Three Takeaways From Northwestern's Opening Night Win Over Mercyhurst

Ryan Cole

Nov 4, 2025, 23:43

Ryan Cole

Nov 4, 2025, 23:43

Updated at: Nov 4, 2025, 23:43

Northwestern had an up-and-down opening night victory over Mercyhurst.

Good teams win. Great teams cover. Northwestern failed to do the latter last night against Mercyhurst, but the 'Cats still came away with a 70-47 victory.

It was a weird opening night for the Wildcats. All told, they shot a whopping 38 free throws, making 27 of them. Starting point guard Jayden Reid also committed two quick fouls early in the first half, which made the offense a little difficult to judge.

A disjointed game against a Mercyhurst team that ranks near the bottom of both the NET and Kenpom is difficult to glean anything from. But there were a few things that became clear last night worth discussing. Here are three takeaways:

Arrinten Page, if healthy, looks like the answer at center

The Cincinnati transfer was awesome last night, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds. He was also 10-of-12 from the stripe, a welcome development for 'Cats fans used to Matt Nicholson's stroke at the line (no disrespect to Big Matt, who did so many other things for the program).

The question all season will be durability. Page doesn't necessarily have any notable concerns in that department, but the fallout of an injury could be lethal to the team.

Freshman Cade Bennerman got zero playing time last night, and looks more and more like a redshirt candidate every day. Instead, the 'Cats are going with an undersized lineup behind Page, where Nick Martinelli or Tyler Kropp plays the five.

Martinelli can handle it, to an extent, but what happens when the Big Ten season rolls around and centers are bigger? Kropp looked like someone playing in his first college basketball game last night, so the jury is still out.

The bottom line is this. Page looked great, and that's fantastic news for the Wildcats. But they need him on the court for the entirety of this season.

Max Green was underwhelming

I'd like to say two things before I launch into my analysis of Green's performance. First, while a transfer, Green is still just a sophomore, and he will get better. Second, statistically, I understand that three points, six boards and two steals doesn't sound like a terrible stat line.

Eye test wise, though, it was much rougher than that. For those who haven't watched Green play yet, he's not short, but he does probably need to put on weight in the future. His 6-foot-6 stature won't matter if he doesn't have a little more body to throw around.

Green's first step on defense looked too slow. His confidence with the ball was shaky. Late in the game, he threw a brutal lob to Page that simply wasn't even close. I'll be interested to see what Green looks like once he's built up a little more confidence.

This is a player that will matter to this Wildcat team for years to come. But last night was an ugly start.

The Jayden Reid height storyline wasn't completely ridiculous

Against Illinois State in the final exhibition game, Reid finished with 11 assists. If that's what we start to see as this season goes on, then he's going to be an impact player for the Wildcats. But he has to be able to facilitate, because he is legitimately very short in comparison to other guards. Scoring in close is going to be a problem all year.

Every time Reid was contested at the basket, he was either blocked or he missed the layup because of the pressure. Because of his elite speed, he's going to be out on the break a lot. But him consistently going up with the ball on the dribble-drive is not a good offensive strategy.

Reid is more of a veteran than the other new players on this team. I think he's going to figure out what he needs to do to play at the Big Ten level and make an impact. But it's going to take a little time, and concerns about his height, while not damning, aren't completely misguided either.

Three Takeaways From Northwestern's Opening Night Win Over Mercyhurst