Another big opportunity, another down-to-the-wire showdown and another narrow loss.
That’s become the theme of the 2025-26 Northwestern men’s basketball season of late. The Wildcats have now played five games that were decided by fewer than six points — all against Power Conference opponents, with four of those games being losses. Their 61-58 loss to Butler in Indianapolis’s Gainbridge Fieldhouse is the latest contest that will have NU fans lamenting better times.
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Of course, Northwestern was at a disadvantage from the beginning. Senior forward Nick Martinelli, who leads the Wildcats with 21.9 points per game, sat out against Butler because he suffered a concussion before Saturday’s contest. His absence was felt throughout the Northwestern offense, which averages 80.6 points per game but put up its lowest scoring output of the season by 12 points.
Jayden Reid was the only Northwestern player in double figures with 14 points. Arrinten Page, NU’s second-highest scorer, struggled without Martinelli beside him in the paint, as he could never get comfortable scoring besides a few dunks here and there. Collectively, the ‘Cats shot 35.9% from the field and 17.4% from beyond the arc, further corroborating their struggle to find a consistent three-point shooter this season.
Butler’s offense, shorthanded following the loss of its starting point guard Jalen Jackson and later key contributor Jamie Kaiser Jr. mid-game, wasn’t exactly something to write home about either. But it could do things that Northwestern couldn’t. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Wildcats 41 to 35, but the difference felt much starker throughout the game when most of Northwestern’s second-chance opportunities came towards the end. Butler’s Michael Ajayi put up 20 rebounds by himself, and there just wasn’t anyone on Northwestern’s team who could replicate that.
All this resulted in a game where Northwestern held the lead for fewer than three minutes and one where Butler had as much as an 11-point advantage with 16:27 left to play. There were very few moments throughout the game where it actually felt winnable for the Wildcats, as the Bulldogs had several opportunities to pull even further than 11 points.
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But those moments where Northwestern showed its potential to come back, but couldn’t pull it off, will be the ones that stick out.
It could have been Tre Singleton’s two long twos, including a jumper with 31 seconds left that could have tied the game had it been a three, but the tip of his right shoe was right on the three-point line. Or the two missed free throws from Butler’s Evan Haywood, which gave Northwestern seven seconds to send the game into overtime, but it couldn’t capitalize. Even with Singleton’s shot counting as a two, the Wildcats had two separate opportunities to tie or take the lead with under two minutes left, but weren’t able to after three-point misses from both Singleton and Reid.
Stuff like this happens. And the only reason Northwestern was even able to be in this position was because of the valiant 10-2 run it pulled off from 6:30 to 1:47 left in the second half. But as NU head coach Chris Collins (who was shown being frustrated with his team mid-huddle on the Peacock game broadcast) emphasizes, that’s not something that his team celebrates.
“Our guys fought, but regardless of who’s on the floor, we’re not here for moral victories,” Collins said postgame. “We fought hard and played well, we came to win and we came up a little bit short.”
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Lamenting “moral victories” aside, it’s hard not to associate efforts that come up just short with the ones that came before Saturday. Although the late-game stretch against Butler was different than that in an 86-82 loss to Ohio State, misses against the Bulldogs and defensive lapses against the Buckeyes in a winnable game will be grouped in the same sentence. So will mistakes made in an 83-78 loss to Virginia and an 86-81 loss to Oklahoma State.
Regardless of the results, there are still aspects of Northwestern’s game that should be praised. After defense was a struggle all season, the Wildcats did their part today on that side of the ball. Yes, Butler was missing key players, but 61 points is the fewest points that NU allowed since Nov. 7’s contest against Boston University. Page still had two blocks despite his offensive struggles, while the ‘Cats forced 14 turnovers.
“We defended really well all day long,” Collins said. “[Butler], a week ago today, put up 115 on Providence. It’s a really explosive team with a lot of good shooters. Overall, the percentages were good.”
Northwestern’s fight without its best player, against a team then-ranked No. 48 in the NET rankings (the Wildcats are ranked No. 74), is reminiscent of the grittiness it was known for in previous seasons and hasn’t shown as much this year, amidst difficulties on defense. Additionally, players like Max Green and K.J. Windham both had big moments after Green struggled in recent power conference matches and Windham played one combined minute across NU’s last two games.
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These positive highlights and Northwestern’s overall efforts showcase that it can compete with the nation’s best even when missing its most important player. However, in the parity-filled sport of college basketball, one separates itself based on how well it can perform down the stretch.
In the past, Northwestern has excelled at late-game heroics. Said heroics are the reason why it upset No. 1 Purdue twice and did the same against Illinois three times in previous years, and were the reason for so many of the team’s memorable past moments. This season’s Wildcats haven’t been able to replicate that same success in the waning minutes of a match, but that will be needed come time for conference play.
Northwestern has an opportunity for a get-right game against Howard, before it shifts into Big Ten competition full-time. If or when it gets Martinelli back for that, the team will have opportunites to put together a balanced and strong showing from start to finish — opportunities it desperately needs after non-conference play.
