The Northwestern Wildcats remain undefeated. Thanks to outstanding scoring by Jake West and LA Pratt, the Wildcats stayed steady and beat Boston University 72-55 on Monday night.

West finished the game with 21 points and eight assists. Pratt was the second-leading scorer with 20. The Wildcats got off to a hot start with a 20-9 run. The Wildcats had 11 steals. Turnovers played an integral part in why they scored points.

Northwestern head coach Chris Collins had some concern coming into this game. Collins addressed this with the media after the game.

"It was our third game in seven days," Collins said. "We've had disruption, being a little understaffed with injuries. I told our team, don't be surprised if we just played an NCAA tournament team."

By the way Boston came out in the second half, it almost looked that way. The Wildcats had dominated them in the first half, and Boston came back swinging without quitting. But the Wildcats had an answer. The team knocked down big shots from the perimeter and kept sharing the ball. Defense was vital for them too. Northwestern forced 19 turnovers. 

A reason that Northwestern probably didn't come out with the same fire compared to the first half had to do with fatigue. It happens when there's a comfortable lead after a half. Angelo Ciaravino was bug time for the Wildcats in the second half.

"I thought Angelo had some big buckets there," Collins said. "We made free throws against their press. There were a lot of good things. You got to win while you're figuring things out."

Collins knows that this team has a long way to go. They still need to work on many aspects of their system. Northwestern has taken advantage to win every single home game this season. 

West and Pratt understood the task. They had to come into this game better than they did during exhibition. Those two men knew that good execution would dictate this game.

"We were trying to chase all their dribble-dribble handoffs and their pin downs, and we started well with that," West said. 

Northwestern disrupted Boston's offense. The way they played defense is the most gratifying feeling that they enjoyed from this victory. Defense will be important for this team to keep stacking up wins. West has been much more impactful than he was last season. West has improved in knocking down shots and grown into a leader. 

The Wildcats will play another team that's from Illinois, and that's DePaul. They will play on Friday. It's another home game for the Wildcats.