Takeaways: Northwestern 54, Wisconsin 52
It was a game Northwestern had to get. And they got it.
The Wildcats completed their first season sweep of Wisconsin since 1995-96 with a gritty 54-52 win in Madison.
Boo Buie led the Wildcats with 13 points on 4-for-10 shooting in an absolute rock fight of a game. The Wildcats shot well from the floor (47%) and poorly from three (27%). The Badgers shot poorly from the floor (38%) and well from three (39%). It all added up to barely more than 100 combined points and Northwestern's first win at the Kohl Center since 2018.
Buie's team-leading 13 might have given you this clue already, but it took a village to beat the Badgers. Both teams were locked in from the jump, both teams needed this win to keep their seasons alive, and both teams left it all on the court.
Chucky Hepburn led the Badgers with a game-high 17 points, and Connor Essegian put up 15 points on five threes. But it wasn't enough to stave off Northwestern's second win over Wisconsin in 13 days.
Here are our takeaways from the crucial win that improved Northwestern's record to 16-7 overall and 7-5 in the Big Ten:
Wildcats secured a winning record for the first time in five seasons: With tonight's win, the Wildcats locked in a season above .500 for the first time since they made the tournament in 2016-17.
This team has blown even the most optimistic preseason projection out of the water after losing two key players to transfer and having its athletic director write a letter vowing change to fans after the 2021-22 season. The pressure was on, and the players and the coaches have answered the bell and more.
They redefined the team around defense, got buy-in from every player on the roster no matter their role, and have put together the best team in half a decade in the face of universal doubt and uncertainty. They have been routed, they were knocked down to injuries and COVID, their mettle has been tested again and again, and each time they have clawed their way back to keep their season alive and keep competing.
The Wildcats are now 5-2 on the road, with wins at Michigan State, Indiana and Wisconsin. They have turned Welsh-Ryan Arena from a stadium that bordered on following golf etiquette to an absolute madhouse. They have gone from a preseason oversight and afterthought to one of the best teams in the Big Ten.
This is truly a special Northwestern basketball team.
Tydus Verhoeven came up clutch: Tydus Verhoeven was absolutely essential to this win off the bench for the Wildcats. Verhoeven finished with four points and six rebounds in 24 minutes, but don't let the quiet box score fool you, Northwestern needed every minute he played, and he came up with a critical block down the stretch to help seal the win. Starting center Matt Nicholson got in foul trouble, and Verhoeven stepped up.
Matched up with 7-footer Steven Crowl for most of the game, the undersized Verhoeven kept him and the other Badgers off the glass and was a key contributor to Northwestern's 33-26 rebounding advantage. Crowl finished with just five points and eight rebounds.
After starting this season as the starting center and losing a lot of his minutes to Nicholson, it's incredibly impressive that Verhoeven has stayed patient and focused as a rotation player in preparation for a night like this.
People won't write home about four points and six boards, but Verhoeven's defensive and rebounding presence were fundamental to this win. He also sank two big free throws to extend Northwestern's lead to 43-39 with 7:42 to play. In a game where every point counted, he finished a +5.
The bench stayed ready and came up big: One of the biggest concerns for this team this season has been its depth. Who will step up after Boo Buie and Chase Audige?
Tonight, it took all hands on deck. After Buie and Audige, the six other Wildcats that hit the court played between 15 and 28 minutes. In addition to Verhoeven, the Wildcats also got huge contributions from Brooks Barnhizer and Nick Martinelli.
Barnhizer has seemingly improved every game this year, continuing to earn the coaching staff's trust and deliver in big moments. He recorded the third-most minutes on the team with 28, and totaled eight points, seven rebounds and a clutch block on Chucky Hepburn with 20 seconds left.
Martinelli has taken on a cult following after he started the season on the bench and was thrust into the rotation after Julian Roper II's injury. But he earned his fandom tonight with a strong performance under pressure. In 15 minutes, the true freshman scored six points on 3-for-3 shooting and broke a 4:24-long cold streak early in the second half with a tough layup through contact. He went 0-for-3 from the line but has become a surprising and positive addition to the rotation nonetheless.
Northwestern got their rest and put it to good use: Head coach Chris Collins mentioned after the loss to Michigan that his team hadn't had an off day in two weeks due to recovering from COVID and playing make-up games. Whatever they saved up in their gas tanks, they spent it all tonight.
Audige played all 40 minutes, Buie was right behind him with 39. Both players have been asked to take on a tremendous workload this season, and have done a valiant job to deliver on everything Collins and his staff have asked of them. They played 79 of 80 possible minutes tonight and the Wildcats needed every last one of them.
Northwestern got dealt a tough hand, played their cards well: Six Big Ten games in 13 days. Preseason, this schedule gauntlet would have been the stuff of nightmares. But the Wildcats battened down the hatches, fought through their fatigue and delivered a 4-2 record, including the first season sweep of the Badgers in 27 years.
The Wildcats have another tough stretch ahead. Four of their next five games are against first-division teams in the conference. But if we've learned anything about this team, it's that they'll head into each and every one of those games ready to go to war.
This could have been a third straight loss for the Wildcats, which may have triggered a spiral. Instead, Northwestern moved to two games over .500 and into an unbelievable six-way tie for third in the conference. Their tournament hopes remain alive and well after delivering yet another win on the road in conference play.
The Wildcats will seek vengeance against a reeling Ohio State team in Columbus on Thursday. After this stretch, those three days between games will feel like three months.