Despite the loss, Northwestern’s road battle with Iowa was a step toward a brighter tomorrow

Another close game has fallen by the wayside.

In a season full of “almosts,” Northwestern men’s basketball suffered another defeat after failing to break through in the final minutes, falling 76-70 to an Iowa team that had just enough gas on offense to outlast the Wildcats’ late charges. Compared to their 40-point blowout loss at the hands of Illinois, it certainly wasn’t a bad performance for the ‘Cats. But against a quality Hawkeye squad, “better” still wasn’t good enough.

“Both teams played incredibly hard, competed hard,” Wildcat coach Chris Collins said. “It’s just frustrating that we’re not doing the things necessary to be able to get over the hump and find a way to win these games. I know part of it is there’s a lot of young guys, but, I mean, that’s not an excuse.”

Sitting at 2-11 in the Big Ten and 10-14 overall, Northwestern is simply nowhere near the level fans expected it to be at in 2025-26. Retooling and rebuilding was always going to be necessary after last year’s departures, but the lack of success — particularly in Big Ten play — has been astounding.

Still, the competitiveness and resilience of Northwestern basketball did show itself somewhat on Sunday. Collins insisted postgame that NU is “not a moral victory program,” and the fight on the floor from most players did show that. But for a team that sits a country mile away from the NCAA Tournament, a large part of the focus is always going to be on the future, as shown by the youth-filled lineups of late.

For the Wildcats, focusing on the future is a good thing. Nobody wanted to “waste” Nick Martinelli’s final season in purple, but the reality is that he’s not going to see a storybook postseason sendoff, no matter how much he’s earned it. Ironically, it was Martinelli who struggled mightily against the Hawkeyes with a 6-of-19 shooting mark, but he did manage to pick up 21 gritty points, nine of which came on three big three-pointers.

On the other side of things, Jake West was the epitome of efficiency. The first-year set a new career high with 18 points on a scorching-hot 7-of-8 clip from the field, including four massive threes.

I lost count of how many times the broadcast team referenced West’s TikTok fame. But let’s put aside the overplayed narratives (sorry, someone had to say it) for a second. The buzz West generated for his performance on the court is a good thing, and it shows his potential as a future Wildcat leader.

“He’s learning with each game,” Collins said. “He’s growing with confidence.”

Collins gave West high praise in his postgame presser, comparing the process of his first-year development to those of Bryant McIntosh and Boo Buie. Put simply, ‘Cats fans would be thrilled if West could have a similar career arc to either of those players. Given Collins’ trust in his latest first-year guard, a path to stardom for West is hardly out of the realm of possibility.

Still, a West breakout alone won’t be enough to elevate this team back to where it was during its NCAA Tournament seasons. Other young faces need to step up, and their performances have been inconsistent overall this season.

Tre Singleton managed 10 points and four boards on Sunday, but he fouled out of the contest in the closing minutes. Tyler Kropp held his own at times, but he still needs far more development to become a true paint factor, both on offense and defense. Interestingly, Phoenix Gill got four minutes of action as well, but he committed two quick turnovers and didn’t manage to make a true impact.

All of those players’ times will come, and each of the three offer exciting talent that could boost Northwestern’s future prospects. But right now, none of the first-years (West included) are where they need to be often enough for the ‘Cats to win a meaningful number of Big Ten games.

This lack of consistency is not a good thing for Martinelli or any of the incoming transfers who were hoping for winning basketball in 2025-26. But for the long-term health of the program, the future has to be the focus, no matter how many bumps in the road there are in the present.