Takeaways: Northwestern 61, Prairie View A&M 51

Northwestern escaped a legitimate upset bid with an ugly 61-51 win over Prairie View A&M on Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

A horrid offensive start put Northwestern on upset alert, but Robbie Beran and the team's defensive intensity helped the Wildcats ultimately take care of business late in the game.

The final 10-point margin looks comfortable, but this game was far from easy. PVAMU led 29-24 at halftime, and 47-42 with 10:25 remaining. Then, the Wildcats woke up and went on a 19-4 run to close out the game.

"Today, those are games that when they were younger, we'd lose," Collins said. "It's not going well, you're not winning, you short-circuit and panic, and can disintegrate as a team.

"We just kept saying stay together, stay the course, keep getting stops."

Robbie Beran led all scorers with 20 points, Chase Audige scored 11 points and was a defensive menace with four blocks and two steals.

Here are our takeaways from the escape against the Panthers that pushed the Wildcats' record to 7-2:

The slow starts by this year's Northwestern offense are becoming the stuff of legend. Thankfully, Beran was there to save the day.

Beran poured in 13 points in the first half on his way to 20 in the game to match his career high. While the Wildcats were incredibly inefficient as a team, Beran was the calm in the storm. He went 6-for-11 from the field, 4-for-9 from three and 4-for-4 at the line.

"My teammates found me within the offense," Beran said. "There really wasn't anything I was doing differently. With their zone, we expected them to try and junk up the game with a couple different looks. My teammates found me on a few different reversals."

Not only was Beran heroic on offense, he was exemplary on defense and on the glass. He blocked three shots and led the team with 12 rebounds.

Bera played with his shoulder wrapped and his left hand taped, but Collins said that it was standard wear and tear, and nothing to worry about long-term.

"We've played a lot of tough and physical games, so he has a little bit of a shoulder issue and a little bit of a hand issue, but nothing that will keep him out," Collins said. "I really like that we have the rest of this week to get him healthy."

Northwestern has had icy starts to games before, but they all pale in comparison to their first half against Prairie View A&M.

The Wildcats scored just 24 points on a putrid 19% from the floor and 22% from beyond the arc. Beran kept Northwestern in it -- an absurd sentence to read about from a matchup with a SWAC opponent -- by scoring the first 13 Wildcat points. Non-Beran players were held scoreless for the first 11:22 of play.

“Really credit Robbie [Beran], in that first half," said Collins. "You know, all together, you look at his numbers. 20 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, thought he had a great game all around but in the first half, he really kept us afloat.”

Northwestern picked up their shooting in the second half, but finished a grisly 29.5% from the floor and 27.6% from beyond the arc. The Wildcats rallied in the second half and went on a barnstorming 19-4 run to seal the win, but their offensive woes remain troublesome.

Collins said his team found a second-half rhythm by competing hard, immersing themselves in the flow of the game and letting shots find them.

"I think when you throw yourself into competition, and competing, and you forget about [getting] your shot, you'll make them when you're a good player," Collins said. "If you're not shooting well, forget about not shooting well.

"Boo took three charges. Chase played great defense. The ball is going to find you and you'll end up making shots."

Northwestern's defense is a menace, and none of their defenders are scarier than Audige. He finished with a monstrous four blocks and two steals, and is the tip of the spear for a Northwestern defense that hald an opponent to 55 or fewer points for the sixth time this season.

"In my opinion, Chase is one of the best defenders in the conference," Collins said. "I said that last year, I still believe it to be true.

"He's got great anticipation in passing lanes, he creates a lot of stuff for us by getting in the lanes for steals and then with four blocks for us tonight."

Collins went on to extoll Audige's maturation as a player and the respect he earned fighting through injury last season.

"I think when he came from William & Mary, he's such a competitive guy that he wanted to prove himself," Collins said. "But I think as a young player, he had problems where he was forcing the issue sometimes, with shot selection and other things.

"Now he's just making plays, which I love. He even gives us a secondary point guard when Boo is off the floor."

Collins then turned towards Audige's struggles last season and how much of that could be attributed to Audige fighting through a lingering hip injury.

"Last year, there was a lot said about Chase and how he was playing," Collins said. "No one knew what he was going through behind the scenes.

"He couldn't really practice, he was playing games at probably 70%...I'll always have the utmost respect for him for doing that, and I'll always have his back. Now that he's healthy, it's really good to see him play at a high level.