For the first time since four West Coast schools entered the fray of Big Ten competition, NU’s conference slate took it to the Pacific Northwest for a Saturday night clash against Washington—more than 2,000 miles from the familiar confines of Welsh-Ryan Arena.
But the Wildcats (10-14-4-9 Big Ten) weren’t just battling the distance—they were also without two of their top three scorers as they fell to the Huskies (12-11, 3-9 Big Ten) 76-71.
With 5:26 left in NU’s Tuesday win over USC, graduate student guard Jalen Leach suffered a knee injury while driving to the basket and was unable to return to the game. Before Saturday’s contest, the Big Ten Network confirmed that Leach would be out for the remainder of the season.
Alongside senior guard Brooks Barnhizer, who was ruled out for the year after NU’s loss to No. 17 Wisconsin just a week ago, Leach adds to the growing list of injuries that complicate the team’s path to a Big Ten Tournament bid as it enters the final month of its regular season.
In their place, coach Chris Collins turned to sophomore guard Jordan Clayton, who had planned to redshirt this season and had yet to see any action on the court to join the starting rotation.
After trailing by nine-points at halftime, junior forward Nick Martinelli delivered a dominant second-half performance and led all NU scorers with 23 points.
Down by just two points with less than a minute to play, the ’Cats couldn’t convert on their final scoring opportunities and failed to record their first road win of the season.
Here are three takeaways from NU’s loss to Washington.
1. Next man up?
Before they were ruled out with season-ending injuries, Barnhizer and Leach were two of NU’s three scorers who averaged double-digit outputs.
In addition to their scoring, the duo shouldered nearly all of the ball-handling responsibilities for the ‘Cats throughout the season.
In their absence, there was no clear line of succession for Collins to turn to. After averaging 0.3 points per game and 7.1 minutes of play during the 2023-24 season, Clayton made his first-career start against the Huskies, scoring seven points on 2-of-7 shooting.
Following his best scoring game and most playing time since transferring to NU ahead of last season, junior guard Justin Mullins stepped up again in Seattle, scoring 13 points in his second-consecutive double-digit scoring performance.
Graduate student guard Ty Berry recorded 14 points in the loss.
2. First-Half Damage Control
When the ‘Cats went to intermission trailing by just nine points, it could have been far worse.
After Berry opened the game with a 3-pointer and Mullins followed up with a triple of his own, the visitors’ offense went silent as the Huskies rattled off 10 unanswered points over a more-than-six-minute NU scoring drought.
Halfway through the opening 20 minutes, NU was shooting just 3-of-12 from the floor, but trailed by just two points thanks to a perfect 4-of-4 clip from the free throw line.
Already struggling to find offensive production with a deeply experimental rotation, a technical foul call and ejection of Collins added insult to injury with 3:28 left to play in the first half. The hosts then extended their lead to 12 just 30 seconds later.
3. Solid defense fuels Martinelli’s dominant second half
After seven minutes of play in the second half, the ‘Cats had already forced five Husky turnovers, without relinquishing possession on their own scoring opportunities.
An 11-0 NU scoring run cut the deficit to just three points as the ‘Cats took advantage of Washington miscues to score 22 points off nine turnovers in the final 20 minutes.
With 7:33 left to play, NU tied the game up at 55 apiece for the first time since Washington initially took the lead after three minutes of game time.
Collins has long said that in times of offensive troubles, focusing on performing defensively helps get his team back on track.
After being held to just four points in the opening half, Martinelli exploded for 19 second-half points, following a dominant performance in NU’s recent win over USC that featured 27 points, 13 boards and a game-winning floater in the contest’s final seconds.
As the ’Cats look for success in their final seven games of the season, their results will live and die with Martinelli’s ability to deliver clutch performances.
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