Northwestern did what it was supposed to do on Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. They handled an overmatched NJIT with ease, 70-52.
The Cats had a slower start, and it took a while for them to turn it into a true blowout, but the game was never in doubt from start to finish. It was the Wildcats first game in a week, and they will have another long rest before hosting DePaul on Dec. 18.
Ryan Young finished as the leading scorer for Northwestern with 13 points, in a game where eight Wildcats scored at least six points. Chase Audige and Pete Nance chipped in with 11 and 10, respectively, to put away the Highlanders.
NJIT never got much going as a team, but guard Miles Coleman finished with 20 points and hit five three-pointers.
Here are our takeaways from a win that improved Northwestern's record to 7-2 overall:
Cats start home stretch off right, look ahead to DePaul: This was the first of six straight home games the Cats will have from Dec. 12 to Jan. 5. They face DePaul, Illinois-Springfield and Prairie View A&M before resuming their Big Ten schedule with Michigan State and Penn State. Northwestern is now 5-0 at home, albeit without hosting a Power Five team yet.
That record will be put to the test on Saturday against an 8-1 DePaul team that just picked up a win at Louisville. DePaul has a game at UIC on Dec. 14, but assuming the Blue Demons pick up a win, would mean just three losses between the two teams in a mid-December matchup. It will be a rare high-profile clash between the two squads.
Head coach Collins talked about how the disjoined schedule is affecting the Cats.
"I think it hurt us in this last week," Collins said. "Even the Wake game, I thought we played well, we played very well at Maryland to win that game, and had a rhythm going. I thought this week with exams, and not being able to practice like we normally would...kind of hurt us.
"This week, I think it will really help us. I think we get a real opportunity over the next five days to really get a game plan for that DePaul game [and] get guys extra work."
Chase Audige talked about his excitement for the marquee matchup with the Blue Demons.
"[We're] really excited," Audige said. "At the end of the day, we take everybody seriously. But this game has a little more to it. It's an in-state rival, a Chicago rival. I personally haven't played in a DePaul-Northwestern game, but I've heard so much about it."
Defense helps take care of business: The offense was mostly quiet, but the defense carried the Cats on Sunday.
NJIT shot just 29.1% from the floor and barely cracked 50 points. Every time the Cats offense went cold, the defense had its back. They forced 16 turnovers, and got 17 points directly off them. NJIT guard Dylan O'Hearn was just two games separated from a 42-point performance against Lafayette, but Audige and Simmons held him to just four today.
Audige was very complimentary of his defensive running mate.
"Casey is an extremely good defender," Audige said. "He's young, he doesn't even know half the things he's doing out there, and he's making a huge impact and will only continue to get better with experience."
The Highlanders occasionally pared the lead down to single digits, but never threatened the Cats because the defense always locked in and stifled any serious run NJIT tried to cobble together.
The Cats have done a great job of using their defense to create offense and put away non-Power Five teams in the early days of the season. In their five wins over non-Power Five opponents, the Cats have let them score more than 60 in a game just once (New Orleans with 67).
No official minutes restriction for Audige: Audige finished with only 19 minutes played, but Collins clarified that it is not on an outright minutes restriction as he recovers from injury. It was just a precaution with the game under control.
"There was no restriction there," Collins said. "We just have to be careful. He is coming off a stress-related injury, and we are still managing. He has gotten a lot better, he has healed to where he can be out there and contribute and help us."
Collins continued, citing last week's matchup with Maryland as evidence that Audige is good to go.
"He played 26 [minutes] last week at Maryland. We're not coming into the game with any pitch count or minutes restrictions," he said.
Bench mob makes an appearance in full: Collins has made a point to show off this team's depth early in the season, and that has not changed even with the return of Audige.
From the 13:35 mark until the 9:37 mark of the first half, Collins went full bench mob with a Ryan Greer-Julian Roper II-Casey Simmons-Elyjah Williams-Ryan Young lineup. The lineup held serve, subbing in with a 11-5 lead and leaving after a couple of buckets from both teams pushed in to 15-9.
They got another quick stretch in the second, from 12:53 to 10:15, where they again held the game steady. They came in with the score at 47-26 and left at 53-31.
No one expects to see that lineup to see much action in Big Ten play, but it is a good opportunity to work the rotation's depth without a starter to fall back on in an emergency.
Audige's return provides another ball handler and initiator of the offense: Neither Audige nor Boo Buie got much going against the Highlanders, but Audige reminded Wildcat fans that he can be yet another ball-handling option for the Cats.
While the results were not always the best today: Audige finished 4-for-10 shooting with 11 points. But he has the ability to bring the ball up the floor and initiate offense with confidence. In lineups with Buie, Greer, Berry and even Nance, this provides Northwestern with another option for bringing the ball up under pressure.
Especially in grab-and-go situations off of rebounds, when Northwestern wants to push the pace, Audige is great to have as a ball handler or outlet option that can finish or dish at the other end.
