Less than two weeks ago, the Northwestern basketball team took down #1 Purdue in front of their home crowd, and they moved into the AP top-25 with the win. On Wednesday, the 25th ranked Wildcats fell at home as 24.5-point favorites against Chicago State basketball. That's just how it goes in college basketball. One week, Northwestern beats the top team in the country, and not long after, the Wildcats fall to the #355 team on KenPom.

Northwestern basketball had never lost to Chicago State before last night, and it was one of the biggest wins in the history of the Chicago State basketball program. This loss is going to haunt the Wildcats. Head coach Chris Collins mentioned after the game that his team wasn't very connected, and his star player, Boo Buie, felt the same way.

“If we’re locked in and ready to go like we usually are, I don’t think they come back,” Boo Buie said after the game, according to an article from the Chicago Tribune. “When you’re unconnected and not ready to play, it’s hard to win.”

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Northwestern led by double digits just eight minutes into the game, but it seemed like every time they got a comfortable lead, they assumed the game was over and they let up a little bit. Chicago State continued to climb back into the game each time, and eventually, they found a lead. The Wildcats trailed early in the second half, but they immediately turned things on and grew their lead back to eight, and it looked like they were going to pull away. However, Chicago State kept fighting, and they came back to earn a 75-73 road victory.

It doesn't get much worse than this for Northwestern. It looked like the Wildcats were poised for another successful season, but this loss is a bit of a head-scratcher. The good news for Northwestern is that it's so early in the season and Big Ten play has barely started. If they take care of business in conference play, they'll be just fine. It's a bad look now, but this loss could be a blessing in disguise if it can give the team a permanent wake up call as the most important part of the season approaches.