Northwestern destroys Ohio State

EVANSTON-Northwestern dodged a trap game in dominant fashion, crushing Ohio State in an 83-58 victory that was the program's largest Big Ten win since they beat Iowa by 35 in January of 2017.

The Wildcats were in control in the first half, heading into the break up 41-30. They than ran away with it early in the second, leading at one point by 35 points.

Boo Buie didn't score until just 1:31 remained in the first half but put up 15 points in the second to lead the Wildcats with 19 points. He was was one of six Wildcats to finish in double digits.

Northwestern (15-5, 6-3 Big Ten) shot 58% from the floor and 53% (10-of-19) from beyond the arc, as Ohio State connected on just 34% of their shots. The Wildcats outscored the Buckeyes from the bench (25-13) and in the paint (34-18) and even outrebounded them (30-28).

Ohio State was led by Bruce Thornton with 18, but a slow start in the second half turned the game into a blowout. The Wildcats' final 25-point margin of victory was actually trimmed down by a 12-2 Buckeye run in garbage time. It could have been much worse.

Here are our takeaways from Northwestern's fifth straight conference win without a loss at Welsh-Ryan Arena:

Buie passed McKinney on NU all-time scoring list: With his 19 points, Buie moved into third place all-time for most points scored in program history, passing the legendary Billy McKinney, who will be the first Wildcat to have his jersey retired in March.

McKinney, who also broadcasts Northwestern games on the radio with Dave Eanet, was in the building and has been a mentor and friend to Buie during his landmark five seasons with the Wildcats.

"It was a very, very honorable moment," Buie, said. "To surpass someone like Billy, I've only known him these past five years. I didn't actually get to watch him, but I've heard so many great things...

"What he does within his community, he always has a smile and a positive mood. He's someone that's really good to be around. He was telling me how proud he is of me and it was just an awesome moment we had together."

Head coach Chris Collins and Buie are normally adamant about wins over accolades, but on a night this special, with McKinney in the building, they both made an exception in their comments.

"When you hear [Buie's] name recognized with those guys, it's pretty special and I know it means a lot," Collins said. "Billy is a big part of our program, which is awesome...

"He's really mentored a lot of our players on road trips, he spends a lot of time with Boo. I know Boo understands the legacy that Billy left here so to be able to pass a guy like Billy on the scoring list is a great testament to the career Boo has had. An amazing, amazing honor."

Cats escaped the trap with ease: After an emotionally fraught 96-91 overtime win over No. 10 Illinois on Wednesday night, facing the Buckeyes on a Saturday night seemed like a layup for Northwestern's worst demons. Instead, they put on a clinic in front of a packed crowd with one of the highest percentages of purple Welsh-Ryan Arena has seen for a Big Ten game.

"I really challenged our guys after Illinois: enjoy tonight but we're back tomorrow," Collins said. "In the first part of practice we had to jumpstart the a little bit and kind of say, 'It's time to lose the giddiness a little bit, it's time to refocus.' I thought these last 48 hours, I couldn't have been more impressed with their maturity."

Refocus they did.

Even with the late run by Ohio State, this marked the first hint of last season's defensive excellence blended with the continued trend of increased offensive firepower. It was the first time that the Wildcats held a Big Ten opponent under 60 points this season.

As Buie and Barnhizer got off to a slow start, just seven points in the first half, the Wildcats never wavered. Part of that was increased output from their bench, with Luke Hunger and Nick Martinelli scoring 11 and 12 points, respectively.

"I thought witht he way our team was built, he would be that sixth starter and be a double-figure guy," Collins said, complimenting Martinelli before ribbing the sophomore for his unorthodox scoring style.

"When he comes in, we play through him and I tell him: I don't know how it works, but it works. I can't explain to you how he gets to those spots but he does, and he's a huge part of our team."

Langborg more than a spot-up shooter: Ryan Langborg, a grad transfer from Princeton who was expected to add some 3-point shooting to the Wildcats this season, showed off his outstanding all-around game against the Buckeyes.

He was, of course, excellent, as advertised from deep: he went 4-for-6 from 3 on his way to 14 points in the first half, his total for the game. He would have surely scored more had Northwestern not flipped into cruise control early in the second frame.

But what has been special about Langborg hasn't just been his sweet shooting stroke. His ballhandling, his shot creation, his leadership and even his defense have all helped take Northwestern up a notch. He was anticipated to be a role player but instead established himself as a key cog in the Wildcats' machine.

"I told him in the locker room, that's the best defense you played all year," Collins said with a smile. "Everyone kind of chuckled because we're always on him about his defense.

"But I just thought his energy is -- he made those shots, but he was everywhere on the defensive end... We brought him in here to have a major impact on our team and he has. He knows how to play. The ball moves well when he gets going, his shooting can be electric."

The Wildcats are 13-3 when Langborg makes just one 3-pointer, and the guard came into the night ranked No. 8 in the Big Ten in average minutes per game.

Marching in lockstep: The Wildcats continue down a well-worn path to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the same mark of 15-5 (6-3 Big Ten) as they did through 20 games in 2022-23.

Unfortunately, they also stand to likely follow that path down to 15-6 with a trip to Mackey Arena to play No. 2 Purdue on Wednesday.

"You hope [Purdue big man Zach] Edey doesn't show up," Collins said with a laugh. "They're a great team, we know that. We've had two incredibly hard-fought games against them here last year and then early this [season]. Early December feels like an eternity ago."

Even if the Wildcats find themselves unable to complete a three-game winning streak over the Boilermakers, they're still in an incredibly strong position. The Wildcats could stump to be ranked at this stage, but given that the last time they appeared in the Top 25 they lost to Chicago State, maybe they should hold off.

Ohio State (13-7, 3-6) has struggled this season, but this was as complete a Wildcat performance, from start to finish, as we can remember. The Wildcats are keeping themselves in a strong position for the postseason, yet again.