Northwestern traveled to No. 24 Iowa looking for an upset win to right the ship. Instead, the Wildcats took a torpedo and sunk.
The Wildcats were outclassed from the jump ball to the final buzzer, as Iowa dominated them 82-61. It was Northwestern's fifth loss in six games and the ninth defeat in its last 13 contests.
The No. 24 Hawkeyes built a 36-17 halftime lead as Northwestern shot a horrific 18% from the floor. Northwestern lost Boo Buie to illness early in the game, after he tallied only six minutes. But not even the Cats' No. 2 scorer would have made much of a difference in a game that was no contest.
It was Senior Night for Iowa, and they crushed the 'Cats behind the stellar play of two seniors and a sophomore. Seniors Jordan Bohannon and Connor McCaffery scored 18 and 17 respectively, but the leading man was sophomore Keegan Murray. The Big Ten Player of the Year candidate who had a monstrous 26 points and 18 rebounds to close out his last home game this season.
Here are our takeaways from the loss that dropped Northwestern's record to 13-15 overall and 6-13 in Big Ten play:
Collins focuses on development with his rotations late in the season: Freshmen Brooks Barnhizer and Casey Simmons both got a considerable amount of run in this game against a ranked team, perhaps a sign that Collins has turned away from this season and towards future development.
The two rookies were rocky offensively, especially Barnhizer, who played a season-high 21 minutes. He looked flustered, making mistakes like double-dribbling on a fast break, or turning the ball over when Iowa pressed. With that being said, Big Ten basketball has a steep learning curve and any experience is valuable experience for the freshman and his future.
At this stage, with a 13-15 overall record and a 6-13 conference record, Collins is likely looking to the future. Freshman guard Julian Roper has started 12 straight games, and he's giving significant minutes to young guys like Barnhizer, Simmons and Ty Berry.
Collins has had a fairly deep bench this season, with 10 players averaging 10+ minutes per game. With Buie playing only the initial six minutes, Collins played another 10 players within the first half, and 12 in the game.
The deep bench may have also been a function of necessity rather than development. The upperclassmen for the Cats practically vanished. Pete Nance played 29 minutes, but you wouldn't have known it. The senior star, who the Cats hoped would be All-Big Ten caliber, finished with four points on only five shots.
The starting five combined for nine points, including Buie. It was a tough performance team-wide, save Berry, as a disappointing season winds down. The Wildcats got down early and didn't show much fight the rest of the game.
Berry the lone bright spot: It was a dismal night for Northwestern, but Berry was the exception.
The sophomore guard was a spark -- if you can say that -- off the bench, accounting for eight of Northwestern's 17 first-half points.
Berry finished as Northwestern's high scorer with 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting. He sent 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, and added three rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes.
Berry started 17 games this season, but has now found a role as an off-the-bench flamethrower. With Buie out, he gave Northwestern's offense what little life it had against the Hawkeyes.
Iowa dominated the turnover battle early, and the offensive glass: Turnovers have been a strength all season for Northwestern, which sits in the upper echelon of the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio. Iowa flipped that precedent on its head tonight early in the game, however.
At the end of the first half, Northwestern had nine turnovers and Iowa only had two. With Buie out early, Northwestern's reliable ball-handling options shrunk and the Hawkeyes ratcheted up the pressure.
One of the clearest indicators of just how one-sided this game comes in a pair: second-chance points and points off turnovers. Iowa outscored Northwestern on second-chance points 18-8, and in the first half had a 10-0 points-off-turnovers advantage.
Northwestern's lack of size continues to hurt them, with next to no effort to use Nance or Robbie Beran's mobility to punish on the other end of the floor. Murray had a night straight out of a video game, having his way inside and out, and Iowa dictated tempo and the boards the whole game.
As a team, Iowa outrebounded Northwestern 50-35, including 19-7 on the offensive glass. The Cats struggled to get stops, and even when they forced a miss, Iowa had plenty more opportunities.
Northwestern sealed its Big Ten tournament fate: With this loss to a red-hot Iowa team, Northwestern locked itself into a Wednesday game in the Big Ten Tournament. Right now, The Wildcats would be a 12th seed and would play No. 13 Minnesota in a play-in game.
While this season has been unequivocally underwhelming, the Cats have tied their highest win total (13) since 2018-19. They also have the chance to match or exceed the 15 wins they got in 2017-18 with a win against Minnesota in Sunday's regular season finale, and then one or two wins in the conference tourney.
That, however, looks like a tall order for a Wildcat team limping to the finish.
