It was a tight one at Welsh-Ryan Arena this afternoon, where Northwestern took on Oregon in a battle between two 4-13 Big Ten teams. Despite their records, both teams came into the game on a two-game win streak. Northwestern was able to extend that streak to three, winning the contest 63-62, and they did so on a massive shot from Martinelli with the clock running out.

Here are three takeaways from Northwestern's victory.

Northwestern's struggles on the glass this season have been well documented, but the 'Cats have started to flip that script in recent games.

Today, against a team with seven-foot Nate Bittle and a host of other long, rangy forwards, the 'Cats held the rebounding margin to 37-32 in favor of Oregon. Angelo Ciaravino and Nick Martinelli set the tone for the rest of the group. They had seven and 11 rebounds, respectively.

You can be sure Chris Collins put a big emphasis on surviving in this area heading into the game. The 'Cats answered the bell, and they avoided falling victim to what could have been a major achilles heel.

Despite finding some success on the glass, and despite limiting turnovers and winning that margin 16-12, the Wildcats still struggled in this game. At the end of the first half, they trailed 36-29, and it got worse at the beginning of the second before it got better. This was almost entirely due to the fact that they shoot the ball very poorly for much of this game.

At the end of the first half, Northwestern entered the locker room shooting 30% from the field as a team and 2-of-10 from beyond the arc. Martinelli was inefficient again, shooting 8-of-18 on the game. He still got to 22 points because he was able to get to the foul line, but it wasn't his best afternoon.

But, credit to the 'Cats. They turned things around with about 16 minutes left in the game. Their final shooting percentage was up to 45%, and their final percentage from three was 25%.

Earlier this season, Northwestern's defense looked like it might let them down in every game they played. It's far from perfect, but that's not been the case as the season has gone on.

Today, I thought the 'Cats looked solid on the defensive end, especially giving up as much size as they did. Arrinten Page looked more comfortable than he normally does and was in the right spot more often than not. Tre Singleton and Martinelli did a good job doubling in the post when the Ducks got a mismatch on Jayden Reid or Jake West.

Northwestern's defense kept them in this one when the shots weren't falling, and Martinelli rewarded everyone for their efforts at the end of the day.