Friday, November 22
Evanston, Ill.
7 p.m. CT
Northwestern
5-1,0-0Big Ten
68
vs
50
Pepperdine
1-4,0-0WCC
1
2
F
Pepperdine
19
31
50
Northwestern
31
37
68
Photo by: John Konstantaras Photo Northwestern Athletics
'Cats Close out Homestand with 68-50 Victory over Pepperdine
11/22/2024 10:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. – Graduate student Jalen Leach and junior Nick Martinelli scored 21 and 20 points, respectively, to lead Northwestern to a 68-50 win over Pepperdine on Friday night to cap off its season-long four-game homestand.
"Just happy about the win," Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins said. "This was an important homestand for us. Coming off the Dayton loss, we were coming home for four games, and we knew — for our season — we had to come home and take care of business."5-0 at Home ?? pic.twitter.com/3kera0wBMR
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) November 23, 2024
The Wildcats (5-1) held the Waves (1-4) to 19 first-half points, their second time holding an opponent below 20 points in a half this season. Over the course of the game, the 'Cats forced Pepperdine to shoot 16-of-56 (28.5%) from the field and 3-of-20 (15.0%) from deep. Northwestern last forced a team to shoot under 30% from the field on Dec. 16, 2023 against DePaul.
The Wildcats' did not have a turnover in the first half, marking Northwestern's first turnover-free half since March 9, 2024 against Minnesota.
"That's been a staple of who we are, our program," Collins said. "When you look, especially when we've had our better teams, we've been a single-digit turnover team."
Leach's game-high 21-point effort scored his 15th career 20-point game and his second as a Wildcat. Martinelli's performance marked the fifth time this season he has scored at least 20 points. Senior Brooks Barnhizer tallied 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Barnhizer became the first Wildcat to record three-plus steals in consecutive games since Boo Buie on March 15, 2024 and March 22, 2024 against Wisconsin and Florida Atlantic.
Northwestern's 7-0 run from 10:51 to 9:28 in the first half put the team up 16-8, including four points and two steals from junior Justin Mullins.
"(Mullins) was awesome," Collins said. "I thought the game turned when he came in. … His energy, his defense, he got in the passing lanes, he got some steals, got out in transition. You just see his confidence growing."
During the second half, the 'Cats never allowed Pepperdine within 10 points. Leach quickly got going in the second half, when he would ultimately score 15 points.
"Coach talks to me every day just about being aggressive, having confidence in myself," Leach said. "I just wanted to be aggressive."
While the Waves cut the lead to 10 at 14:02 in the second half, a Mullins layup, followed by nine Leach points allowed Northwestern to pull away.
Northwestern will travel west to take on Butler at the Arizona Tip-Off on Thursday, Nov. 28 at 6 p.m. CT inside Mullet Arena on Arizona State's campus in Tempe. The game will air on CBS Sports Network and WGN Radio 720.
Team Stats
PEP
NU
FG%
.286
.421
3FG%
.150
.182
FT%
.833
.857
RB
38
38
TO
11
6
STL
3
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballNorthwestern Men's Basketball Cooking Competition
Sunday, July 20
GRITTY AS IT GETS: Brooks Barnhizer Supercut 🎥
Thursday, June 26
Men's Basketball - Chris Collins on B1G Today
Tuesday, April 08
Men's Basketball - Wisconsin Postgame Press Conference (3/13/25)
Thursday, March 13
