Root canal in basketball form: Observations as Northwestern outlasts DePaul in a foul fest
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS - NOVEMBER 03: Jake West #3 of the Northwestern Wildcats huddles with Justin Mullins #20, Nick Martinelli #2, K.J. Windham #24 and Tyler Kropp #1 against the Mercyhurst Lakers during the first half at Welsh-Ryan Arena on November 0
In what can only be described as a root canal in basketball form, Northwestern had the ball tied with DePaul 79-79 with 30.4 left.
Jayden Reid held the ball. He took a shot and missed. Nick Martinelli rebounded.
Fittingly, he was fouled.
His two free throws gave NU an 81-79 lead, and in a game that thankfully ended. NU held off DePaul in a touchy, disjointed and unrhythmic game.
Here are our observations from DePaul and Northwestern’s foul fest on Friday night at Wintrust Arena.
Youth vs. portal
DePaul remade the core of its team through the transfer portal.
CJ Gunn was a returnee, but he transferred in from Indiana. Kaleb Banks transferred in from Tulane.
While Northwestern made its own additions, like Arrinten Page, Jayden Reid and Max Green, the core of the ‘Cats lineup is made up of experienced players Collins recruited and developed.
Freshmen Tre Singleton, Jake West and Tyler Kropp played solid minutes. They never looked truly settled, though. Northwestern needed one of its go-to players to step in and fill the void.
DePaul looked to its portal-built team to win. They did the one thing that set them apart from Northwestern: They didn’t commit turnovers.
NU’s young players didn’t adjust to a touchy college game. West, Kropp and Singleton had to learn on the fly, and they didn’t learn very well.
With five minutes left in the game, there were 45 combined fouls.
This game was a test of what wins in the early goings of the season: recruited, young talent or transfer-portal talent.
Northwestern’s young talent came out on top in this scenario.
No one wanted this game
Northwestern, bless its heart, tried so hard.
Collins tried so many different lineups, but he couldn’t find a specific lineup that allowed the ‘Cats to catch a rhythm and go on a run they needed.
When Northwestern went up 56-50 in the second half, DePaul responded with a 7-0 run to retake the lead. That offensive presence was there in the first half; Northwestern was shooting 80 percent from the floor.
The problem was that the ‘Cats couldn’t get consistent looks. They kept turning the ball over. NU also allowed nine offensive rebounds in the first half, giving DePaul second- and third-chance shots. That continued into the second half.
DePaul could have taken firm control, but the Demons’ offense was just directionless. Gunn, Kruz McClure and Blocker finished in double figures.
DePaul had enough to build a 76-75 lead with three minutes to go. NU took a 77-76 lead with Tre Singleton’s layup. Northwestern entered the final two minutes with Martinelli harboring four fouls.
At 77-76, it was still anyone’s game. Someone had to come through in the waning minutes.
Closing time
With 1:16 left in this game, McClure tied the game at 79-79.
That set the stage for someone to end this game.
Martinelli threw a pass out of bounds with one minute to go. Northwestern forced a stop with 30.4 remaining.
That led to the final sequence. Martinelli’s free throws thankfully ended a game that would have been a travesty had it gone to overtime.
Northwestern and DePaul combined for 48 total fouls. The game went nearly two hours and 30 minutes.
Thankfully, it ended. That was upgraded to "mercifully" by the final buzzer.