EAST LANSING, MICH. — Ahead of Northwestern’s trip to Michigan State, injury news surrounding two of its starters — senior center Matthew Nicholson and graduate student guard Ryan Langborg — swirled before Wednesday’s tip.
While Langborg missed the Wildcats’ (20-10, 11-8 Big Ten) past two games, he made his first appearance since Feb. 22 versus Michigan.
Meanwhile, Wednesday marked NU’s first contest since Nicholson suffered a foot injury against Iowa last Saturday. The senior sported crutches and a walking boot on the bench.
“(Nicholson’s) going to be out this week,” coach Chris Collins said. “We’re going to reevaluate (him) next week and let the foot calm down a little bit. That’s the reason he’s on the crutches (to) give him a chance to heal.”
While the ‘Cats have found ways to win sans senior guard Ty Berry, Nicholson’s absence on the court was immediately felt in their contest against the Spartans (18-12, 10-9 Big Ten).
Without its starting center, sophomore forward Luke Hunger and graduate student forward Blake Preston were NU’s sole traditional bigs.
And, at times, 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Nick Martinelli was the tallest Wildcat on the floor.
While Hunger made his first start Wednesday since NU’s Feb. 7 contest against Nebraska, he committed two fouls within the game’s first two minutes. After Preston committed his first foul of the evening, Collins elected to play this true small ball lineup for the first time.
“They got way too many (offensive rebounds),” Collins said. “Once Luke picked up two fouls in a minute, we were forced to go to that small lineup. Without having (Nicholson), it’s something we’ve talked about — to go a bit smaller.”
Immediately after Preston’s first foul, the ‘Cats held a 12-7 advantage, a lead they maintained for the remainder of the first half.
Collins’ smaller lineup enabled his defense to suffocate the Spartans’ shooting spells. The ‘Cats limited Michigan State to shoot 19-of-60 from the field, including a 2-of-17 clip from beyond the arc. As a result, the hosts scored a season-low 53 total points.
“Our defense was a lot better tonight,” junior guard Brooks Barnhizer said. “We put a lot of pride on that side of the floor. We know that over the past few games with the squad we have right now, we’re going to win games with our defense. The offense will usually take care of itself.”
But, in a defensive dogfight that ultimately was a first-to-50 contest, Michigan State capitalized on NU’s lack of size on the boards in the second half. While the ‘Cats managed to corral 35 rebounds, the Spartans’ 46 total rebounds was the difference maker.
With points coming at a premium, NU had difficulties limiting the number of Spartan possessions. Michigan State used their height advantage to bring down 19 offensive rebounds, with forward Malik Hall corralling a game-high 17 rebounds.
Martinelli and Barnhizer punched well above their weight on the glass, though, combining to corral 20 rebounds.
In addition to his 12 points, Barnhizer brought down a team-high 12 rebounds — marking his eighth double-double of the season.
“With the small ball lineup, I knew (rebounding) was going to be asked to me,” Barnhizer said. “I love rebounding — great teams rebound. (Martinelli) and I take pride on the boards. (Michigan State) had 19 offensive rebounds, (so) I should have had more rebounds. I’ve got to get some more next game.”
Once the Spartans claimed the lead in the second half, the ‘Cats’ offensive struggles made it difficult for them to counter Michigan State’s ability to find extra possessions.
NU shot 8-of-24 from the field and 2-of-10 from deep in the second half. While Langborg’s trey in the final minute trimmed the visitor’s deficit to two, he was held to seven points on 2-of-12 shooting.
“A lot of (Langborg’s) shots were great, and we’re going to live with those every day,” Barnhizer said. “It’s on guys like me and (Martinelli) to step up and be leaders and confident. Even though we didn’t score as much as a team, we could’ve been more aggressive and even more confident.”
Finishing the night with a game-high 19 points, Spartan guard Tyson Walker canned a pair of layups that paved the way toward a Michigan State victory.
With the ‘Cats having a chance to seal a double-bye seeding in next week’s Big Ten Tournament and put to rest any questions about the team’s ability to make the NCAA Tournament, Collins said NU must finish strong.
“We’ve got to go home and win,” Collins said. “We had a similar stretch (earlier in the season) where we lost at Purdue and Minnesota but then won five of our next six. I love the resilience of the group. We’re sitting at 11-8 and controlling our own destiny heading into the weekend. We’ve got to do everything we can to finish our home slate with a big win on Saturday night.” \
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