Men's Basketball
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- Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach
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The 2022-23 Big Ten Coach of the Year, Sullivan-Ubben Head Men’s Basketball Coach Chris Collins has guided Northwestern men’s basketball to new heights over his 12 seasons, appearing in the 2017, 2023 and 2024 NCAA Tournaments, the only NCAA postseason appearances in program history. Collins has recorded 194 victories in Evanston, the second-most wins by a head coach in program history. He was named the University’s 24th head coach on March 27, 2013, and is the fifth-longest tenured coach in the 18-team Big Ten Conference.
Collins guided Northwestern to its first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in school history, reaching the Second Round in both 2023 and 2024.
Most recently in 2024-25, Northwestern posted its third consecutive winning season with a 17-16 record, despite playing a large portion of the season without two of its top three scorers due to injury. Nick Martinelli became the first Wildcat to lead the Big Ten in scoring since 2011-12 (John Shurna), averaging 20.5 points per game, the highest scoring average by a Wildcat since Evan Eschmeyer (21.7) in 1997-98. Martinelli was named All-Big Ten Second Team. Brooks Barnhizer, who was named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and NABC All-District Second Team, posted averages of 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game in 17 games before missing the remainder of the season due to injury.
The 2023-24 team finished with a 22-12 overall record, tied for third in the Big Ten Conference standings with a 12-8 mark and won its NCAA Tournament First Round game over FAU 77-65 in overtime. Northwestern placed in the top three of the conference standings in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1958-59 and 1959-60. The Wildcats tied their program record for most Big Ten wins in a season and claimed 24 league victories over the last two seasons, the most over a two year stretch in school history.
Northwestern won two games over AP Top 10 opponents in a season for the first time in program history. The ‘Cats took down No. 1 Purdue for the second straight season, earning a 92-88 overtime win on Dec. 1, and defeated No. 10 Illinois 96-91 in overtime on Jan. 24.
Boo Buie became the first player in school history to be named a unanimous All-Big Ten First Team selection and broke the school’s career scoring record by finishing his career with 2,187 points. Brooks Barnhizer earned All-Big Ten Third Team recognition and All-Defensive team honors. Collins was named a 2024 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year finalist.
In the 2022-23 season, Collins led the team to the school’s second NCAA Tournament berth, a 22-12 overall record, and a second-place finish in the Big Ten Conference standings with a 12-8 league ledger. For the first time since 1958-59, Northwestern finished second in the league standings, while also setting a school record for conference wins in a single-season. Collins was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year, the second time in Northwestern history a coach has earned the award. Additionally, he received national recognition as the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year and a Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalist.
The regular season was highlighted by a school-record four wins over AP ranked opponents and the program's first victory against the nation’s No. 1 team, on Feb. 12 against No. 1 Purdue, 64-58, inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. Playing away from home, the team went 7-4 in true road contests, winning the most road games in a season since 1958-59. The ‘Cats captured their first win over a ranked Indiana team since 1988 by downing the No. 15 Hoosiers 84-83 at Assembly Hall on Jan. 8. Northwestern won back-to-back road games over ranked opponents for the first time in school history as it defeated No. 20 Michigan State 70-63 in East Lansing
Northwestern earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the highest in school history, and defeated Boise State 75-67 in the First Round in Sacramento, Calif. The ‘Cats improved to 2-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament First Round games.
Under his coaching, Northwestern’s senior guards of Chase Audige and Boo Buie combined to become one of the best backcourts in the country and in school history. Audige was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, a first at NU since 1994, and an All-Big Ten Second Team selection. Buie posted one of the best seasons by a point guard in program history and became the first Wildcat named All-Big Ten First Team since John Shurna in 2012. Buie was also a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, which is awarded to the nation’s best point guard. The duo became the first Northwestern teammates to earn first and second team All-Big Ten honors since 1963-64.
Collins led the Wildcats to accomplishments never before reached during the 2016-17 season. The unforgettable campaign saw Northwestern accumulate a school-record 24 wins while earning the program’s first NCAA tournament berth and victory in school history.
NU captured the nation’s attention with its outstanding start to the season. An 18-4 start, including a six-game winning streak in Big Ten Conference play — the program’s first since 1933 — saw the team crack the top 25 of the Associated Press poll on Jan. 30, the team’s first national ranking in seven years.
Northwestern went on to record 10 wins in league play, its most since the 1932-33 campaign. Five of the victories came on the road, including a 66-59 triumph at No. 7/5 Wisconsin on Feb. 12.
The ’Cats picked up a pair of wins in the Big Ten tournament in Washington D.C., including defeating 25th-ranked Maryland in its own back yard, to give NU its first appearance in the conference tournament semifinal round in school history.
NU was rewarded with an NCAA tournament berth on Selection Sunday and the Wildcats earned a 68-66 victory over Vanderbilt in an opening-round contest in Salt Lake City. Northwestern pushed second-ranked and eventual national runner-up Gonzaga to the limits in the second round before eventually suffering a narrow loss.
The ’Cats placed two individuals on the All-Big Ten teams for the first time since 2012 as Bryant McIntosh was a unanimous second-team selection while Scottie Lindsey was recognized as a third-team pick of the league’s coaches. In addition, Vic Law was named to the conference’s five-member All-Defensive Team.
Lindsey was one of the Big Ten’s most improved players while McIntosh became Northwestern’s all-time leader in assists in just his third season of play.
Collins’ contributions to the program were rewarded by being named one of four national finalists for the Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year award.
In 2020-21, the 'Cats opened Big Ten play 3-0 for the first time since the 1967-68 season and earned a No. 19 ranking from the AP. NU recorded a 79-65 win over No. 4 Michigan State on Dec. 20, it's first win over a top-five opponent since beating the Spartans in 1979. Later that week, the Wildcats knocked off No. 23 Ohio State, 71-70.
The 2015-16 campaign saw the Wildcats establish a then school regular-season record 20 wins, including eight in Big Ten play. Three of the Big Ten wins were by 20 or more points, marking the first time a Northwestern team posted three league wins by 20+ points since the 1943-44 season.
The Wildcats posted a 10-game winning streak—just the second double-figure winning streak all-time at NU—en route to a 13-1 start to the season, matching the school record for the top 14-game opening stretch in school history. The squad also notched a school-record 13-game home winning streak spanning the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
Northwestern ranked sixth in the nation with a 1.59 assist-to-turnover ratio paced by McIntosh who recorded a school single-season record 213 assists. The total blew away the previous record of 157 set by Tim Doyle in 2006-07. McIntosh earned honorable mention All-Big Ten distinction along with senior Tre Demps.
Collins’ second season with the Wildcats saw the young team continue to improve throughout the season. Despite a stretch of heartbreaking losses, Northwestern showed the resilience to bounce back late in the year to post four straight Big Ten victories and five of six.
Despite being without the services of leading returning scorer JerShon Cobb for a good portion of the season, the ’Cats came together during their late-season surge. Three of the team’s top six scorers were true freshmen, including McIntosh who set the school freshman record with 150 assists to go along with an average of 11.4 points per game en route to being named to the five-member Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
Demps and Alex Olah both earned honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition. Olah became the school’s career leader in blocked shots in just three seasons and ranked third in the Big Ten with seven double-doubles.
Collins won his debut as a head coach, notching a 72-55 victory over Eastern Illinois Nov. 9. He traversed the ‘Cats through a grinding Big Ten schedule, including earning his first conference triumph at home against 23rd-ranked Illinois Jan. 12.
Northwestern’s impressive string of road success began Jan. 18 at Indiana before the Wildcats earned a 65-56 win at 14th-ranked Wisconsin. The loss was just the fifth by an unranked Big Ten team in 73 games during Bo Ryan’s tenure in Madison. The winning ways continued three days later when the ‘Cats notched a one-point win at Minnesota, marking NU’s first three-game road winning streak since 1960.
Even though second-leading scorer Cobb was lost to injury late in the season, the Wildcats finished the campaign strong, defeating Purdue on the road to wrap up the regular season before upsetting sixth-seeded Iowa in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament.
The Wildcats were greatly improved on the defensive end under Collins’ guidance, holding four of their Big Ten opponents below 30 percent shooting in a game. NU allowed a mere 63.3 points per game in conference play to rank second in the league. Meanwhile, the team’s .419 opponents field goal percentage ranked third in the Big Ten.
Collins came to Evanston after serving on the coaching staff at Duke since July 22, 2000. He was promoted to Associate Head Coach in the summer of 2008. During Collins’ 13 seasons on the Blue Devils’ staff, Duke posted an overall record of 385-77 while recording eight ACC tournament championships, four ACC regular season titles, eight in-season tournament titles and national championships in 2001 and 2010.
Collins worked primarily with backcourt players during his time at Duke and tutored All-Americans Jason Williams, Mike Dunleavy, Chris Duhon, J.J. Redick, Gerald Henderson, DeMarcus Nelson, Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Austin Rivers, in addition to NBA draft picks Daniel Ewing, Kyrie Irving and Kyle Singler.
Collins also served as a court coach and scout for Mike Krzyzewski, assisting the USA Basketball Senior National Team staff with on-court duties as well as game preparation from 2006-12, including during the program’s gold-medal performances at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2010 FIBA World Championships and 2012 London Olympics.
In his first season as a coach at Duke, the Blue Devils won the 2001 national championship with an 82-72 victory over Arizona. Along the way, Williams earned unanimous first-team All-America and National Player of the Year honors by the NABC. Duhon, a freshman under Collins’ tutelage in 2001, was named the ACC Rookie of the Year.
The following year, the Blue Devils posted a 31-4 record, won the ACC tournament for the fourth-consecutive season and were ranked No. 1 in the nation in the final Associated Press poll. Williams earned National Player of the Year honors for the second-consecutive year.
During the 2002-03 season, Duke posted a 26-7 record, a fifth-consecutive ACC tournament championship. One year later, Duke went 31-6 and returned to the Final Four for the second time in Collins’ coaching career. Two of his backcourt players, Duhon and Redick, earned All-America and All-ACC recognition.
Collins helped the Blue Devils to a 26-7 overall slate that included the ACC tournament crown in 2004-05. Redick was named the National Player of the Year.
In the 2005-06 season, Collins watched his star pupil, Redick, rank second in the NCAA with a scoring average of 26.8 points per game, while setting the Duke and ACC career scoring records and the NCAA career three-point field goals record. He was a consensus National Player of the Year and a unanimous first-team All-American for the 32-4 Blue Devils.
In 2007-08, Collins helped Nelson elevate his game and garner several honors along the way. Nelson was tabbed the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and also earned NABC third-team All-America, first-team All-ACC and ACC All-Defensive team honors. In 2008-09, Collins guided Henderson to All-America and first-team All-ACC honors. Collins also coached Scheyer in his transition to point guard late in the year, which led to an ACC tournament title.
Collins helped lead Duke to its second national championship during his tenure in 2009-10 as the Blue Devils defeated Butler, 61-59, in the NCAA championship game. Collins coached the top-scoring trio in the NCAA as guards Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith combined to score 53.3 points per game. Scheyer was named a second-team All-America, Singler was the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player and Smith was the NCAA Tournament South Region MOP. All three players were also selected All-ACC and to ACC all-tournament teams while leading the Blue Devils to ACC tournament and ACC regular season championships.
The 2010-11 season marked the third-straight 30-win campaign for the Blue Devils. Collins coached a pair of senior all-stars for the Blue Devils, Singler and Smith. Singler earned first-team All-ACC honors, while Smith led the ACC in scoring at 20.6 points per game to claim ACC Player of the Year and first-team All-America honors.
In 2011-12, Collins was integral in the development of a backcourt that featured NABC third-team All-American Austin Rivers. Rivers averaged a team-high 15.5 points per game to become just the third Duke freshman to lead the team in scoring. He also was tabbed as the ACC Rookie of the Year and was just the seventh freshman in league history to earn first-team all-conference honors.
Before returning to his alma mater, Collins served as an assistant coach at Seton Hall for two years with Tommy Amaker. In 1999-2000, Collins was part of a staff that guided the Pirates to a 22-10 record and the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. Prior to Seton Hall, Collins spent the 1997-98 season as an assistant with the WNBA’s Detroit Shock.
As a player, Collins played professional basketball in Finland during the 1996-97 season, leading the league in scoring.
While at Duke, Collins was a team captain as a senior and four-year letterman from 1993-96. He ranks 11th among Duke’s all-time leaders in three-point field goals (209) and 10th in three-point field goal attempts (539). Collins averaged 9.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a collegian. He earned second-team All-ACC honors as a senior.
Collins was a member of a Duke senior class that had 83 total victories, three NCAA Tournament bids, one Final Four appearance, two ACC regular season championships, an ACC tournament title, and two in-season tournament championships (the 1992 Maui Classic and the 1995 Carrs Great Alaska Shootout).
As a senior in 1996, Collins had his most productive season, leading the Blue Devils in three-point field goals (79), three-point percentage (.441), free throws made (83) and attempted (115), assists (132) and steals (37). Collins also ranked second on the team by averaging 16.3 points per game. He was among the ACC leaders in scoring (10th), assists (fourth), field goal percentage (.467, seventh) and free throw percentage (.722, 10th).
Collins is the son of former NBA All-Star, NBA Head Coach and Olympian, Doug Collins, who also spent many years as a television analyst for ESPN. A native of nearby Northbrook, Ill., Collins is a 1996 graduate of Duke with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.
Collins and his wife, Kim, have two children: Ryan and Kate. Ryan is a Northwestern graduate who was a manager for the program from 2021-25.
