Saturday, February 1
Evanston, Ill.
1 p.m. CT
Northwestern
vs
#17 Wisconsin
Photo by: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics
Northwestern Welcomes No. 17 Wisconsin on Saturday Afternoon
1/31/2025 3:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern men's basketball will play the middle game of a three-game Big Ten homestand as it hosts No. 17 Wisconsin at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday, Feb. 1. The game will air on FS1 with Chris Vosters (play-by-play) and Stephen Bardo (analyst) on the call, and ESPN 1000 WMVP with Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Billy McKinney (analyst).
The Wildcats (12-9, 3-7 Big Ten) have two of the conference's top 10 scorers in junior Nick Martinelli (2nd, 19.6) and senior Brooks Barnhizer (8th, 17.1) and are one of two sets of power conference teammates in the country averaging 17+ points per game. Martinelli ranks 18th nationally in scoring, and fourth among high major forwards. In his last outing against Rutgers, he posted his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. His 10 games of 20+ points this season are the most by a Northwestern forward since John Shurna recorded 18 such games in 2011-12 when he led the league in scoring averaging 20.0 points per game.
Barnhizer, who has posted 19 double-doubles the over the last two seasons, the most by a Big Ten guard, is averaging 17.1 points (8th in Big Ten, 8.8 boards (4th), 4.2 assists (10th), 2.3 steals (2nd) and 1.1 blocks (14th) per game. He flirted with a double-double on Wednesday night, logging 10 points, nine rebounds and a team-high six assists.
Graduate student Jalen Leach has scored 15+ points in five of his last six games, and during conference play is third on the team in scoring (14.3) while shooting a team-best 47.6% from the field. He registered a team-best 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting on Wednesday night against Rutgers. It was his highest scoring output in a conference game since dropping 29 points last year at Mount St. Mary's when he was playing for Fairfield.
As a team, Northwestern has scored 70+ points in five straight Big Ten games for the first time since Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 1990. The Wildcats are averaging 10.0 turnovers lost per game, which is the fewest in the Big Ten, and ranks 24th fewest nationally. Northwestern also places third in the conference, averaging 7.9 steals per game. Barnhizer's 2.4 swipes per game leads the team, while graduate student Ty Berry's 1.5 per contest is.
Last time out, the Wildcats fell 79-72 on Wednesday night (Jan. 29) to Rutgers inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. Rutgers' 79 points were the most it has scored in the series since 2003, as it shot 57.1% percent from the field. Northwestern jumped out to an early 13-4 lead, but the Scarlet Knights immediately went on an 8-0 run to trail by one. Rutgers took the lead for good with under seven minutes to play in the first half. First-year Angelo Ciaravino recorded a career-best three blocks.
Northwestern has split the last four meetings against Wisconsin and won the last meeting in Evanston 66-63 on Jan. 23, 2023. The Wildcats are looking to win back-to-back home games in the series for the first time since 1993 and 1994 and looking to defeat a ranked Badgers team for the first time since 2017 (then No. 7), a 66-59 triumph.
Wisconsin (16-5, 6-4 Big Ten) is coming off a road loss on Wednesday (Jan. 29) night at Maryland, 76-68 but has won eight of its last 10 games. John Tonje leads the team averaging 18.2 points per game, while Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter are each tied for the team lead pulling down 5.7 rebounds per game.
Northwestern wraps up its three-game homestand on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 8 p.m. CT when it hosts USC for the first time since 2000. The game will air on Big Ten Network and WGN Radio 720.
The Wildcats (12-9, 3-7 Big Ten) have two of the conference's top 10 scorers in junior Nick Martinelli (2nd, 19.6) and senior Brooks Barnhizer (8th, 17.1) and are one of two sets of power conference teammates in the country averaging 17+ points per game. Martinelli ranks 18th nationally in scoring, and fourth among high major forwards. In his last outing against Rutgers, he posted his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. His 10 games of 20+ points this season are the most by a Northwestern forward since John Shurna recorded 18 such games in 2011-12 when he led the league in scoring averaging 20.0 points per game.
Barnhizer, who has posted 19 double-doubles the over the last two seasons, the most by a Big Ten guard, is averaging 17.1 points (8th in Big Ten, 8.8 boards (4th), 4.2 assists (10th), 2.3 steals (2nd) and 1.1 blocks (14th) per game. He flirted with a double-double on Wednesday night, logging 10 points, nine rebounds and a team-high six assists.
Graduate student Jalen Leach has scored 15+ points in five of his last six games, and during conference play is third on the team in scoring (14.3) while shooting a team-best 47.6% from the field. He registered a team-best 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting on Wednesday night against Rutgers. It was his highest scoring output in a conference game since dropping 29 points last year at Mount St. Mary's when he was playing for Fairfield.
As a team, Northwestern has scored 70+ points in five straight Big Ten games for the first time since Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 1990. The Wildcats are averaging 10.0 turnovers lost per game, which is the fewest in the Big Ten, and ranks 24th fewest nationally. Northwestern also places third in the conference, averaging 7.9 steals per game. Barnhizer's 2.4 swipes per game leads the team, while graduate student Ty Berry's 1.5 per contest is.
Last time out, the Wildcats fell 79-72 on Wednesday night (Jan. 29) to Rutgers inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. Rutgers' 79 points were the most it has scored in the series since 2003, as it shot 57.1% percent from the field. Northwestern jumped out to an early 13-4 lead, but the Scarlet Knights immediately went on an 8-0 run to trail by one. Rutgers took the lead for good with under seven minutes to play in the first half. First-year Angelo Ciaravino recorded a career-best three blocks.
Northwestern has split the last four meetings against Wisconsin and won the last meeting in Evanston 66-63 on Jan. 23, 2023. The Wildcats are looking to win back-to-back home games in the series for the first time since 1993 and 1994 and looking to defeat a ranked Badgers team for the first time since 2017 (then No. 7), a 66-59 triumph.
Wisconsin (16-5, 6-4 Big Ten) is coming off a road loss on Wednesday (Jan. 29) night at Maryland, 76-68 but has won eight of its last 10 games. John Tonje leads the team averaging 18.2 points per game, while Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter are each tied for the team lead pulling down 5.7 rebounds per game.
Northwestern wraps up its three-game homestand on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 8 p.m. CT when it hosts USC for the first time since 2000. The game will air on Big Ten Network and WGN Radio 720.
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