With their 75–73 defeat, the Wildcats (7-2, 1-0 Big Ten) ended their 15-game win streak against the Cougars (4-9), the second-longest streak against a single opponent in program history. On the heels of a 32-point win over Detroit Mercy Sunday, NU struggled offensively from the start in Wednesday’s matchup.
Despite the hosts holding a 10-point lead with eight minutes to go in the first half, a 10-0 run by Chicago State tightened things up to close the first 20 minutes.
The ‘Cats started the second half with a four-minute scoreless stretch, allowing the Cougars to establish a seven-point lead — their largest of Wednesday night’s contest.
NU faced intense full-court pressure from Chicago State, resulting in a season-high 14 turnovers, multiple of which were on inbound plays. Cougars guard Wesley Cardet Jr. led all players in scoring, notching 30 of the team’s 75 points.
Dismal foul shooting was the final nail in the coffin for the ‘Cats, who shot 13-of-20 from the charity stripe, compared to the Cougars’ 19-of-22.
Here are three takeaways from Wednesday night’s game.
1. Chicago State capitalizes on NU’s turnover trouble
Before Wednesday’s game, the ‘Cats maintained a Big Ten-leading average of just 7.9 turnovers per game. NU uncharacteristically began the game with two quick turnovers in the first minute, and ultimately finished the first half with seven.
The Cougars capitalized on coach Chris Collins’ squad’s sloppy play early, posting eight points off turnovers entering halftime and trailing by just one point. First half turnover issues were not concentrated on a single ‘Cat; instead, they were evenly distributed among the entire team. Six different players committed turnovers, with sophomore forward Nick Martinelli losing possession twice.
The second half saw no improvement in NU’s ball security, with another seven turnovers occurring in the final 20 minutes. Collins’ starting backcourt trio of graduate student guards Boo Buie and Ryan Langborg and senior guard Ty Berry posted three turnovers apiece.
2. Langborg’s hot streak continues
Despite early-season shooting struggles, Langborg entered Wednesday’s matchup having nailed nine of his last 14 3-point attempts against Purdue and Detroit Mercy. The San Diego native notched nine points in the first eight minutes of Wednesday’s game, shooting a perfect 5-of-6 from beyond the arc in the first half.
Prior to his breakout performance against Purdue, Langborg had been shooting just 18.5% on attempted triples. In the month of December, Langborg has shot 70% from 3-point range.
3. 64-year winless streak as a ranked team at Welsh-Ryan Arena continues
The last time NU won a game as a ranked team at Welsh-Ryan, Dwight D. Eisenhower was president. With a 80-77 victory over Iowa, the then-No. 6 Cats last pulled off the feat on Jan. 3, 1959.
Despite the promising outlook before its buy-game matchup against the only independent team in Division I men’s basketball, NU’s hope for a home win as a top-25 team, along with an extended stay in the AP poll, quickly faded away.
NU has held a ranked spot for two consecutive weeks only one time during Collins’ tenure. With the loss to Chicago State, the ’Cats will need to win their final three nonconference games and string together some conference victories to even be mentioned in the AP poll again.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @AudreyPachuta
Related Stories:
— Rapid Recap: Northwestern 91, Detroit Mercy 59
— Rapid Recap: Northwestern 92, No. 1 Purdue 88
— Men’s Basketball: Northwestern prepares for Big Ten slate, early test against No. 1 Purdue
