Wednesday, January 22
Evanston, Ill.
6 p.m. CT
Northwestern
12-7,3-5Big Ten
79
vs
70
Indiana
14-6,5-4Big Ten
1
2
F
Indiana
31
39
70
Northwestern
25
54
79
Photo by: GRIFFIN QUINN/Northwestern Athletics
Big Second Half Lifts Northwestern to Fifth Straight Win over Indiana
1/22/2025 10:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. - A dominant 21-4 run in the second half powered Northwestern to a 79-70 win against Indiana, its fifth straight in the series, on Wednesday night inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Wildcats (12-7, 3-5 Big Ten) scored 54 second-half points, their most in a game in three seasons, outscoring the Hoosiers (14-6, 5-4 Big Ten) 54-39 in the stanza.
Northwestern had four players — graduate student Ty Berry, senior Brooks Barnhizer, junior Nick Martinelli, and graduate student Jalen Leach — score at least 15 points. The last time the Wildcats had at least four players score 15+ points in a game was on Nov. 12, 2021.
Coming off the bench for his third consecutive contest, Berry tied his season-high with 23 points, knocking down a career high 7-of-10 three-point attempts, while logging seven rebounds, and two blocks. Berry is the first Northwestern player to convert 7+ threes in a game since Boo Buie made seven against Wisconsin on March 15, 2024, in the Big Ten Tournament. His 23 points off the bench were the most by a Wildcat since Boo Buie scored 26 points against Michigan State on Dec. 18, 2019. Berry is the first Northwestern player to make 7+ threes while shooting at least 70% from beyond the arc since Scottie Lindsey did so on Feb. 25, 2018 against Iowa. Berry has scored in double figure points in each of the last three games.
"Ty was amazing," Collins said. "I'm just so proud of him. Much has been talked about his struggles, but (he came) out tonight and really carried us until other guys could get going."
Barnhizer notched 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and a career-high six steals, shooting 8-of-14 from the field. He is the first Big Ten player since at least 2005-06 to post those numbers in a game. Barnhizer's six steals were the most by a Wildcat since Jan. 8, 2023, when Chase Audige had six at Indiana. There have only been six performances of 6+ steals by a Northwestern player over the past 20 years. Barnhizer has posted 10 games of 20+ points and 8+ rebounds this season, which leads the nation.
Gallery: (1-22-2025) Men's Basketball vs. Indiana
Martinelli, the Big Ten's leading scorer averaging 20.0 points per game entering Wednesday's tilt, tallied 18 points and six rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting. He has scored at least 15 points in nine of his last ten games.
Leach totaled 15 points and tied his career-high with seven assists, draining 3-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc. Leach recorded all 15 of his points in the second half. He became the first Northwestern player to have 15+ points, 7+ assists, and make 3+ threes in a game since March 2, 2024 when Boo Buie did against Iowa. Leach has scored at least 15 points in each of his last three contests.
With the win, Northwestern has won five consecutive games against the Hoosiers, which is the longest win streak by the Wildcats in series history since claiming five straight from 1913-15.
"We've become a good team, and we have good players," Collins said. "We have a winning identity, and we fight really hard. And it's shown over these past couple years with our wins."
After holding Indiana to 42.1% (24-of-57) from the field, Northwestern has held its opponent to under 43% shooting in three consecutive Big Ten contests for the first time since Feb. 28-March 9, 2022. The Wildcats forced the Hoosiers into 17 turnovers, Northwestern's most turnovers forced in a Big Ten game this season. Northwestern's 11 steals were their most in a Big Ten game since it recorded 13 against Nebraska on Jan. 20, 2024.
The Wildcats converted 13-of-27 (48.1%) of their 3-point attempts, its most made threes in a game since Jan. 31, 2024, against Purdue. Northwestern has scored 75+ points in three consecutive Big Ten games for the first time since Jan. 24-31, 2024.
Ten minutes into the first half, the 'Cats were on the heels of an 8-0 run and 11 consecutive points from Berry, which gave Northwestern a 23-13 lead. But from that point on, the Hoosiers responded with a 18-2 run to close the final 9:35 of the half. The 'Cats did not score a field goal during this stretch.
The second half was a different tale for Northwestern, which had an 8-0 run in the half's opening minutes to retake the lead. A back-and-forth battle ensued in the following minutes, but Northwestern's 21-4 run, which included a 13-0 run, from 9:10 to 3:12 in the second half.
"It was a tough first half for us," Berry said. "The ball wasn't going in for some of our guys, and we just can't let that carry over to our defensive end. We made sure to come out and be active on defense, and then once we started doing that, shots started to fall, and guys got the confidence."
Northwestern takes a trip south on Sunday, Jan. 26 to take on in-state foe Illinois at 2 p.m. CT inside State Farm Center. The game will air on Big Ten Network and WGN Radio 720.
The Wildcats (12-7, 3-5 Big Ten) scored 54 second-half points, their most in a game in three seasons, outscoring the Hoosiers (14-6, 5-4 Big Ten) 54-39 in the stanza.
"Really proud of the win tonight," Collins said. "I'm just really proud of the guys (and) how they played in the second half."Five in a Row over IU ?? pic.twitter.com/bQYdXDdK5N
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) January 23, 2025
Northwestern had four players — graduate student Ty Berry, senior Brooks Barnhizer, junior Nick Martinelli, and graduate student Jalen Leach — score at least 15 points. The last time the Wildcats had at least four players score 15+ points in a game was on Nov. 12, 2021.
Coming off the bench for his third consecutive contest, Berry tied his season-high with 23 points, knocking down a career high 7-of-10 three-point attempts, while logging seven rebounds, and two blocks. Berry is the first Northwestern player to convert 7+ threes in a game since Boo Buie made seven against Wisconsin on March 15, 2024, in the Big Ten Tournament. His 23 points off the bench were the most by a Wildcat since Boo Buie scored 26 points against Michigan State on Dec. 18, 2019. Berry is the first Northwestern player to make 7+ threes while shooting at least 70% from beyond the arc since Scottie Lindsey did so on Feb. 25, 2018 against Iowa. Berry has scored in double figure points in each of the last three games.
"Ty was amazing," Collins said. "I'm just so proud of him. Much has been talked about his struggles, but (he came) out tonight and really carried us until other guys could get going."
Barnhizer notched 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and a career-high six steals, shooting 8-of-14 from the field. He is the first Big Ten player since at least 2005-06 to post those numbers in a game. Barnhizer's six steals were the most by a Wildcat since Jan. 8, 2023, when Chase Audige had six at Indiana. There have only been six performances of 6+ steals by a Northwestern player over the past 20 years. Barnhizer has posted 10 games of 20+ points and 8+ rebounds this season, which leads the nation.
Martinelli, the Big Ten's leading scorer averaging 20.0 points per game entering Wednesday's tilt, tallied 18 points and six rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting. He has scored at least 15 points in nine of his last ten games.
Leach totaled 15 points and tied his career-high with seven assists, draining 3-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc. Leach recorded all 15 of his points in the second half. He became the first Northwestern player to have 15+ points, 7+ assists, and make 3+ threes in a game since March 2, 2024 when Boo Buie did against Iowa. Leach has scored at least 15 points in each of his last three contests.
With the win, Northwestern has won five consecutive games against the Hoosiers, which is the longest win streak by the Wildcats in series history since claiming five straight from 1913-15.
"We've become a good team, and we have good players," Collins said. "We have a winning identity, and we fight really hard. And it's shown over these past couple years with our wins."
After holding Indiana to 42.1% (24-of-57) from the field, Northwestern has held its opponent to under 43% shooting in three consecutive Big Ten contests for the first time since Feb. 28-March 9, 2022. The Wildcats forced the Hoosiers into 17 turnovers, Northwestern's most turnovers forced in a Big Ten game this season. Northwestern's 11 steals were their most in a Big Ten game since it recorded 13 against Nebraska on Jan. 20, 2024.
The Wildcats converted 13-of-27 (48.1%) of their 3-point attempts, its most made threes in a game since Jan. 31, 2024, against Purdue. Northwestern has scored 75+ points in three consecutive Big Ten games for the first time since Jan. 24-31, 2024.
Ten minutes into the first half, the 'Cats were on the heels of an 8-0 run and 11 consecutive points from Berry, which gave Northwestern a 23-13 lead. But from that point on, the Hoosiers responded with a 18-2 run to close the final 9:35 of the half. The 'Cats did not score a field goal during this stretch.
The second half was a different tale for Northwestern, which had an 8-0 run in the half's opening minutes to retake the lead. A back-and-forth battle ensued in the following minutes, but Northwestern's 21-4 run, which included a 13-0 run, from 9:10 to 3:12 in the second half.
"It was a tough first half for us," Berry said. "The ball wasn't going in for some of our guys, and we just can't let that carry over to our defensive end. We made sure to come out and be active on defense, and then once we started doing that, shots started to fall, and guys got the confidence."
Northwestern takes a trip south on Sunday, Jan. 26 to take on in-state foe Illinois at 2 p.m. CT inside State Farm Center. The game will air on Big Ten Network and WGN Radio 720.
Team Stats
IND
NU
FG%
.421
.483
3FG%
.450
.481
FT%
.765
.588
RB
34
31
TO
17
11
STL
7
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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