Northwestern isn't new to devastation, but losing a 20-point lead means they're 'going through it'

There's plenty that Northwestern basketball needs right now.

Better defense is the biggest thing. After holding Nebraska to 21 points in the first half, the Huskers exploded for 47 second-half points. That erased a 20-point NU lead as the Huskers stole a 68-64 win at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday.

The team could use its two best players, as the injured Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach could only watch as the ‘Cats lead slowly, but certainly, evaporated. Those two aren't coming back.

Northwestern is used to devastating developments this season. Sunday was the latest one. It's a stinging reminder of how this season has gone the opposite of what the team expected as it searched for a third-straight NCAA Tournament berth.

"I could sit here for a long time and talk about that," NU head coach Chris Collins said. "We get a little fatigued. We have to play so hard and our margin for error is so slim."

With such a slim margin for error, Collins finds himself going through it yet again. He did it before when developing NU into the NCAA Tourney teams the program has had been the past two seasons.

"Sometimes, you have to go through it," Collins said. "I've had to go through it twice here. We're kind of back there now."

At this point of the season, earning an at-large bid to the tournament is out of the question. Northwestern is at the bottom of the conference. 

A Big Ten Tournament berth is still available. That's what the goal has to be for a Northwestern team that needs every game it can get.

This team doesn't just need the minutes. Northwestern – specifically KJ Windham, Angelo Ciaravino, Justin Mullins and Nick Martinelli who will all be back next year – need to learn how to win.

NU knew how to win earlier this season. The 'Cats learned after tough losses to Butler and Iowa. Just look at wins over Illinois, USC, Maryland and Indiana.

Those were games Collins was able to use the hustle of his younger players to help build leads or stay within striking distance before the likes of Ty Berry, Martinelli, Leach or Barnhizer lifted the 'Cats over the hump.

NU has struggled to remember those lessons in the waning moments of games against Washington and, now, Nebraska. Sunday's loss was a new one. 

Northwestern had given up double-digit leads before this season but found ways to win. This time, the Huskers had what they needed. Juwan Gary and Brice Williams led the second-half charge.

Whatever happened in the first half was moot. Nebraska, who had also gone through it in the years prior to their 2024 NCAA Tournament berth, learned the hard way how difficult it is to sustain success.

CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 26: Northwestern Wildcats Head Coach Chris Collins looks on during the college basketball game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 26, 2025, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illi

Expand

There's no telling what kind of players Windham, Ciaravino and Mullins will be when their Northwestern tenures are over, but they played with the heart and hustle needed to win games. Those two facets were on display as they helped Northwestern go up 20 against the Huskers.

They needed to be the ones to close out the win, however. Bad turnovers, bad defensive rotations and bad fouls added up. Nebraska took advantage, as Northwestern didn't have anyone else to turn to with a thin roster.

"Brooks isn't coming back, Jalen isn't coming back," Collins said. "These are the guys that are going to be in, as hard as it is to learn some of these lessons."

Collins knows this from the stretch of time between his first NCAA Tournament in Evanston in the magical 2016-2017 season to the back-to-back berths the last two years.

There won't be a third tournament, and while that's a bitter pill to swallow for a program that's risen to earn respect in the Big Ten the ‘Cats have to weigh what’s next.

There could be another run sooner rather than later if Collins and his staff can develop that trio of Mullins, Windham and Ciaravino. Their potential is there, clear as day, especially with the highest-rated recruiting class in program history during the modern recruiting era coming to town next year.

It's on the coaching staff to get the roster where it needs to be. Devastating losses like Sunday won't be the last, but it's part of the rebuilding process Collins is starting again.

The good news is Collins has built tournament teams twice now in Evanston with that heartache at the epicenter. 

"Sometimes, there can be a lot of heartache there," Collins said. "You got to get to the other side."