After Northwestern lost to Ohio State in its Big Ten home opener 86-82, coach Chris Collins made clear what he thought needed to change.
“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.”
Since the Dec. 6 press conference, the Wildcats have won three games, allowing an average of only 61 points in those contests, but those wins came against weak non-conference opponents with a measly average NCAA Evaluation Tool ranking of 275. In total, NU has allowed 57.5 points per game to opponents with a NET ranking of 150 or worse as of Jan. 2. For those ranked in the top 150, the ’Cats have allowed over an almost insurmountable 80 points per game.
The gap between opponent quality and performance was most evident in the team’s two losses after the Ohio State game. NU dropped two critical games against Butler and Minnesota, teams the ’Cats needed to beat to build a record that matches their NCAA tournament ambitions. While the defeat at the hands of Butler can be given some grace due to the absence of star senior forward Nick Martinelli — who missed the game with a concussion — nothing can be said for the Minnesota game.
Against the Gophers at home, NU came up short in agonizing fashion, losing 84-78. The ’Cats led by as much as seven in the second half, but gave up 50 second-half points, letting any hope of winning its first conference game fall through the cracks. Across Big Ten bouts so far, NU has let up an unconscionable 85 points per game.
A seemingly dejected Collins addressed the team’s defensive woes after the loss to Minnesota head-on Saturday night.
“There needs to be a sense of urgency in our fight and defensive discipline and habits if we want to win a game in this league,” Collins said.
At the beginning of what will be a stretch of 18 Big Ten games, the ’Cats defense will need to find its identity and scheme quickly if it wants to stay afloat in one of the best conferences in college basketball.
NU has several defensive strategies it can draw on from past years to better disrupt opposing offenses — namely, trapping, zone coverage and full-or-half-court pressure. While none of these schemes are, or should be, used as the ’Cats’ main defense, the variety helps make the team unpredictable and harder to game-plan for.
1. Trapping
One of the most historic scenes of NU basketball is of students storming the hardwood floor of Welsh-Ryan Arena after beating No. 1-ranked Purdue in February 2023.
The objective was clear for the ’Cats: Don’t let the Boilermakers get the ball in the paint to 2023 and 2024 Naismith Player of the Year Zach Edey. Collins and his staff elected to send a second player to double Edey as soon as the big man caught the ball. This frequently forced Edey to swing the ball back outside to the 3-point line, while NU rotated around. While this strategy did occasionally leave the opposition open for triples, the ’Cats hustled and contested enough of them to the point where Purdue was only 5-for-22 from 3-point range in the whole game.
That night, the No. 1 team in the country was held to just 58 points, with 16 turnovers leading to 22 points for NU. Most notably, Purdue, a team that played primarily out of the post with its star 7-foot-3 center, only scored 24 points in the paint. This season, the ’Cats have allowed an unbelievable 62 and 42 points in the paint versus Ohio State and Minnesota, respectively.
This philosophy is especially important as some of NU’s smaller guards have struggled against bigger opponents in the paint after switching on screens this season. If the ’Cats want to have more historic court stormings, trapping might be the solution hiding in plain sight.
2. Zone
Zone has historically been shunned, as it was seen as a way to hide slower, less athletic players. But, given the right personnel, a team can execute it effectively.
For NU, a 2-3 matchup or regular zone would be a strong fit.
First, the ’Cats have incredibly speedy and scrappy guards in juniors Jayden Reid and Jordan Clayton and freshman Jake West. In addition, sophomore guard Angelo Ciaravino and senior guard Justin Mullins are two of the most athletic players on the roster, who could play either at the top or bottom of the zone.
Most importantly, the zone will have a positive impact on NU’s two highest scorers — Nick Martinelli and transfer junior forward Arrinten Page — who have both struggled defensively at times.
NBA scouting reports have often cited defense as an area for development for Martinelli. In the Butler loss, Martinelli’s absence seemed to help the ’Cats’ defense as NU only allowed 61 points and held Butler’s prolific junior guard Finley Bizjack to a mere six points on 20% FG in 31 minutes.
Though, as the team’s star player and one of the top scorers in the nation, how can Collins take him off the floor? The answer: he can’t.
A zone offers a way to mitigate some of Martinelli’s defensive concerns without taking him off the floor. For Page he is an athletic five-man who is capable of spectacular blocks but has been susceptible to foul trouble this season. Also, as a player who hasn’t averaged nearly as many minutes at his previous two stops, Cincinnati and USC, playing zone would allow him to pace his stamina.
While traditional thinking suggests it is much more difficult to rebound out of a zone, the ’Cats personnel suggest those issues may be manageable. Poor defensive rebounding in zones comes primarily from ball-watching or confusion on who to box out. For NU, this team is highly intelligent and athletic enough to get bodies on opposing players and outhustle them.
While it isn’t a 40-minute fix, a zone could help the ’Cats keep and even increase their offensive production, help keep their best players on the floor and cause problems for opposing offenses.
3. Press
The 2019 season for NU opened up with immediate disappointment. In just Merrimack’s second game as a Division I program, coach Joe Gallo and his famous 2-3 defense completely smothered the ’Cats, leading to one of the biggest upsets of the NCAA season.
After the incredibly disappointing loss, Collins and his staff needed a new strategy to defeat the highly ranked Providence. And sure enough, from the start of the game, NU lined up in a 2-2-1 press and then stayed in that same formation in the half-court set. Their rotations were excellent, and their pressure flustered the Friars into shooting 31% from the field and a measly 23% from 3-point range.
In the Providence game and the aforementioned 2023 Purdue game, pressing reduced the time opponents had on offense. This made it harder for opponents to run more than one set and take more than one shot. In both instances, the various presses and turned zones helped mitigate potential mismatches in personnel, such as quickness and height.
After the Providence win, Collins gave a simple answer for why he played zone.
“When you have low moments, I just feel like, at times, you got to shuffle the deck,” Collins said. “Whether you change your lineup, change your defense, do something different offensively, I’ve always felt that when you are trying to flush something and move on, making some kind of change is good.”
Maybe this ’Cats team should “shuffle the deck” to keep their postseason dreams alive as they enter the bulk of the Big Ten slate.
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