Cats can't hold on in Columbus
Despite leading for nearly three quarters of the game, Northwestern dropped a 71-63 decision to Ohio State to extend a 39-year winless streak in Columbus.
The Wildcats led 33-26 at the half behind a strong shooting effort from beyond the arc, but they simply did not have enough offensive firepower to put the game away. The Buckeyes’ press defense and energy in the paint—where they held a 14-point advantage—was too much for Northwestern to overcome.
Five players scored in double-digits for Ohio State, led by Jaquan Lyle’s 16 points and Marc Loving’s 15 and five assists. Trevor Thompson and Keita Bates-Diop combined for 23 points and 17 rebounds, punishing a Wildcat front line that had no answer for the Buckeyes’ big men.
Northwestern managed to hit 12 3-pointers, a number that usually translates to victories for Chris Collins’ team. The Wildcats’ poor shooting inside the arc, combined with terrible execution against the press ultimately did them in.
Tre Demps and Bryant McIntosh each scored 14 points on inefficient shooting nights, with most of their damage coming in the first half.
Here are our three-pointers:
Falling in love with the 3: After shooting the ball so poorly throughout the majority of conference play, the law of averages kicked in and Northwestern shot the ball as well as it has all season from deep. The Wildcats knocked down six 3s in both halves, led by McIntosh’s four 3s and Demps’ three. The team wound up going 12-for-27 from deep for the second consecutive game, but it was not enough to balance out its terrible execution inside the arc. The Wildcats shot just 9-for-27 on 2-point attempts, failing to establish any sort of rhythm with their big men. The Buckeyes’ athletic defenders combined with their constant switching gave Northwestern’s ball-handlers problems all night long. The Wildcats were unable to establish any sort of post presence against a formidable front-line, and unsurprisingly they were outscored by 14 in the paint. Alex Olah tallied 11 points and nine rebounds, but he was largely ineffective in the game’s waning moments, while Dererk Pardon had a forgettable night, going scoreless in 17 minutes of play after picking up three first-half fouls.
Turnovers doom the Cats: Turnovers were an issue all night long for the Wildcats, who coughed it up three times in the game’s first three minutes alone. Three of their first-half turnovers came off of moving screens, certainly not the type of crisp play Collins wants to see out of his team moving forward. They would finish with 14 on the night, several of which came in the second half after the Buckeyes switched to a press defense. During one notably sloppy stretch, Northwestern committed three turnovers between the 10:30 and 8:30 marks in the second half, helping the Buckeyes go on an 8-0 run to cut a nine-point lead to one. After Loving hit a 3 to tie the game at 50 apiece with 6:36 to go in the game, the wheels just came off for the Wildcats, who committed a 10-second violation on the very next possession. Bates-Diop then gave Ohio State its first lead since the first half on a runner in the lane, followed by a travel call on Olah after he jumped and landed with the ball while anticipating a whistle. With 4:16 remaining and the game beginning to slip away, Demps sailed a pass over Scottie Lindsey’s head, one of the senior guard’s team-leading four turnovers on the night.
Lack of poise: For a team that has performed well in a majority of close games this season, it was shocking to see Northwestern lose its composure coming down the stretch. In addition to its turnover problems, the Wildcats simply could not find a way to get many good looks at the basket, something that ultimately doomed them in a hostile environment. After recording 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, Northwestern went the first 19 minutes of the second half without one. The Wildcats responded to an 8-0 run by the Buckeyes early in the second half with a 7-0 run of their own, seemingly regaining momentum, but this was only temporary. Trailing 46-37 with 11:37 remaining, Ohio State went on a 17-4 run to take a lead they would never give back. During this stretch, the Wildcats committed six of their 14 turnovers. For a bit of bright news, Lindsey has responded to his benching against Michigan State with some of his best basketball of the season. The sophomore guard put up 15 points in a loss at Iowa, and again showed up big with a couple of shots to temporarily halt the Buckeyes’ second-half momentum. Five of Northwestern’s seven points during their brief second-half spurt came courtesy of the sophomore guard, who hit both of his 3-point attempts and had some nice finishes in the paint. Expect him to see more playing time moving forward, especially as teams continue to expose Sanjay Lumpkin’s weaknesses on offense. Lumpkin was a liability all night long, failing to even attempt a shot while also getting beat uncharacteristically often on defense.