The numbers that defined the Northwestern men’s basketball season

It was a season full of adjustments for the ‘Cats, but some things remained consistent.

It was a season defined by ups and downs for Northwestern men’s basketball, who at times looked primed for another tournament appearance and at others looked as if it might not even make the Big Ten Tournament. Ultimately, what defined the Wildcats’ season?

2 (and 66, sometimes)

The man himself, Nick Martinelli. The junior forward came into his own in a all-time season with the Wildcats that included accolades like leading the Big Ten in scoring in a photo finish with Nebraska’s Brice Williams, scoring the most field goals in a single season in program history and ultimately making the All-Big Ten Second Team (which many might argue wasn’t reward enough for his accomplishments). No. 2 was the guy that Northwestern lived and died by for much of the year, especially amidst devastating, season-ending injuries to other top scorers Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach. And despite the mounting pressure on the junior forward’s shoulders as the season rolled on, he remained the consistent scorer and leader that ‘Cats fans began to expect out of him, relying on his “flipper” shot the whole way.

Even in spite of a number change made halfway through Northwestern’s conference tournament game against Wisconsin following Martinelli’s shirt being ripped, Martinelli remained Northwestern’s “guy” through all the ups and downs of a tumultuous season.

70

Coaches, analysts and fans alike will often talk about the importance of a “magic number” for certain teams: if a team can keep a team under a certain number, or score however many points, it is bound to win. For Northwestern this season, that number was 70.

When the ‘Cats allowed 70 points or fewer, they were 14-2, with the only losses coming in an uncharacteristic blown lead at home against Nebraska and the final game of the season against Wisconsin. Throughout the season, Northwestern prided itself in its hard-nosed defense, more so by necessity than by design. The ‘Cats ranked third-worst in the conference in points per game (72.4), and the aforementioned injuries did nothing to help an offense that had to learn to gel time and again throughout the year. What never changed, though, was the defensive mentality instilled by Coach Collins.

To win, the Wildcats simply had to dig in and play good defense. They did just that, allowing just 69.2 points per game, good for 4th-best in a rough and tumble Big Ten and 67th in the country — one spot ahead of Final Four team Auburn. When the offense wasn’t clicking, Northwestern knew it could always rely on its defensive principles that guided it to a majority of its victories.

13

It can’t be overstated just how much adversity this team had to face this season. By mid-February, after having lost six of its last seven, it felt as though the season might have been lost to the untimely injuries that had done away with two of the team’s leaders, both on and off the court. But Northwestern didn’t fold that easily.

All lost momentum had been regained with a huge surprise victory over Ohio State in Columbus, propelling the ‘Cats to two more huge wins over Minnesota and Iowa heading into March. Despite ending the regular season with two tough losses to tournament teams in UCLA and Maryland, Northwestern had redeemed its “lost season” with a tangible feat: earning a spot in the Big Ten Tournament.

Competing all season long for one of the final spots in the tournament, the ‘Cats locked their spot up towards the end of the season, in large thanks to that three-game win streak in late February, to earn themselves a No. 13 seed and a date with No. 12 Minnesota. Despite everything, Northwestern showed a tremendous amount of perseverance, giving good reason to be proud of that No. 13 seeding.

.500

Chris Collins deserves all his flowers, clawing his Wildcats to a third-straight season with a winning record (or, above .500) for the first time in his Northwestern tenure, and the first time for NU men’s basketball since 2009-12 under Bill Carmody. After what for a while seemed like a one-hit wonder of a season with the ‘Cats’ 2017 NCAA Tournament appearance, Collins has bounced back from a temporary return to the dark years of Northwestern basketball to bring it back to his standard.

After serving as a source of disappointment for Northwestern faithful for a large period of the program’s history, Collins has begun to raise the standard of not only basketball, but all Northwestern athletics by creating a winning culture and building hype on campus and beyond. And it all starts with racking up digits in the win column.