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Tom Thayer breaks down Drew Dalman's retirement & talks Lou Holtz's passing
Drew Dalman shocked the NFL and the Bears with his retirement at 27. Former Bear & Irish OL Tom Thayer talks Drew's decision and the passing of Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz
EVANSTON, Ill. - It was there.
The storybook ending every college basketball player hopes for was right there for Nick Martinelli and Northwestern basketball.
One of the best players in program history with a chance to earn a win over a top-15 team in NU's final home game of the season.
Jordan Clayton's one-legged, fall away 3-pointer with one minute left gave Northwestern the lead. CJ Cox wouldn't be deterred. He answered with his own three.
A Northwestern turnover on the other end put the 'Cats on the edge.
Purdue held off the 'Cats 70-66.
Here are our takeaways as Northwestern put No. 15 Purdue on upset alert.
Senior night energy shined
One of the most significant Northwestern players in the team’s history played his final home game.
Nick Martinelli, the role player who turned into one of the best scoring players in the Big Ten, wanted a send-off to remember.
Northwestern played the part early on.
Purdue struggled mightily. Their offense was settling for shots, All-Big Ten guard Braden Smith was making uncharacteristic mistakes and the team was just careless with the ball. The Boilermakers averaged nine turnovers per game this season, and had eight turnovers in the first half.
Northwestern took advantage. The Wildcats turned the mistakes into a 34-25 lead at halftime.
The energy was high. Martinelli played his usual game. He got assists from his supporting cast of Jayden Reid, Jordan Clayton, Arrinten Page and more as a 13-0 Northwestern run gave the ‘Cats control of the game.
Martinelli was a big reason why Northwestern put Purdue on upset alert. When the ‘Cats needed a bucket, they turned to one of the conference’s best.
He finished with 28 points in his Welsh-Ryan Arena swan song.
An off game for one of the Big Ten’s best
Braden Smith is one of the best point guards in America. Full stop.
He struggled against Northwestern on Wednesday night.
Late in the game, Smith had just two points on 1 of 5 shooting. He missed all the threes he took and had four turnovers. The fourth turnover was the biggest, as his errant pass led to a fastbreak dunk by Page to give NU a one-point lead with two minutes to go.
Part of it was that Smith was struggling. On the other hand, NU guards Justin Simmons and Jordan Clayton did a terrific job defending him.
It’s one thing to miss shots. It’s another to keep one of the best players in the Big Ten off his game for nearly an entire game. Smith got back on the board late when Purdue needed him after Reid fouled him on a 3-point attempt. Smith hit each of his three free throws.
Luckily for Smith, teammate CJ Cox picked up the slack with a 27-point game. This includes the go-ahead three with less than a minute to go to cap a 21-point second half. He finished the evening 5 of 8 shooting from beyond the arc.
Shades of the Michigan loss
It didn’t take long for the Boilermakers to warm up.
CJ Cox settled into a corner where he hit a couple of 3-point shots. A few missed shots on Northwestern’s end, and it was tied at 43-43.
With nine minutes to play, Northwestern regained a 50-46 lead. Purdue tied the game at 50-50 with 7:28 left to play. It still felt like a missed opportunity.
Northwestern blew a 16-point lead to Michigan at home. That was a slow death, and NU left the door open for the Big Ten’s best team to slip through.
Purdue was sliding. The Boilermakers had little going right for them with some missteps in February that hurt their tournament seeding. Northwestern could have gotten its marquee win over the No. 15 team in the nation.