Northwestern showed once again its unique identity is its greatest strength.
If you only looked at Chris Collins passionately flailing his hands in the air after every second half whistle against Lehigh, it would have been impossible to tell Northwestern led by as many as 50 points.
Yet the Brooks Barnhizer-less ‘Cats bulldozed past the Mountain Hawks, thanks to a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double from Nick Martinelli and a career-high 15 points from Luke Hunger. But it was Northwestern’s stifling defense and commitment to its identity that showed that this squad might not take a step back a year removed from its second-consecutive NCAA Tournament run.
“Defense is so much about scheme and so much about wanting to do it and believing in that scheme,” Collins said postgame. “And our guys believe in our defense.”
That was evident from the start. Northwestern forced four turnovers within the game’s first four minutes, eventually scoring 23 points off Lehigh’s 12 turnovers. With the ‘Cats versatile size and their ability to switch almost everything defensively, Northwestern’s defensive rotations were pristine, with elite close outs that sped up Lehigh’s offense. Throw in 10 steals for Collins’ squad as the Wildcats’ active hands were on full display with two steals for Martinelli, Ty Berry, K.J. Windham and Justin Mullins.
“Since I’ve been here, we’ve always focused on defense first,” Martinelli said. “And as a player, you want to go into the game worrying about winning and defense and you know the offense will come with that.”
Well that’s exactly what happened with Northwestern’s early run. The ‘Cats played like that annoying team you faced in high school. The one that pressed up on the perimeter, gave you zero breathing room to work with and chopped their feet annoyingly loud when closing out on a shooter.
That intensity comes from Northwestern’s focus on the defensive end in practice.
“It’s a lot of yelling and pushing and sweating, that’s all I can really describe it as,” Martinelli said. “You have to be ready and locked in for practice. The coaches have a super high standard for us…When we have a defensive day, you know it’s time to go.”
And just as you start to get frustrated by that high school team’s defensive effort, their offense kicks into gear, unselfishly swinging the rock, hitting every three ball in sight and dominating the paint with a strong, hard-nosed post game. That’s just the Chris Collins mentality.
”Our formula is really good defense and it’s high assists and low turnovers,” Collins said. “That’s been a staple of our program.”
Northwestern finished the game with 22 assists and eight turnovers, but arguably a bigger staple has been Northwestern’s commitment to player development. That was clear as Northwestern opened the offensive floodgates in their 51-point first half barrage. The success came without Northwestern’s best player in Barnhizer available and with only minor contributions from Matthew Nicholson and Ty Berry, who only played six first half minutes due to foul trouble.
Hunger, who suffered a season ending injury as a true first-year and saw an increased workload last season when Nicholson went down, suddenly looked like the true stretch big we’ve seen snippets of during his time in Evanston.
On the other hand, Martinelli has arrived. His ability to stretch the floor opens up his strength as a low post scorer, getting inside and finishing with his patented left-handed hook. Outscoring Lehigh’s 15 first half points with 17 first half points of his own, he continued to impress with his leadership and growth.
“I knew that with our player development and the way he works at it and his confidence that he was poised to come in and really up it to another level to be an all-league type guy,” Collins said of his leading scorer.
In the transfer portal era of college basketball, Collins has made it clear that Northwestern won’t stray from its mentality as a developmental program while adding the occasional piece in the transfer portal to supplement its roster. Ryan Langborg was a huge addition to Northwestern’s March Madness run last season, and it seems like Collins has found another one with Fairfield transfer Jalen Leach. In his first real game in the purple and white, Leach totaled 12 points, six assists and five rebounds. Although he’s far from the purest ball handler, his athleticism only strengthens Northwestern’s flexibility on the defensive end while his ability to go get a bucket and attack the rim gives the ‘Cats a consistent offensive threat.
The first-years shined too. K.J. Windham seemed unfazed after a shaky start in the team’s exhibition match against Lewis, racking up 10 points and six assists off 2-for-6 shooting from deep. Angelo Ciaravino similarly impacted the game off the bench, posting seven points, five assists and four rebounds, including canning his only attempt from deep.
Northwestern’s ability to light it up from beyond the arc was huge for the Wildcats’ success. After losing Boo Buie and Langborg, who both shot over 40% from deep last season, the ‘Cats went 9-for-20 against Lehigh showing they still have the offensive juice to stretch out opponents with six players recording a made three.
Coming into the season, the storyline for this Northwestern team was its three captains. Yet without Barnhizer available and Nicholson and Berry still finding their legs underneath them, it was the depth, youth and secondary scoring that showed Collins knows what he’s doing.
“We’ve built our program on chemistry, camaraderie, guys coming in as young players learning what it’s all about,” Collins said.
In a new era of Northwestern basketball, sticking to the Wildcat way in the shifting landscape of college sports is the reason why this team appears not only deeper than it’s ever been, but ready for another head turning run.
“The coaches really set a standard,” Hunger said postgame. “It’s the standard of perfection.”