Darrel Dupit’s signature mustache feels out of place next to his unassuming Northwestern quarter-zip and black sweatpants. It’s all business for Northwestern’s veteran in-game host. He’s got his work cut-out for him.

Traveling fans of undefeated No. 8 Nebraska outnumber the home Northwestern crowd 2-to-1 in the paid seats, and a sleepy Saturday afternoon student section does not look like it can make up the difference at tip-off.

By the second half, Welsh-Ryan Arena is loud in all the wrong ways. Dupit enters a hostile environment at the under-eight media timeout with the Cornhusker faithful bursting at the seams after an 11-0 Nebraska run. ’Cats trail by 19.

“Northwestern needs you now more than ever,” he pleads to the home fans not already rushing for the exits. “Lets – go – ‘Cats! Let’s – go – ‘Cats!”

Dupit’s voice on the arena loudspeakers holds back the away fans for a moment, but he’s ultimately powerless against the wall of traveling Cornhuskers, who are loud in their pride as they watch what already feels like the best team in program history.

“Go – Big – Red!” overwhelms Dupit and Welsh-Ryan. Nebraska shoots 10 quiet second half free throws. Northwestern falls 77-58 in its largest home loss since an 87-58 loss to Pittsburgh on Nov. 28, 2022. You have to go back a full five years to find a worse home loss in the Big Ten — a 96-73 loss to No. 8 Iowa on Jan. 17, 2021.

“I walked out of the tunnel pregame, I looked up and the whole balcony looked like it was red,” said Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg postgame. “It’s just incredible to have that support…I know we get a good group on the road and we play like that makes a difference. It really matters and helps us.”

Northwestern and Nebraska have long been sister programs in the Big Ten, bound by record-setting mediocrity. For years, the ‘Cats were the only Power Five program to never qualify for the NCAA tournament, breaking the 78-year long cold streak in 2017. The Cornhuskers still hold the unfortunate distinction as the only Power Five program without a single NCAA tournament win. It’s coming.

The similarities extend beyond the ugly histories. Both Hoiberg and Chris Collins pride themselves as developmental head coaches. They win with upperclassmen — Northwestern with Nick Martinelli, Boo Buie and Bryant McIntosh; Nebraska with Rienk Mast, Pryce Sandfort and Keisei Tominaga. What their teams lack in talent, they make up with hustle and hard, disciplined defense.

Hoiberg and Collins even look alike, if you squint. Two former all-conference college hoopers who still look like they could give you an efficient ten points on the right night. Hoiberg has a little bit more hair, but Collins has more years in the Big Ten. It’s easy to keep stress levels low when you’re undefeated through 18 games.

“We were never 18-0, but watching how they played today reminded me a lot of our best teams,” said Collins postgame.“ Everybody was just locked in, helping each other out, playing off of each other. And we haven’t been able to find that with this group. Ultimately that’s my responsibility, and we’re going to keep at it.”

Nebraska is a ghost of good Northwestern teams past. Hoiberg started five upperclassmen on Saturday afternoon, all but one of whom have been with the program for at least two years. Collins didn’t start one underclassman in either tournament run in 2023 or 2024.

The 2025-26 ‘Cats are younger than this juggernaut Nebraska side. Collins started two true freshman, one true sophomore and a transfer junior. Only two of the five — Nick Martinelli and Angelo Ciaravino — were on the team last year.

That inexperience cost Northwestern in the second half, as Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager gleefully torched the ever-sloppy Wildcat defensive rotations. The two Nebraska sharp-shooters made as many second half threes (five) as Northwestern made all game.

“[Defensive execution] in the second half of games seems to be a little bit of a bugaboo,” said Collins. “Part of that is a little bit of fatigue. Part of it is mental toughness, finding a way to get spots. We haven’t been as dialed in with some of our rotations and our schemes, and we work on them every single day.”

Northwestern’s second half unraveling occurred mostly without Arrinten Page on the court. Page finished with his first goose egg in a Northwestern uniform, playing a season-low nine minutes and failing to even attempt a shot. He didn’t play after the 17:35 mark in the second half.

Page’s future in the Wildcat rotation is in serious jeopardy if he continues to struggle offensively because his defense has become a genuine liability. In the last two games, the transfer big man’s defense has regressed from below average to Friday the 13th if Jason traded his machete for an M-16. Per Inside NU’s Eliav Brooks-Rubin, Northwestern’s defensive rating was a full 50-points worse with Page on the court against Illinois and 28-points worse in his nine minutes of tick on Saturday.

“I just didn’t feel like he was playing that well,” said Collins of his decision to sit Page for most of the second half. “Tough matchup, they were playing five guards…We’re going to stick with him and hopefully get him ready to play on Wednesday night.”

Without Page’s offense — or really anyone else’s offense outside of Tre Singleton and Nick Martinelli —Northwestern failed to reach 60 points for the first time in the 2025-26 campaign. True freshman guard Jake West had his flashes but looked altogether overwhelmed in his second career start. Jayden Reid, playing the sixth-man role for the second straight game, never found his rhythm after dropping a season-high 28 points against Illinois on Wednesday night, scoring just seven in 27 minutes.

Singleton and West are reasons for optimism. Collins fawned over his freshman point guard after the loss — scrappy, competitive, tough, hard-nosed all found their way into one sentence.

“[West’s] got to get more experienced and seasoned and learn how to continue to run a team, and all those things that it takes for a freshman point guard,” he said. “I’m not comparing him, but I remember playing against Braden Smith as a freshman, and now what he looks like as a senior. It’s a vastly superior player, and you get that by experience.”

It’s all about experience. Northwestern’s true freshman are getting a crash course what it takes to win in the Big Ten. Saturday’s loss showed to Nebraska them everything this Northwestern team can be — and everything it’s not.

Nebraska needed to get off to a good start, and it was an ok one. The Huskers used an 8-0 run to take and early three point lead, but then the back-and-forth battle began. Nick Martinelli, scourge of Nebraska and one of the nation’s leading scorers, started to get plenty of looks early. The Wildcats would hit 5 straight field goals and 7 of their first 11 to start the game.

Martinelli was already in double figures shortly after the 10-minute mark. Both teams would go scoreless of 2:30 at the same time, leading to a little bit of a lull. Nebraska would start to keep Northwestern at bay, keeping the lead between three and seven points. Nebraska would take a 34-29 lead into the locker room.

Nebraska shot 13-28 for 46% from the floor. They went 5-15 for 33% from deep and 3-5 for 60% from the free-throw line. The Huskers collected 13 rebounds, 2 of which were offensive. Nebraska had 11 assists to just 3 turnovers. They had 14 points in the paint.

The Huskers were led by Pryce Sandfort, who had 9 points. Jamarques Lawrence and Braden Frager had 8 each. Sam Hoiberg led the way with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Lawrence had 3 steals.

Northwestern shot 12-30 for 40% from the floor. They went 2-6 for 33% from deep and 3-4 for 75% from the free-throw line. The Wildcats collected 21 rebounds, 7 of which were offensive. Northwestern had 7 assists to 6 turnovers. They had 12 points in the paint.

The Wildcats were led by Nick Martinelli, who had 15 points. Martinelli also had 8 rebounds, including 5 of the offensive boards. Angelo Ciaravino contributed 5 rebounds. Jake West, Jayden Reid and Ciaravino each had 2 assists.

Nebraska has usually done a good job of coming out with another gear to start the second half of games, and the Huskers certainly did that. Nebraska started 3-3 from the floor to open a double-digit lead. Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager did exactly what they did to Oregon in the previous game, shooting the ball very well to open up the lead in a big way. Nebraska officially blew the door open using a 17-3 run over a 5:49 time span.

The Huskers would lead by 19 after that, and Northwestern wouldn’t get close after that. Nebraska would shoot 60% for most of the second half, which really helped open things up. Martinelli still got his, as he would carry Northwestern again, but he definitely needs some help if the Wildcats want to win games in the Big Ten.

FINAL STATS AND THOUGHTS:

Nebraska shot 27-53 for 51% from the floor. They went 11-26 for 42% from deep and 12-15 for 80% from the free-throw line. The Huskers collected 28 rebounds, 6 of which were offensive. Nebraska had 18 assists to just 5 turnovers. Nebraska had 28 points in the paint.

The Huskers were led by Pryce Sandfort, who had 22 points. Braden Frager contributed with 20 points off the bench. Sam Hoiberg led the way with 7 rebounds. 4 different Huskers finished with 4 assists. Jamarques Lawrence had 3 steals.

Northwestern shot 23-54 for 43% from the floor. They went 5-14 for 36% from deep and 7-10 for 70% from the free-throw line. The Wildcats collected 30 rebounds, 9 of which were offensive. Northwestern had 15 assists to 11 turnovers. They had 24 points in the paint.

The Wildcats were led by Nick Martinelli, who had 22 points. Tre Singleton finished with 14. Martinelli also led the way with 10 rebounds. Jayden Reid finished with 5 assists.

This one ended up being pretty straightforward for Nebraska in the end. The Huskers did a good job of keeping Northwestern at bay throughout the first half. Nebraska would go on another huge run in the second half, which it has done most of the season to blow the door open. Nick Martinelli still scored about right at his average for the Wildcats, but it took him 20 field goal attempts to get there.

Northwestern doesn’t have much in terms of secondary scoring. 3 Huskers finished in double figures, with two others within a basket of finishing with double digits. The Huskers are back in action on Wednesday night, as they host Washington. Tip-off at Pinnacle Bank Arena is scheduled for 8:00 pm and can be seen on the Big Ten Network. Go Big Red!