The stakes are different down the stretch this season, but there are still stakes.
Three years ago, Northwestern basketball was thriving. Boo Buie and Chase Audige manned the backcourt, running the Chris Collins defensive scheme to perfection and drilling clutch threes against No. 1 Purdue.
Students took notice. Seeing the Welsh-Ryan student section packed with screaming fans went from a shock to the system to a forgone conclusion over the course of just one season.
It was a magical time on campus. Buie became a hero -- the kind of player who had local kids coming out to games and wearing his jersey -- the kind of player who was know around the country as a superstar. (At Northwestern!)
Players like Audige, Brooks Barnhizer, Nick Martinelli, Ty Berry and Matthew Nicholson also became household names in the Chicago suburbs. If the 'Cats were ever truly "Chicago's Big Ten team," it was during the two tournament runs in 2023 and 2024.
In this moment, things feel different. The current Northwestern team is officially under .500 for the first time since 2022, and it's winless in conference. Its defensive identity has cracked, and much of its young talent doesn't seem quite ready to compete at such a high level.
Martinelli, the last major member of the Buie core left on the roster, is doing all he can, challenging for the title of the country's leading scorer. But he hasn't been able to do it all himself, and Northwestern's postseason hopes, realistically, are already dashed.
But I implore Northwestern fans to zoom out as best they can. This is a moment in time, and it doesn't mean things have changed that drastically since the days of Buie and Audige.
The 'Cats lost to in-state rival Illinois at Welsh-Ryan Arena Wednesday night. Northwestern entered the game 0-5 in the conference, and the Illini were 9.5 favorites in a road gym
Students still packed the student section. The crowd was still a factor. Collins still had his guys ready to compete, and a much less talented NU team still gave the Illini a run for their money.
And it was still fun. It was fun to hear the banter between Illinois fans and Northwestern students. It was fun to watch rivals compete with admirable tenacity on both sides.
The beauty of college basketball is that there's never any reason to root against your team. Is this a lost season? Some will use that term, and they'll have a point. But there's no tanking for a better draft pick. There's no empty language from the coach about how everyone is in it to win it even when it's clear the instructions from on high are to lose games at all costs.
Collins wants to win. Martinelli is desperate to win. Fans can tune this team out, but they also have the option to want to win, too. There's absolutely zero conflict of interest.
The Wildcats still have 14 Big Ten games remaining on the schedule. You can bet your bottom dollar they'll be doing their damndest to play spoiler as often as possible.
Northwestern isn't a top dog in the Big Ten. It wasn't one with Buie, and it isn't going to be one anytime soon. But the 'Cats have had an identity for the past few seasons, one that allowed them to come together and win games against the highest level opponents.
They're grappling with that identity right now, trying to figure out how to get a bunch of freshmen and transfers on the same page. Things aren't clicking the way they used to, and that's frustrating. But it doesn't mean the identity is gone, never to be seen again.
You hear it when you listen to Collins talk about what needs to be fixed. You feel it when you hear Martinelli talk about the toll this season of losing has taken on him. You see it when you turn on the Oklahoma City Thunder and see Barnhizer still diving for loose balls and rebounding like his life depends on it.
And sometimes you see flashes of it from the new players, like when Tre Singleton dove for a loose ball at midcourt Wednesday to draw a foul. Or when Angelo Ciaravino does, well, anything.
The rest of this season still matters because the program has to collectively find that identity once again, and each game represents another opportunity for growth. Many of these young players -- guys like Tre Singleton, Max Green and Jake West -- will probably be back. There's nobody better at retaining talent than Collins.
How they develop down the stretch matters, and it's just as much about winning games as it is about their skillsets. They have to learn how to win. Sounds like coach speak? Good. It is. It's their job to teach people to win.
Finally, winning matters to Martinelli. He deserves a few more iconic moments in purple, not that he's short on them. He's been everything Northwestern could have asked for and more in his career. But he just continues to give to this team, and he deserves more.
The 'Cats won't be playing in March Madness, but what happens between now and March still matters. It's about the future of the program and the legacy of an all-time great.