EVANSTON, Ill. _ However this game turned out, Chris Collins would be numb Sunday night.
The Northwestern coach had known Kobe Bryant since the two were hoops-loving kids in Philadelphia. Their dads, Doug Collins and Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, played together for the 76ers from 1975 to 1979.
"We have a lot of history," Collins said as tears formed. "And I have a daughter who's 13. Really a hard day. ... Every minute's precious, man. Every minute's precious."
Chris Collins reconnected with Kobe Bryant during the 2008 Olympics, with Collins assisting Mike Krzyzewski and Bryant scoring 20 points against Spain to win gold in Beijing. Collins and Bryant also were together for the 2012 Games.
Collins got the shocking news that Bryant had been killed in a helicopter crash outside Los Angeles about four hours before Ohio State's 71-59 victory. He was shaken, of course.
"It was hard to rally to play a game," he said. "But I know the competitor he was, he would have wanted both teams to go out there and fight hard."
Coincidence or not, Collins seemed even more charged up than usual during the game. He got his first technical of the season after official Don Daily called a tight foul on Pete Nance following a missed dunk attempt by Andre Wesson.
Collins later swung his arms and did a 360-degree turn after A.J. Turner failed to hunt down a loose ball.
Collins fist-pumped after Ryan Young banked in a short jumper to cut Ohio State's lead to 59-55 with about five minutes to play.
Ultimately the Wildcats made too many mistakes _ missed free throws, an inability to consistently guard the 3-point line _ to avoid another close loss. Northwestern fell to 7-12 and 1-8 in Big Ten play.
"I feel like we're getting better in a lot of ways," Collins said. "The results aren't showing, but I really like the development of our young guys and our attitude and spirit."
Ohio State, which lost seven of its previous 10, improved to 13-7 and 3-6. The Buckeyes are far better than their record, with KenPom.com rating them 13th nationally before Sunday's victory.
Miller Kopp scored a game-high 20 points, but 15 came during the first half.
The Wildcats came out with a Mamba Mentality, scoring the game's first seven points _ two jumpers by Pat Spencer and a 3 by Kopp.
Boo Buie (10 points on 3-for-12 shooting) still isn't himself since coming back from a stress fracture in his left foot. He tried to channel Bryant during his 25 minutes, saying: "That was my idol growing up. I wore his 8 jersey all the time. I looked at him as immortal. I still can't believe it."
Ohio State made 11 shots from 3-point range and, at times, showed more hustle.
That made a brutal day even more difficult for Collins.
