Following a decisive defeat against in-state rival Illinois, Northwestern faced an uphill battle for a bounceback victory against Michigan State Wednesday.
Hopes for a victory dimmed early as the Wildcats (7-11, 2-5 Big Ten) fell 91-72, marking their fifth loss in conference play this season.
After the first 10 minutes of play , NU was down by 10 points. Early struggles were only par for the course, as the ‘Cats soon fell into a much deeper hole.
Less than four minutes later, the Spartans (13-4, 3-3 Big Ten) had increased their lead to 21, as they opened up the second quarter with a 13-2 run to put the visitors further in the rearview mirror.
NU generated momentum at the end of the first half, as the ‘Cats poured in eleven points in the final four minutes and forced two Spartan turnovers. However, the surge proved insufficient to spur a sustained comeback effort, as NU trailed by 22 points at the intermission.
Coach Joe McKeown missed his fifth consecutive contest due to illness, with associate head coach Tangela Smith maintaining her post as acting head coach.
In seven games sans McKeown this season, the ‘Cats have struggled to string together positive results with just one victory, while their opponents have outscored them by a margin of 611- 426.
Here are three takeaways from NU’s loss to Michigan State.
Takeaways
1. First quarter turnovers dig an early hole for the ‘Cats
Despite recent improvements in ball handling, excessive turnovers have NU’s achilles heel this season, defining a dismal early conference stretch.
Sporting the Big Ten’s least favorable turnover margin, the ‘Cats encountered a formidable opponent in the Spartans. Michigan State boasts the conference’s best turnover margin and ranks fourth nationally.
Opening Wednesday’s contest, NU fell back into familiar habits that have plagued consistent progress. They turned the ball over six times in the opening five minutes, putting them on pace for a 48-turnover performance early on.
Unlike in games against Penn State and Ohio State, where early turnovers dictated the tone for the entire game, the ‘Cats were able to rectify their sloppy ball handling after the first few minutes.
The squad still racked up 13 lost possessions and allowed Michigan State to generate 19 points off turnovers.
2. NU’s defensive woes persist
Ranked 315th out of 348 Division 1 teams in defensive field goal percentage, an inability to put pressure on their opponents continues to be a fatal flaw for the ‘Cats.
NU has fallen by margins of 20 points or more in nine of their 18 games this season, falling by 40 or more in three of these occasions.
The ‘Cats allowed the Spartans to rack up 50 points in the first half on a 19-of-32 shooting clip, including eight outside conversions.
After Sunday’s loss to Illinois, graduate student guard Maggie Pina discussed her frustration with the team’s lack of physicality. Four days removed from that defeat, the squad showed little improvement in their matchup against Michigan State.
3. The ‘Cats look towards their first rematch of the season
Following the loss to Michigan State, NU returns home to Welsh-Ryan Arena to host Penn State next week.
When the ‘Cats traveled to Happy Valley two weeks ago, they lost by forty points and accumulated a season-high 30 turnovers.
To entertain any hope of revenge against the Nittany Lions, ball security must improve drastically from their last matchup.
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Twitter: @AudreyPachuta
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