Northwestern showed good effort tonight without leading scorer and team captain Nick Martinelli, but it wasn't enough to take down Butler at the Indy Classic. The 'Cats fell 61-58, mostly because they struggled offensively, shooting 36% from the field.
A persisting issue this season, NU was out-rebounded in this contest, losing by a 41-35 margin in total and 13-9 on the offensive glass. Fourteen Butler turnovers helped keep Northwestern in the game, and the 'Cats' defense appeared to make some strides, but Martinelli's absence -- reportedly due to a concussion suffered in practice -- was too much to overcome against a power-four team.
Jayden Reid led the way, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Angelo Ciaravino came on in the second half, finishing with seven points and impacting the game in an innumerable number of unquantifiable ways.
With Martinelli out of the lineup, K.J. Windham drew back in. The sophomore guard had played almost no minutes in the previous two games against Jackson State and Valparaiso, but he got plenty of run with 18 minutes tonight. Windham finished with five points on 2-of-6 shooting.
Both teams came out of the gates cold in the first half. Northwestern was one for its first 10 at the beginning of the contest, and it finished the first frame shooting 32%. The Bulldogs weren't much better -- they were 4-for-14 at around the midway mark of the half and finished it at 35% from the field.
Without Martinelli, the 'Cats looked to Arrinten Page and Jayden Reid for scoring. It didn't exactly come early in the game, as the former had just two points in the first half and the latter had six. Northwestern certainly would have liked a little more out of Page, and his lack of production was a big reason why it trailed 29-23 at the break.
The good for Northwestern in the opening frame? The 'Cats' defense did look a little better than the last time we saw them play against a power-four opponent. They absolutely benefited from poor shooting and eight Butler turnovers, but it was better, and that's a start.
In the first half, the 'Cats' depth was doing its best to contribute. Tyler Kropp hit an impressive jump-hook. Max Green made an impact with five points. But heading into the second half, Northwestern needed to find a way to put more points on the board without its leading scorer, and the pressure fell on its two transfer starters.
Page continued to struggle -- it just wasn't his night offensively. Reid was a factor in the second half, finishing with eight points just in the latter frame. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they were never able to settle into a rhythm as a group, and the defense had a rough stretch to open the half.
Butler got out to a 7-2 start in an instant, and it managed 15 points in around the first five minutes. On the broadcast, a look into Northwestern's huddle showed Chris Collins telling his team "we HAVE to guard!"
Overall, Northwestern did a better job of doing that today than in many previous games this season. But the beginning of the second half was a weak point, and Butler was quick to exploit it.
The 'Cats hung around after Butler's initial push, at times getting within a possession, but they could never quite get over the hump. With two minutes left, Page converted an and-one to get within one point. But two possessions later, Michael Ajayi scored a huge bucket for the Bulldogs to bring the lead back to three with 43 seconds to play. Forced to play the foul game, NU never flipped the script.
The 'Cats showed some grit at the Indy Classic, but they still fell to 7-5, and you are what your record says you are.