WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — When Northwestern took the court against No. 20 Purdue at Mackey Arena on Sunday, it was a far cry from last season’s dramatic overtime battles between the two squads.
With both teams having graduated their star players—Boo Buie, who led the Wildcats (10-5, 1-3 Big Ten) to two shocking wins over top-ranked Purdue in 2023, and Zach Edey, Purdue’s former two-time National Player of the Year now in the NBA—the matchup signaled a new page for both programs.
However, from the opening tip of Sunday’s contest, that new chapter looked bleak for the ‘Cats, as a dominant Boilermaker squad left them with more questions than answers and they lost 79-61.
The hosts wasted no time in getting on the board as Purdue’s C.J. Cox drained an open-three on the first possession, just 14 seconds into the game.
Already behind 7-0, graduate student guard Jalen Leach opened scoring for NU with a three-point bucket of his own — his first of two in the game’s opening eight minutes.
While the Boilermakers continued to build their lofty early lead, NU crumbled under the defensive pressure. Purdue drained open look after open look while Collins’s group struggled through traffic for each basket.
As Purdue continued to fire on all cylinders, the ‘Cats couldn’t keep up. They were outpaced in nearly every statistical category through the opening half, shooting a dismal 25% from the field by the break and trailing 41-18.
Tasked with a 23-point deficit after halftime, NU never threatened to override its losing fate, which seemed apparent just minutes into the game.
Instead, position players like freshman guards Angelo Ciaravino and KJ Windham played almost the entire second half, as Collins used the blowout loss as a means to give the younger members of his roster more experience.
Ciaravino led all NU scorers with a career-high 19 points.
With the loss, senior guard Brooks Barnhizer ended his seven-game double-double streak, which was the longest active streak in the country.
Here are three takeaways from NU’s loss at Purdue Sunday.
1. Too little, too late
Ahead of Sunday’s game, junior guard Nick Martinelli ranked second in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 21.3 points per game. After filling a sixth-man role for much of last season, he’s emerged as a key figure for NU, with the team’s success often tied to his offensive production.
But on Sunday, Martinelli struggled to find his rhythm, not hitting his first shot until 14:59 remained in the second half. By that point, the game was already out of hand.
Alongside Barnhizer, Martinelli has become a reliable scorer capable of changing the game with his signature left-handed hook shot. He’s had seven 20-plus point games this season, including a career-high 32 against Dayton.
After a couple late trips to the charity stripe, Martinelli wound up with 10 points against the Boilermakers, but after his slow start, it wasn’t enough to garner any sort of team-wide momentum.
While Martinelli, Leach and Barnhizer all notched low double-digit scoring by the end of contest, neither graduate student guard Ty Berry nor graduate student center Matt Nicholson scored a point.
2. NU can’t keep up from beyond the arc
Last season, the ‘Cats were second in the Big Ten in three-point shooting, sitting just behind Purdue’s 40.4% at 39% from deep.
Prior to Sunday’s contest, the ‘Cats were averaging just 28.1% against Big Ten opponents and they continued to struggle against Purdue, who fired away from beyond the perimeter.
By the end of the first half, NU was being outpaced from beyond the arc by Purdue’s Braeden Smith alone, who was shooting three-of-five from deep, while the ‘Cats limped to the break on a two-of-13 three-point clip.
While Buie and former NU guard Ryan Langborg accounted for much of the team’s three-point success last season, Berry and Barnhizer have not found the same momentum they had in that category last season so far this year.
The ‘Cats ended up shooting 29% from three Sunday, in comparison to Purdue’s 40%
3. The ‘Cats will look to rebound from back-to-back losses
Following back-to-back losses at Penn State and Purdue, NU will look to avoid dropping three consecutive games for the first time since the 2022-23 season, when it lost to No. 21 Illinois, No. 21 Maryland and Penn State in a row.
After two games on the road, the ‘Cats will return to Welsh-Ryan Arena and look to bounce back with a win over No. 18 Michigan State next Sunday.
Michigan State and Michigan are the only two teams remaining with undefeated conference records. The Spartans only losses so far this season have come to then-No. 1 Kansas and Memphis.
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Twitter: @AudreyPachuta
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