“At what point do we acknowledge that this team may just be poorly constructed?” @harrishorowitz on Thursday’s loss to Michigan State and why it’s hard to be optimistic about the 2025-26 Wildcats.

Chris Collins ripped into his team after last Saturday’s home loss to Minnesota.

“We have to get a whole lot tougher,” Collins said in his post-game press conference. “Our problem is when it matters most, we’re not at our best.”

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The message continued into his media availability on Wednesday.

“If it’s an effort [question], we have to play other guys,” he said. “ I thought there were three or four plays in that Minnesota game from an effort standpoint where we just gave up on plays. … We never took a hard foul. We had a couple 50-50 balls we had a chance to get. We didn’t come down with them.”

Toughness is not supposed to be a Northwestern problem. Size and talent, sure, but under Collins, Wildcat fans have rarely been able to question the effort of their men’s basketball team. The ‘Cats play gritty, hard-nosed hoops. They suffocate you on defense and leave the gym with their teeth on the floor. It’s a hard-earned reputation, and one to be proud of.

For the most part, Northwestern rose to its head coach’s challenge on Thursday night against No. 12 Michigan State.

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The defense, especially early, was tenacious. Northwestern consistently forced Michigan State into uncomfortable situations late in the shot-clock. The Spartans had two shot-clock violations and ten total turnovers in the first half. Michigan State point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. didn’t score in the first 20 minutes of action. Northwestern led 35-28 at the break.

Michigan State would storm back in the second half, winning period two by 17 points to deprive Northwestern of an upset win that it so desperately needed. The late-game problems are well-documented at this point — the ’Cats have squandered second-half leads against Minnesota, Butler, Ohio State, Oklahoma State and Virginia — but it wasn’t a question of grit or competitive will this time around.

Collins, while dejected, was complimentary of his squad postgame.

“Proud of my team’s effort,” he…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/point-acknowledge-team-may-just-202007791.html

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Publish date : 2026-01-09 20:20:00

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