Northwestern's defensive woes continue in 86-82 loss to Ohio State
EVANSTON – Northwestern’s defense continued to hamstring their early-season efforts in a 86-82 loss to Ohio State in their Big Ten home opener on Saturday.
The Wildcats have allowed 80+ points in three straight games, and in four of their last five, as they’ve fallen from 4-0 to 5-4. Head coach Chris Collins referenced a sickness that’s been sweeping the team, their tough schedule with five of their last six games away from Welsh-Ryan against Power Five programs as reasons for his team’s struggles, but ultimately brought it back to the defense.
“We know exactly what we have to figure out,” Collins said. “We’re really struggling on the defensive end of the floor. … We have to get back to the basics and for that, I take full responsibility. Our [coaching] staff does.”
Star forward Nick Martinelli tied his career-high with 32 points on 10-for-16 shooting but Ohio State dominated down low, outscoring the Wildcats 62-38 in the paint.
Buckeye forward Brandon Noel nearly matched Martinelli with 29 points on even-better 13-for-15 shooting. The Buckeyes as a whole shot 57% from the floor as the Wildcat couldn’t stop them from getting into the paint.
Here are our takeaways on the loss that dropped the Wildcats to 0-2 in the Big Ten.
Martinelli makes impassioned plea for players to dedicate themselves to defense
It was a press conference to remember from Martinelli, who has become something of a philosopher in his junior and senior seasons, prepared to opine with dry wit or an acerbic eye on his and the team’s performance.
He came into the press conference after Collins with an authoritative statement, taking the blame off his veteran coach and putting it squarely on himself and his teammates.
“Coach came in and took accountability for the defense,” he said. “It’s the players, it’s not Coach. I’ve been on teams that played unbelievable defense. It’s not [on] Coach at all. It’s me, [Angelo], and the rest of the guys. I just think it’s tragic [with] the amount of talent we have, and it hurts.
“It’s my senior year, and this isn’t about me at all, but I have such urgency right now. We have to fix it and listen and do the things we’re told. The other guys I played with, we did absolutely everything we were told, and that’s why we won.”
Northwestern’s average points allowed per game has ballooned from 62.8 points per game four years ago, to 73.1 nine games into this season.
| Season | Points allowed per game | National rank |
| 2022-23 | 62.8 | 23rd |
| 2023-24 | 69.1 | 90th |
| 2024-25 | 69.2 | 85th |
| 2025-26 | 73.1 | T-144th* |
* Ranking at time of publication
Martinelli called on his teammates to rededicate themselves on the defensive side of the ball, specifically at practice.
“My freshman year, we got dominated by Pitt, Ohio State,” he said, referencing a 29-point loss to Pitt and a 26-point loss to Ohio State in December and January of the 2022-23 season. “Those are games I remember and those practices following? Those are practices I remember.
“Obviously [beating] the Purdues, the Indianas, they were a blast to be part of. But when you look back on that, all the glory comes from being rubbed in the mud and getting out of it. … I’m grateful this week for the opportunity to have four days of practice, and we’re going to get after it. I know every single person will get after it. It’s about buying in. If people continue to buy in, I promise we can win games.”
This was the most passionate Martinelli has been this season, and it’s wholly justified after putting up 32 points in a four-point loss on his home court. With a whole week ahead of their next game against Jackson State on Dec. 13, the Wildcats will have ample team to heed his words.
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The tight game cut rotations to the bone
Collins spent much of the preseason and early non-conference lauding the depth of this team. With a Big Ten opponent on his home court keeping the game close, Collins went back to his old ways, playing just six players 10+ minutes, and playing Martinelli for 39.
Part of that came from a lack of production. Only KJ Windham, who played 22 minutes, scored off the bench, accounting for all eight points outside the starting five. This might be a one-off with typical starting forward Tre Singleton listed as questionable, and then limited to just eight minutes of playing time.
Singleton was questionable before the game due to an illness that swept through the team, according to Collins. Still, this was a stark return to Collins’ old rotational model and a sign that Martinelli may once again have a Herculean workload in every Big Ten game this season.
Ohio State dominates paint, point of attack
The Buckeyes threw a curveball at the Wildcats, going away from 7-foot center Cristoph Tilly and to more small-ball lineups with the 6-foot-8 Noel at center. The more nimble lineup punished Northwestern on the perimeter, cutting into the paint, and was also able to force switches and post-ups on some of Northwestern’s smaller guards like 5-foot-10 Jayden Reid aand 6-foot-2 Jordan Clayton. Both players finished with four fouls.
“I thought a lot of their stuff was off penetration versus maybe two or three throws over the top,” Collins said, referring to the smaller guards on switches. “That’s not 62 points [Ohio State scored in the paint]. A lot of it was dribble penetration, not keeping the ball in front, not keeping [Bruce] Thornton and [John] Mobley out of the paint.”
One of the reasons Reid was brought in out of the portal was to harrass opposing ball handlers with full-court pressure. But Thornton is one of the best guards in the league, if not the country.
“You’re not just going to steal the ball from Bruce Thornton, he’s a pretty good player,” Collins said. “You’re not just going to take the ball.”
Still, Reid has now gone three games without a steal, while shooting 8-for-27 from the floor. He’s averaging 5.3 assists per game in that three-game run, but it’s clear the transfer guard has hit a rut after a strong opening.
Thornton had 17 points and 10 assists for the Buckeyes and Mobley, his running mate, had eight points. Ohio State’s guards were able to penetrate and distribute at will and part of that was Reid not dictating terms at the point of attack.
“We want him to play better and we’re going to help him play better but defense is five guys,” Collins said, defending his point guard.
Collins warns against ‘doomsday’ mentality
Northwestern has now started the season 5-4 (0-2 Big Ten), a sharp departure from what has been the strong starts that fueled their past tournament runs. All three NCAA-qualifying teams in school history were 7-2 in their first nine games.
Yet Collins continued to mix the urgency of the moment with caution to the media and the fans that a long season lies ahead.
“I know there’s going to be a doomsday [narrative], that’s what you guys have to do. This is a doomsday world,” Collins said. “I told the guys that the media and everybody is going to jump off the boat. We have to stay in the boat and rally around each other. …
“We played nine games, we’re 5-4. Would I like to be 7-2 or 8-1? Absolutely. There’s a lot of basketball [left]. There’s 18 league games left. There’s four more non-conference games.”
Some of Collins’ rhetoric has fallen flat. He’s consistently bemoaned the Wildcats’ schedule, citing playing “six high-majors in a row, five on the road.” Only two of those were true road games, however: at DePaul, an hour-long drive south, and at Wisconsin, a worthy reference as the Kohl Center is a very tough place to play.
The other three were neutral sites, including another hour-long trip to the United Center, a much easier travel situation to navigate as Chicago’s Big Ten Team than it was for Oklahoma State, their opponents. Then there was the Greenbrier Tip-off in West Virginia, a neutral site multi-team event.
But on the other hand, many of these losses are to teams on strong trajectories. Oklahoma State is undefeated at 8-0. Virginia is 8-1 with back-to-back double-digit wins over Texas and Dayton. Wisconsin is 7-2 and just drubbed Marquette. This Ohio State team is 7-1.
It’s a gauntlet that Northwestern brought upon itself, but that’s a combined record of 30-4 for those opponents. So maybe there is some merit to Collins’ argument to not overreact to this disappointing period. The Wildcats have a five-game stretch coming up against Jackson State, Valparaiso, Butler, Howard and Minnesota. Only Butler is away from Welsh-Ryan, with a “neutral-site” game in the Bulldogs’ home of Indianapolis.
If Northwestern can run that table and get to 10-4, they set the stage for a marquee matchup at No. 7 Michigan State in early January. They have proven they have the offense to compete with anyone, but they’ll need the defensive renaissance that Martinelli pled for if they want to resurrect a tournament trajectory and turn off the blaring sirens sounding doomsday that this loss triggered.
