Another day, another collapse.
After crumbling after having a seven-point halftime lead in a 76-66 loss at No. 12 Michigan State Thursday, Northwestern has failed to materialize halftime advantages or ties in its last three conference games. It has struggled in the clutch, when the score is within five points in the final moments, losing six of eight such contests this season.
Each of these games had several moments where it felt like the Wildcats (8-7, 0-4 Big Ten) could overcome their sudden ghosts in clutch time, but they have fallen short almost every time.
“In the last eight to 10 minutes, we hung, but they were able to make the plays, and we weren’t,” coach Chris Collins said.
First, NU allowed 62 points in the paint against Ohio State in a four-point loss. That was followed by a loss against Minnesota, where the ’Cats were outscored 24-9 in the final 4:39 of a game after building a seven-point lead. Then the team blew a seven-point lead at the Breslin Center by allowing the Spartans to score 48 points in the second half.
Thursday’s collapse against the Spartans (14-2, 4-1 Big Ten) was especially devastating for NU because it desperately needed something to cling to after a 0-3 conference start. It had positioned itself well at the break, but in the final two minutes, the ’Cats only made one of their final seven field goals as the Spartans’ 64-62 advantage ballooned to a 10-point margin as the final score.
NU’s shooting woes were especially evident from beyond the arc, in which it shot a lousy 23%.
“We shot 26 threes, and I would venture to say 25 of them were wide open, and we made six of them,” Collins said.
Collins also focused on some critical breakdowns late in the game, including fouling Spartan guard Jeremy Fears Jr. on a three to give the 90% free-throw shooter a chance to earn another point in a close game.
After putting up 28 points last night, senior forward Nick Martinelli is now second in the entire country in points per game. The rest of the squad shot 20% in the second half, and no other ’Cat had double-digit points, limiting the team’s potential to turn a strong first half into an upset victory.
This continues a trend from the Minnesota game, where the team shot 31.6% in the second half without Martinelli. Against Ohio State, the ’Cats shot just 39.1% under the same conditions.
Collins said before the season that he wanted to lower Martinelli’s minutes into the low-30s, but he has seemingly been handcuffed to keeping him in almost the entire game as the rest of the ’Cats appear unable to score in clutch time moments.
“Hopefully, we can get some of those other guys giving him some more help as the season goes on,” Collins said.
Beyond offense, the team continues to struggle with rebounds in these close moments. In their last three second halves, NU has been outrebounded 61-39, with Michigan State’s game being the largest gap at 25-12.
Thursday’s contest marked a chance for the team to pull off its first ranked win since its overtime upset over then-No.19 Illinois in December 2024, and its first road ranked victory since January 2023 at then-No.15 Indiana. But, an all-too-familiar collapse prevented this.
The ghosts of failures past continue to haunt this team, and if the ’Cats don’t shake them, it will soon be too late.
“We’ve dug ourselves a hole here, we know that, but there’s 20 games, and you’re going to be judged by what you do over 20 games,” Collins said.
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