Northwestern recovering from narrow loss, faces test at Minnesota

Field Level Media|published: Fri 2nd February, 16:10 2024

Northwestern Wildcats assistant coach Talor Battle holds back Northwestern Wildcats head coach Chris Collins during the NCAA men s basketball game against the Purdue Boilermakers, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. Purdue Boilermakers 105-96. credits: Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK

Northwestern will try to snap a three-game road skid when it visits Minnesota on Saturday afternoon in a Big Ten Conference showdown in Minneapolis.

The Wildcats (15-6, 6-4 Big Ten) are coming off a 105-96 overtime loss against No. 2 Purdue on Wednesday night. The overtime defeat followed previous road losses against Nebraska on Jan. 20 and against then-No. 15 Wisconsin on Jan. 13.

Northwestern coach Chris Collins praised his players for taking the Boilermakers to overtime. The Wildcats beat Purdue at home earlier this season when the Boilermakers were ranked No. 1, and they forced overtime on the road despite Purdue having a 46-8 advantage in free-throws attempts.

The discrepancy was part of why Collins erupted at officials and was ejected late in Wednesday's game.

"That's why I was so proud of my guys," Collins said. "If you're down (38) at the free-throw line and you have a shot (to force overtime) at the buzzer, you almost have to play perfect. Our guys showed a lot of poise."

Their next test will come against Minnesota (13-7, 4-5), which is looking for back-to-back wins after rallying for an 83-74 victory over Penn State on the road on Jan. 27.

Dawson Garcia scored 22 points to lead Minnesota, which rallied from a 45-31 deficit at the half. Cam Christie added 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

For Christie, the upcoming game against Northwestern carries special meaning. His mother, Katrina (Hannaford) Christie, was a star player for Northwestern from 1993-97. His older brother Max Christie Jr., a former Michigan State standout now with the Los Angeles Lakers, served as a ball boy for the Wildcats as the children grew up in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights.

Christie is averaging 10.5 points as a true freshman for the Golden Gophers.

"Obviously, as the Big Ten season has started, every game gets tougher and tougher as it goes," Christie said. "There are scouting reports. You have to learn to adapt to that."

Collins said Northwestern also is adapting to a tough conference schedule.

"We're figuring ourselves out," he said. "We're halfway through the league. ... We lost a tough game in overtime, but a lot to be proud of with our group as we head into the second half."

—Field Level Media