When NCAA Tournament committee members are poring over bubble teams’ resumes until their eyes strain in March, they’ll be looking for relevant nonleague wins against Power 5 foes.
Thursday night’s game between Northwestern (5-1) and Oklahoma State (6-0) — the second half of the doubleheader in Chicago that begins with No. 4 Duke and No. 22 Arkansas — could be one of those difference-makers.
The Cowboys, who boast a KenPom ranking in the mid-50s, already own an impressive 24-point win over Texas A&M, but they haven’t been asked to play outside of Gallagher-Iba Arena until now.
Vyctorius Miller (17.5 ppg, 50% 3-point accuracy), Jaylen Curry (15.5 ppg, 5.5 apg) and Anthony Roy (13.3 ppg) lead a rotation that’s so deep, Curry produced 30 points and 10 rebounds off the bench on Saturday against Nicholls.
“I thought (Curry) could have had 15, maybe 20, assists,” said Cowboys coach Steve Lutz, who’s contemplating playing Curry and starting point guard Kanye Clary (7.0 ppg, 5.0 apg) together occasionally to make it even tougher to defend his squad.
Oklahoma State plays at the nation’s fourth-fastest pace according to KenPom, which conflicts dramatically with Northwestern’s preference. The Wildcats force opponents to work for an average of 19.8 seconds per possession, which is the most in the country.
The Wildcats, who boast a KenPom rating in the high 40s, have spent the last two weeks testing themselves against each of the other power leagues. They claimed a two-point road win over DePaul (Big East) on Nov. 14 and a two-point neutral-court win over South Carolina (Southeastern) on Sunday. But that came one day after dropping a five-point decision to Virginia (Atlantic Coast) on the same court in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
“Just a big win for us,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. “When you’re in these events (the Greenbriar Tip-Off) and you lose that first game, you’ve got to find a way to get the second one.”
Now it’s time for Northwestern’s metrics to tap into Oklahoma State’s rugged Big 12, which has amassed a collective KenPom rating that’s just barely behind the Big Ten for the No. 2 league in America.
The Wildcats, as expected, have been led by reigning Big Ten scoring champ Nick Martinelli (19.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg). But it has taken less time than anticipated for a pair of transfers, big man Arrinten Page (formerly of Cincinnati) and point guard Jayden Reid (South Florida) to become similarly worthy weapons.
Page, who scored the game-winning basket against South Carolina in the final seconds after a feed from Martinelli, averages 15.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Reid, who doled out a career-high nine dimes against South Carolina, averages 13.5 points and 6.2 assists.
