Northwestern has taken a first step toward getting back on track.
After a stretch of poor defensive showings sent the Wildcats (6-4, 0-2 Big Ten) on a three-game losing streak, they bounced back with a 93-53 win over Jackson State at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday afternoon.
NU held the Tigers (1-9, 0-0 SWAC) to 28.6% from the field, its best defensive performance this season. Senior forward Nick Martinelli led the ’Cats in scoring with 22 points, passing Drew Crawford to achieve the third most 20+ point games in program history.
“I think the guys off the bench came in with great energy,” Martinelli said. “I thought each and every one of them came in there and did what we needed to do.”
NU lost the opening tip-off, but after some strong defense, it took possession and Martinelli flipped in a layup for the game’s first points. NU got out to a 10-4 lead after five minutes of play. Jackson State cut the deficit to one before the ’Cats pulled away with an 11-0 scoring run to take a 25-11 lead into the under-8 timeout.
The squads traded baskets for the remainder of the half, with the Tigers cutting the lead to just six points before NU took control and held a 41-24 lead at the end of the first half.
The ’Cats slowly expanded their lead, which grew as big as 40 points during the second half. NU was utterly dominated on the offensive side of the floor, venturing on a 15-2 run down the stretch.
In the final two minutes, with the game well out of reach, redshirt junior forward Gus Hurlbert entered the game. The fan favorite helped the ’Cats close out a dominant win.
The result saw coach Chris Collins notch his 200th career win in Evanston.
“I came here to build a program, it wasn’t as much about wins and losses,” Collins said. “My biggest goal was to earn respect as a place that does things right, that’s competitive, that’s respected within Big Ten circles.”
Here are three takeaways from NU’s get-right win over Jackson State:
1. Defense returns to early-season form in first half
In NU’s first three games, it didn’t allow its opponent to surpass 65 points. In each of the six games since, the ’Cats have conceded 75 points or more.
In Saturday’s contest, NU held Jackson State to 53 points. The Tigers didn’t convert their first field goal until after five minutes of play had elapsed.
Additionally, the ’Cats held Jackson State to 27.6% shooting from the field in the first half, the lowest they have allowed in the first half all season.
NU seemed to swarm its opponent across the half-court, rarely allowing open shots aside from a few 3-pointers.
In the second half, the pace picked up for both squads and the scoring rapidly took off. Despite some makes early in the period, the ’Cats allowed the Tigers to shoot 29.6% from the field in the final 20 minutes of the contest.
After allowing Ohio State to score 62 points in the paint during last Saturday’s game, NU held Jackson State to just 16 points at the dish.
“There was a lot of work done this week in trying to get our habits right,” Collins said of the paint defense. “We got to get a lot better, but it was just good for our guys to see their hard work pay off.”
Strong showings on defense like this were important when the ’Cats opened the season and will be crucial as they close out non-conference play.
2. Transition opportunities fuel first-half offense
In the first half, Jackson State committed eight turnovers, and NU capitalized on each one for a total of 16 points.
The ’Cats used these fast breaks to get to the paint, where a majority of these points came from.
Though NU did attempt nine 3-pointers in the first half, it shot just three in the final 11 minutes of the first period. The offensive gameplan was almost fully centered around getting points at the dish or drawing contact.
The ’Cats scored 42 of their 93 points in the paint. They also drew 26 fouls and scored 30 points at the charity stripe.
In the second half, NU began to make some noise from outside the arc, draining six threes on 16 attempts. The ’Cats also found success across the floor, shooting 54.8% in the second half.
3. ’Cats spread the floor around Martinelli
In the first half, NU had six players with at least five points. 10 players entered the scoring column, and four players tallied at least 10.
Martinelli drew tons of attention on offense, as most of the ’Cats’ opponents have shown this season. He took advantage of the double- and triple-teams he faced and made outlet passes to his wide-open teammates.
“We had a lot of balance,” Collins said. “We had seven guys with eight or more points, and that’s kind of what I envisioned for this team offensively.”
Martinelli was still able to keep up his high-level scoring, notching 22 points in just 22 minutes of play. It was his seventh game this season with at least 20 points.
The tight defense didn’t slow Martinelli, as early in the second half, he received a pass from sophomore guard Angelo Ciaravino and drove down the floor. He powered through his defender with the help of a behind-the-back dribble and spun a finger-roll layup into the hoop through contact, earning an and-one.
Ciaravino finished the contest with 13 points, his third double-digit performance in the last four games. Junior center Arrinten Page extended his streak of 10+ point contests to eight straight games.
The ’Cats return to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Tuesday to face Valparaiso at 7 p.m.
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