In its Big Ten home opener, Northwestern disappointed its fans with a 86-82 loss to Ohio State, falling to 0-2 in conference play after another dismal defensive showing.
“It is 100% our defense and finishing possessions,” coach Chris Collins said postgame. “We are not making teams go to their Plan B or Plan C. We are getting beat with their KO punches.”
Senior forward Nick Martinelli carried the Wildcats (5-4, 0-2 Big Ten) on his shoulders in a signature 32-point performance, while the Buckeyes (7-1, 1-0 Big Ten) were led by forward Brandon Noel and his 29 points.
To start the contest, NU and Ohio State traded blows, both drilling their first shots of the game. After junior guard Jordan Clayton nailed a three, the ’Cats took a 5-4 lead. Before Wednesday’s game versus Wisconsin, Clayton had been struggling to see the floor, making this game his first regular season start.
Unlike in Madison, NU came out the gate fired up on defense, forcing one of the most efficient teams in the country in the Buckeyes to a slower start. Ohio State didn’t back down, however, making its last three field goals heading into the first media timeout of the game with the ’Cats holding onto a 15-13 lead.
After a fiery start, NU went scoreless for four straight minutes leading to a Buckeye six-point lead and a 7-0 run. But, after a couple of buckets from Martinelli and Page, the ’Cats worked their way back into the contest. With six minutes remaining in the first half, Ohio State held a 34-30 lead over their at-home opponent.
After a Martinelli and-one and a 3-pointer from sophomore guard K.J. Windham, the ’Cats tied the game at 38-38 with a little over two minutes to go in the half. Windham stepped up and knocked down a second 3-pointer late in the half, giving the ’Cats a four point lead.
After an up-and-down first half, NU finished it on a 12-2 run and ran into the tunnel leading 44-40 at halftime.
Coming out of the halftime break, sophomore guard Angelo Ciaravino soared to the basket on two straight possessions with powerful dunks, adding a third slam in under four minutes to put the ’Cats ahead 54-46.
After going up 57-48, a couple of Buckeye free throws brought the game back within reach. With a little under twelve minutes to go, NU clung on to a 61-58 advantage. Two minutes later, a Buckeye 62-61 lead prompted coach Chris Collins to call timeout.
NU’s offensive was ice cold with three turnovers in the last couple of minutes before transfer forward Arrinten Page drilled a three to tie the game. As the Buckeyes continued to finish in the paint, Northwestern went one of their last eight field goals with a little over six minutes to play.
With the Buckeyes up 68-66, sophomore guard Angelo Ciaravino was given a flagrant foul to the dismay of the Welsh-Ryan crowd. As Ohio State pushed their lead to five, NU got two big free throws from Reid to make it a one possession game.
With two minutes to play, NU faced an 81-73 deficit needing to turn it on offensively. Two quick buckets by Page and Ciaravino brought the Buckeyes lead to only four with a little over a minute left in Welsh-Ryan.
With 28 seconds left, Martinelli brought the Buckeye lead to just one with two clutch free throws. A Ciaravino foul sent Ohio State to the line where they went up 83-81.
With a little under 20 seconds left, Martinelli went to the line and missed the first free throw of a one-and-one in agonizing fashion. A quick ’Cats foul sent the Buckeyes back to the foul line where they capitalized, extending their lead to four and essentially sealing the game.
Here are three takeaways from NU’s demoralizing defeat to Ohio State:
1. Collins leans on veterans, but defensive woes persist
When the NU starters were introduced, one name stood out: Clayton. Freshman forward Tre Singleton, who had started all of the ’Cats’ games so far this season, was relegated to the bench as Collins turned to a more seasoned veteran.
“We’ve got to lean on the vets,” Collins said. “You gain an affinity for the jersey and the program, the longer you’re in it, right? So guys like Nick, Angelo, K.J., Justin, they have to carry the day, and the new guys got to kind of follow in with that.”
Coming into the game, Clayton had only been averaging 1.8 points per game on 13.6 minutes per game, but helped spark an improved second-half in NU’s loss at Wisconsin after not playing in its three previous games.
With one sophomore, two transfer juniors and two seniors, the ’Cats starters were the oldest they’ve been all season. Freshman guard Jake West, who averages 2.5 points on 11 minutes a game, only saw two minutes with Singleton getting only eight minutes of his own.
The change to the starting lineup came as Collins commented on a lack of grit and physicality in his team’s defensive efforts, having given up at least 77 points in each of its previous five games.
But, in Saturday’s defeat, it was a familiar story for the ’Cats, as they allowed 86 points and looked lost on the defensive end yet again. In all four of its defeats this season, NU has allowed at least 83 points.
“We know exactly what we have to figure out, we are struggling on the defensive end of the floor,” Collins said. “We are just having a hard time right now. We have to get back to the basics and for that I take full responsibility. We haven’t had a lot of time to really fix it. And now we do.”
After not forcing any first half turnovers against Wisconsin, NU forced six in the first half against Ohio State. However, the 40 points that the ’Cats let up is still a long way away from where NU wants to operate going forward.
The second half got even worse.
As the ’Cats searched for defensive stops in an attempt to close the deficit, their guards were repeatedly blown by and the Buckeyes’ frontcourt was able to feast for easy buckets.
It’s back to the drawing board for Collins, and the urgency to somehow stop the trend of ugly defensive showings is even more heightened after an 0-2 start to Big Ten play.
2. Martinelli steps up in Big Ten home opener
When the NU star went down holding his ankle against Wisconsin, ’Cats fans held their breath. Even though Martinelli returned in the second half, his 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting was highly uncharacteristic.
Martinelli was back to his best Saturday, scoring 32 points on 10-for-16 shooting and tying his career-high mark for points.
In the first half against Ohio State, Martinelli got up to his usual business, scoring 18 points and hauling in six rebounds. The 6-foot-7 senior didn’t seem to be plagued by any injuries, playing great interior defense and grabbing two steals in the first half.
In the second half, last year’s Big Ten leading scorer picked up where he left off, getting off to a perfect start from the field and the charity stripe in the first eight minutes. However, the senior was nowhere to be found in the next seven minutes, only putting up two more points.
On the defensive end, Martinelli picked up a costly blocking foul on a contested finish from the Buckeyes and then watched as his matchup, junior forward Devin Royal, nailed a clutch three-pointer in the corner.
He hit a pair of free throws with under 30 seconds remaining to cut Ohio State’s lead to one, but then missed the front end of a one-and-one to all but extinguish NU’s hopes.
“I’m sick of losing,” Martinelli said postgame. “That’s not what this program is about and that’s not who we are. Obviously, coming off last year, we had an excuse, but we don’t have anything to say for ourselves. It’s not the coach, it’s the players.”
3. Reid struggles with Big Ten physicality
Junior guard Jayden Reid electrified Welsh-Ryan Arena in his first non-conference games in Evanston, injecting pace into an offense that had previously been among the slowest in the nation.
But, two games into his conference season, Reid has already had a pair of ‘welcome to the Big Ten’ moments.
Standing at just 5-foot-10, Reid repeatedly struggled to finish at the rim as he was denied by the Buckeyes’ more sizable paint presence. The South Florida transfer finished the afternoon with nine points on 2-for-10 shooting.
Reid’s subpar performance followed another shaky outing at Wisconsin, in which he scored seven points and shot 3-for-10 from the field.
While Reid’s ability to push the ball in transition has unlocked a new element of NU’s offense, it has also had its downsides. As NU struggled to take care of the ball, committing 14 turnovers, it frequently found itself down numbers on the defensive end as Ohio State cashed in for easy layups.
“We want him to play better and we have to help him play better,” Collins. “I got to coach better, players have to play better. We are playing good teams, we are right there.”
Reid also failed to avoid defensive mismatches, finding himself guarding 6-foot-8 Buckeye forward Brandon Noel under the basket on multiple occasions in the first half.
With 12 seconds left in the game, Reid missed a 3-pointer, solidifying Ohio State’s win.
If NU wants any hope of arresting its current slide, it will need much better play from its starting point guard.
The ’Cats will look to bounce back before they take on the Jackson State Tigers on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
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