After a convincing neutral-site win over Georgia Tech last Sunday, Northwestern returned home for a Windy City clash against DePaul, and things got out of hand fast Saturday.
The visitors scored the first bucket of the game, but that would be about the only highlight for the Blue Demons (8-4, 0-2 Big East) in the opening minutes. The Wildcats (9-3, 1-1 Big Ten) launched into a blistering 20-0 run, knocking down every single shot they took — 9-for-9 — to set the tone early. NU never slowed down and ultimately pulled away with an 84-64 victory
Junior forward Nick Martinelli got things rolling with the ’Cats’ first basket, and graduate student guard Ty Berry, still searching for consistency this season, drained a three, then followed it up with a steal on the other end. Berry’s defensive play led to an alley-oop finish from graduate student center Matthew Nicholson, who slammed home his first of two dunks before the first media timeout.
NU’s defense suffocated DePaul early, forcing turnovers and turning them into easy points. The ‘Cats scored 15 points off 14 first half Blue Demon turnovers and recorded 10 steals in the opening turnovers.
Despite their early dominance, the ‘Cats began to cool off as the first half wore on. After making their first four three-point attempts, they missed their next five and shot just 7-of-23 from the field after their perfect start.
With an 18-point NU lead already on the board, DePaul managed to find some offensive rhythm and trimmed the deficit to 10 by halftime, but the damage had already been done.
The ‘Cats held onto their comfortable lead throughout the second half, though the Blue Demons stayed within fighting distance as they shrunk the lead from 19 to nine with four minutes left to play.
NU closed the game with solid defense to close out a victory that it commanded from the opening tip.
Here are three takeaways from NU’s win over DePaul.
1. Dominant 20-0 run sets the tone early
For the second straight game, NU set the tone early with a dominant double-digit scoring run. Slow starts have been a recurring issue for the ‘Cats this season, often finding themselves in early holes and forced to mount second-half comebacks.
However, against Georgia Tech last week, the ‘Cats made an immediate statement, holding the Yellow Jackets scoreless for the first six minutes. That momentum carried over into their matchup with DePaul, where they surged out to a commanding 20-2 lead, firing on all cylinders from the get-go.
In two of its three losses this season—against Butler and Iowa — NU was plagued by sluggish starts, trailing by double digits in the first half, and struggling with poor shooting percentages in the opening minutes.
In Saturday’s win over DePaul the ‘Cats flipped the script. From the opening tip, Chris Collins’ squad dominated, maintaining a comfortable lead throughout — a stark contrast to the uphill battles they’ve been accustomed to this year.
2. Spreading the wealth
In many of its early-season games, NU has leaned heavily on Martinelli and senior guard Brooks Barnhizer to carry the scoring load when shots weren’t falling.
Heading into Saturday’s matchup, Martinelli was averaging 20.4 points per game, while Barnhizer was close behind at 19.7. Beyond that, only Leach was consistently contributing, with no other players averaging more than a handful of points.
Against DePaul, however, the Wildcats had four players score in double digits, with Nicholson and junior guard Justin Mullins stepping up to make key contributions and combining for 22 points.
Alongside contributions from their teammates, Martinelli and Barnhizer both put on dominant shooting displays with 23 and 21 points, respectively.
Despite hitting an early three-pointer, Ty Berry remained largely quiet, continuing a trend that has defined his season. Berry is averaging just 7.3 points per game this year, marking a significant drop from his 11.6-point average last season.
3. Mullins makes key contributions
Typically known more for his quiet defensive contributions than for filling up the stat sheet, Mullins played a pivotal role in Saturday’s victory. He hit two crucial 3-pointers, a welcome sight after struggling with his shooting from beyond the arc, making just 1-of-12 attempts on the season before this game.
With an 8-0 second half DePaul run keeping the Blue Demons within relative, 10-point striking distance, Mullins connected with Nicholson twice in quick succession to help NU pull away with the commanding victory.
After averaging just 5.2 minutes per game last season, Mullins has seen a significant increase in his playing time this year, averaging 21.5 minutes per game. If he can continue to add more offense to his game, he could become an even bigger factor for the ‘Cats as they head into the heart of their Big Ten schedule.
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Twitter: @AudreyPachuta
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