Recharged Northwestern prepares to take on Maryland

Northwestern's matchup with Maryland represents their first break of more than four days between games since December, when they got more than a week off for the holidays.

Head coach Chris Collins said the team is making sure they don't take their unofficial bye week — six days off between Michigan last week and Maryland on Wednesday — for granted.

"When you're on a streak of two games per week, it's a physical and mental grind," Collins said. "People know about the physical tolls that it takes because they see how hard these guys play, but it's also the mental.

"Watching film, studying game reports, walkthroughs...when you have a week [off], it's a good little mental break, and we gave them a couple days to get their bodies right. Bumps and bruises, everyone's this time is a little banged up, and then we've gotten back after it."

That grind isn't just for the players.

"A lot of the times, as a coach, you get into a grind where you have a game and you wake up the next day or not even the next day, that night, your video people give you a file of the next team," Collins said. "You're constantly trying to catch up on the next opponent and study game plans...

"To have a couple days to not have to do that, mentally, in this stretch run, just like players, I think, there's fatigue everyone goes through. I think our bye came at a really good time for us."

Collins said he celebrated three different family members' birthdays, kept his golf clubs firmly in the closet because bringing them out so soon would create "bad juju."

He hinted that he may have used another method of relaxation.

"I may or may not have had a little wine," Collins said. "I'll plead the fifth on that one."

Terps have been one of Northwestern's toughest opponents: As Collins has said time and time again, it's hard to win on the road in this league, and Maryland is already the team to give Northwestern its toughest contest in regulation.

The last time they played, on Jan. 17, the Wildcats whittled out a 72-69 win down the stretch as star guard Boo Buie outdueled Maryland's Jahmir Young.

"We beat them here the first time," Buie said. "They'll be seeking revenge. They have our full respect because we know we had a dog fight when we played them the first time," Collins added.

Buie's defense on Young in the final moments secured the win for the Wildcats in Evanston. This time, with the season-ending injury to Ty Berry, Collins may not lay as much responsibility on Buie's plate.

"We can't ask Boo to do that," Collins said about on-ball defense for the length of the game. "He has so much on his plate, if I then ask him to come up and pressure the other team's point guard, then he'll be completely worn out."

Young scored 36 points in the last matchup. Buie had 20, the win and the game-sealing defense on Young on Maryland's final possession.

Collins will hardly be enthusiastic about Young scoring at a similar clip, but it's likely that the Wildcats will continue to prioritize Buie's offense and playmaking, using him as a primary defender in select situations, if ever.

"Guys have to be ready to be in help spots," Collins said about defending Young. "We have to make sure he sees multiple bodies... If he gets 36 again, it's going to be really hard for us to win on the road."

Team has pulled together after Berry's injury: Collins noted that the team has responded to Berry's injury by drawing closer than ever, even shooting together as one big group.

"Everybody before practice was shooting at the same basket," he said. "Some of the older guys and I were laughing like, 'Man, that just shows that's a close team.'

“Normally throughout the year, especially in a big practice gym like this, you've got guys [all over the place]. Our guys really like each other, there's a great camaraderie."

The Wildcats are 4-1 in the five games since Berry played fully healthy.

"You get hit [by] a haymaker with Ty's injury and you have to redefine," Collins said.

The team has gelled with Nick Martinelli moving into the starting lineup, though they have also benefitted from an easier schedule. Just one of the four wins (Nebraska) is currently in the top half of the Big Ten standings.

But even so, a team can only play its schedule, and Brooks Barnhizer said the team has coalesced to face the challenge at hand.

"We don't really have a lot to lose," he said. "People think without Ty that we would take a step back. So we're just trying to have fun and go out there and show people we can do it with this five. It's been really fun."

Collins keeping Northwestern locked in for home stretch: The Wildcats are on the precipice of an unprecedented season, the first back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths and Top 4 Big Ten finishes in program history.

He is making sure they don't take their eye off the ball with four games left.

"I told our guys, it's a sprint now..." he said. "We have a lot in front of us, a lot to continue to play for. This is when we need to be at our very best, when the games matter the most... It's go time, so to speak."

Last season, the Wildcats struggled to cap off their season. They lost four of their last five games, including their Big Ten Tournament opener against Penn State, before rallying to beat Boise State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Before the team thinks March, they'll first finish out conference play. Collins described the standings as 'jumbled', and accurately so. The Wildcats are in third place right now, clinging to a slight advantage for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament. They are just a half-game ahead of Nebraska and Wisconsin in fourth, and 1.5 games ahead of Michigan State in sixth.

"It's hard to lock in on that," Collins said. "There's so many teams within one or two games of each other, and that's why you have to focus on the next game."