Northwestern will be shorthanded when it faces Indiana Wednesday evening in the Big Ten Tournament.
Wildcats head coach Chris Collins said 6-foot-11 center Arrinten Page, who has missed the last two games, will be unavailable against the Hoosiers.
Page is Northwestern’s second-leading scorer, posting 10.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in just 22.9 minutes per contest. He played a key role in Northwestern’s upset win in Bloomington last month. Against Indiana on Feb. 24, Page had 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in 27 minutes.
Page is a player Indiana recruited out of high school. He started his college career at USC. The junior from Atlanta is the only player in the Northwestern rotation above 6-foot-9.
Northwestern started 6-foot-9 freshman Tyler Kropp against IU but he only played six minutes in that game. He played 21 minutes off the bench against Penn State on Tuesday.
Collins started 6-foot-6 Angelo Ciaravino, 6-foot-8 Tre Singleton, and 6-foot-7 Nick Martinelli along the frontcourt Tuesday evening.
“This is who we got. Guys have to just by committee, we’ve got to figure things out,” Collins said Tuesday evening, speaking on being shorthanded in the frontcourt. “We’ve got to guard the paint. We’ve got to rebound. We’ve got to bring physicality. Can’t just be on those three guys, Nick, Tre, and Tyler. It’s got to be on the guards too. We’ve got to get in there, help rebound, bring physicality.
“I thought Tyler really stepped up. He really stepped up and gave us good minutes tonight. It was exciting for me to see as a young player in his first Big Ten Tournament to come in and give those positive minutes for us.”
No. 10 seed Indiana faces No. 15 Northwestern at 6:30 p.m. ET Wednesday (BTN).
