Wildcats catch their breath before Nebraska rematch
Northwestern lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, both in overtime at Purdue and Minnesota. The Wildcats plan to avoid extending that streak tomorrow night against Nebraska at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
One of the key concerns for the Wildcats going forward is the fatigue of their guards, especially Boo Buie and Brooks Barnhizer, who are tied for first in minutes per game in the Big Ten at 36.4.
"I did think fatigue set in a little bit. We were trying to go for the win in regulation," head coach Chris Collins said. "I knew that it was going to be hard to play another five minutes when you add two travel days in that week, and we were playing a Minnesota team, if you remember, they were off all week. They had eight days to prepare for us.
"That's why I was proud of our guys. It had all the trappings with the game that say schedule loss, but our guys fought and put ourselves to steal a game on the road. We just couldn't do it... [The fatigue] was the combination of two incredibly hard-fought road games in a four-day stretch."
Buie played 44 minutes and Barnhizer 39 in the 75-66 loss. The Wildcats were outscored 14-5 in extra time.
The Wildcats won't be the only team recovering from an overtime onslaught, though. Nebraska travels to Northwestern for Wednesday night's matchup just three days after losing, 87-84, in overtime at Illinois.
The Huskers beat Northwestern in Lincoln, where they are 14-1 this season, 75-69. Now it'll be on the Wildcats, with an 11-1 home record of their own, to return the favor at a critical juncture of their season. The Huskers have yet to win a Big Ten road game in six tries this season.
Both teams are jockeying for position in the Big Ten. Northwestern is at 15-7 (6-5) and Nebraska is at 16-7 (6-6) with a chance to cement a tiebreaker over the Wildcats.
"Absolutely," Buie said on if this game is a must-win. "It's a game in the league that can determine a lot in the league at the end of the year...
"Same as if were playing anyone with nine games left. They're all very important, all 20 [conference games]. The last 10 is where the good teams really separate themselves."
"They all kind of become must-win now," Collins said. "Especially at home, everyone is still fighting for things.
"We have a lot to fight for...I don't know if it's a tipping point game with nine games left, but I do think it's a very, very important game. Especially coming off two road games last week, being at home, you have to take care of your home court.
Wildcats need to cut turnovers, knock down threes: One of the key contributors to the loss at Minnesota was turnovers. The Wildcats more than doubled their season average, racking up 17 on the road.
"I thought we had some mindless [turnovers] that we just haven't really had," Collins said. "We're just not built to be able to withstand having 17 turnovers. Our goal is single digits."
The Wildcats still rank eighth in the nation in turnovers, averaging just 9.2 per game. The only Power Six programs ranked ahead of them are No. 5 Houston and Virginia.
Northwestern held up that end of the bargain the last time they played the Huskers with just seven turnovers. But the Wildcats shot an uncharacteristic 10-of-31 from three-point range.
Northwestern ranks ninth in the nation in three-point shooting this season (39.3%) and have shot it at a scorching clip. They have shot 48% or better from beyond the arc in their last four games.
Nebraska may play bigger lineups in rematch: With the return of Juwan Gary from injury, Nebraska has added depth to its frontcourt and gotten bigger since the last time they played the Wildcats on Jan. 20. Gary hasn't missed a beat, playing 33 minutes against Wisconsin and 35 against Illinois since he was cleared to return last week, though both games went to overtime.
The Huskers still lean heavily on 6-foot-10 Rienk Mast and 6-foot-8 Josiah Allick down low, but the 6-foot-6 Gary's minutes have come at the expense of 6-foot-3 Jamarques Lawrence and, to a lesser extent, 6-foot-5 CJ Wilcher.
"Now with Gary back from his injury, they're playing that lineup a lot and are actually a big, physical team," Collins said. "You're going to see us have a big guy on the floor, but that doesn't mean situationally if we feel we're getting hurt or have to match up to them being smaller, we can certainly do that as well."