Northwestern’s nascent season has thus far been defined by sluggish starts and second-half sparks.
In both their exhibition win against Illinois State and season-opening victory over Mercyhurst, the Wildcats (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) struggled to find offensive fluidity before bursting to life after the interval. But in Friday’s tilt with Boston University, NU wasted no time finding its best form, pounding the Terriers (1-1, 0-0 Patriot League) wire-to-wire en route to a 76-52 win.
“I thought we played better tonight than we did in the first game, which is what you want to see early in the season,” coach Chris Collins said postgame.
Senior forward Nick Martinelli and junior guard Jayden Reid were the main offensive catalysts, scoring 20 and 17 points, respectively. Junior center Arrinten Page commanded the paint in an all-around performance, racking up seven points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
The game got off to a remarkably one-sided start, as the ’Cats knocked BU out of rhythm from tip-off and propelled themselves to a 19-4 lead. Martinelli had a trademark first half, starting slowly but bursting to an under-the-radar 15-point effort.
After the Terriers cut the lead to nine with a brief flash of three-point shooting, sophomore guard Angelo Ciaravino began impacting the game on his return to the lineup with five quick points in two minutes.
A Martinelli and-one boosted the ’Cats to their biggest lead of the half at 22, and they took a 45-26 advantage to the locker room.
Opening up a lead as large as 30 points in the second half, NU sailed to victory despite the Terriers making a small dent in its advantage.
Here are three takeaways from Friday’s comfortable win over BU:
1. Early defensive swarm punishes Terriers
On the game’s very first possession, Page swatted a post entry pass into the active hands of Ciaravino for a steal. After NU converted at the other end with Page dishing to Reid for a layup, it forced another turnover by pressing high and provoking a panicked out-of-bounds pass.
56 seconds into the game, the Terriers took a timeout.
That passage of play paved the way for a turnover-laden evening for BU, as the ’Cats swarmed every inch of the court.
“I thought we really set the tone right away,” Collins said. “We knew we had to bring the energy.”
By the 13:30 mark in the first half, NU had already created five turnovers, capitalizing on its defensive dominance to take a commanding 17-4 lead at the second media timeout.
The ’Cats never let that lead slip the rest of the way, ultimately closing out the game with 14 turnovers forced. Page was the standard-bearer for the defensive effort, notching three steals and two blocks.
It was NU’s second consecutive pristine defensive performance, after it held Mercyhurst to just 47 points Monday.
2. Reid shines after quiet first game
Reid came into Monday’s season-opener with plenty of eyes on him after he spearheaded an electrifying second-half effort in the ’Cats’ 100-65 exhibition win over Illinois State. Yet he was a non-factor for much of the win over Mercyhurst after two early fouls led him to play just five first-half minutes.
On Friday, Reid showcased the full-extent of his capabilities as a tempo-setter and scoring threat.
“The coaches were on me, they were coaching since that game, about not gambling and not reaching early on in the game, so I don’t pick up early and dumb fouls,” Reid said postgame. “It helped out. Obviously, I can’t get in foul trouble, I was able to play longer stretches, and have a better game.”
The 5-foot-10 point guard had seven of NU’s first 11 points, draining his first three as a Wildcat in the process. As the half wore on, he increasingly leaned on his playmaking prowess, tallying six assists by the intermission.
With just over four minutes to play in the first period, Reid demonstrated his instinctive feel for transition opportunities when he re-adjusted to an errant pass, spinning around to grab the ball at midcourt before turning on the jets and coasting through the lane for a layup.
The Westbury, New York, native had one more trick up his sleeve in the first half, racing to the basket with under 30 seconds left and making a layup that kissed off a seldom-explored upper corner of the glass.
Reid continued his inspired play past the interval, showing off three-level scoring as he knocked down a turnaround, midrange jumper midway through the second period.
Reid finished the night with 17 points, eight assists and only one turnover, sinking eight of his 14 field goal attempts.
3. Starters steal the show as depth waits to click
Much has been made of NU’s unprecedented depth this season. Collins said before the season that he planned to spread out minutes among a bigger pool of players, repeatedly referencing last season’s Michigan State team as a model of a 10-man rotation with bench players just as influential as starters.
In his season-opener, Collins put 23 unique lineups out on the floor, and that was without Ciaravino. With the Chicago native returning to the lineup Friday after missing out in the Mercyhurst win with injury, Collins had all of his key rotation pieces available for the first time this season, including exhibitions.
Yet paradoxically, it was the starters who produced the vast majority of NU’s offensive output against the Terriers, while the bench only emerged as a meaningful factor late on.
At halftime, NU’s starting five had amassed 42 of its 45 points, with only a lone three from freshman guard Jake West preventing a complete bench shutout. That was despite six players coming off the bench for a combined 29 minutes.
“Excited about how that group played,” Collins said of his starters. “I thought the way we started both halves was a testament to that group. They really set the tone for the rest of the game.”
With the ’Cats opening up a 30-point lead early in the second half, Collins had a helpful opportunity to bed in his freshman talent. That game state helped the bench grow into the contest, including a promising six-point second-half showing from freshman forward Tyler Kropp and eight points for West.
The ’Cats ultimately finished with 19 bench points, the same figure as their visitors.
“The biggest thing that I’ve stressed to our team is that (on any) night, we’ve got to be okay with the group that’s playing well,” Collins told reporters before the season.
While that excelling group Monday was largely confined to NU’s starting five, it remains to be seen whether the trend will continue.
NU returns to action in just three days, taking on Cleveland State on Monday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
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