Saturday, December 21
Evanston, Ill.
3 p.m. CT
Northwestern
9-3,1-1Big Ten
84
vs
64
DePaul
8-4,0-2Big East
1
2
F
DePaul
27
37
64
Northwestern
37
47
84
Photo by: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics
Barnhizer’s Fifth Straight Double-Double Leads Wildcats to Win over DePaul
12/21/2024 8:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. - Propelled by a season-best 20-0 run and senior Brooks Barnhizer's fifth consecutive double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, Northwestern defeated crosstown rival DePaul 84-64 on Saturday afternoon inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Wildcats (9-3, 1-1 Big Ten) forced 18 turnovers by the Blue Demons (8-4, 0-2 Big Ten), turning them into 25 points to start the season 9-3 or better for the third straight season. The Wildcats have now won seven of their eight games against DePaul.
In addition to his 21 points and 12 rebounds, Barnhizer also logged six assists, four steals, and three blocks, becoming the fourth Division I player and second high-major player since 2005-06 to post these numbers in a game. He is the first Big Ten guard to post five consecutive double-doubles since Ohio State's Evan Turner in 2009. In the process, he registered his 18th career double-double, tying Dererk Pardon (2015-19) for the second most double-doubles by a Wildcat since 1996-97. He was named the Fisher-McGrath Award recepient, given annually to the most valuable player in the Northwestern-DePaul game.
The Wildcats had a season-high 14 steals, its first time recording 14+ steals in a game since Jan. 8, 2023 when they defeated Indiana. This marked the fourth time in the Chris Collins era that Northwestern had 14+ steals. The 'Cats also shot 34-of-64 from the field (53.1%), its second-best percentage of the season, and drained 5-of-12 attempts from three-point range (41.7%), its first time converting over 40% of its threes in back-to-back games this season.
"You have to keep getting better," Collins said. "Our league is too good. Coaches are too good. I've looked at the teams that we've had that have done really well, (and) as time has gone on, we keep improving."
After the Blue Demons (8-4) tallied the game's first points, Northwestern responded with 20 unanswered points. Martinelli opened the scoring for the 'Cats with a signature hook shot and followed it up with an assist for a graduate student Ty Berry three, opening the floodgates for the hosts. Northwestern converted on its first nine field goal attempts while forcing six turnovers during the run. The 'Cats did not miss a shot until the 13:40 mark in the first half.
"It kind of just solidified that we were ready to play," Barnhizer said. "We've had some trouble with how we've started early in the season, so it definitely was better to come out and throw that first punch."
By the eight-minute mark in the first half, the Northwestern lead remained as much as 19 before DePaul cut the lead to 10 heading into halftime with a 37-27 score. By halftime, the 'Cats had already forced 14 turnovers.
Barnhizer opened the scoring for the 'Cats in the second half, as he would go on to score 16 of his 21 points in the latter half, which Collins called a "takeover". Northwestern soon expanded its lead back up to 18 points with a 10-0 run, half of which came from Barnhizer, from 16:29 to 13:11 in the second half.
The Blue Demons cut into the lead again, to which the 'Cats responded with a 9-0 run midway through the half, and ultimately, DePaul found themselves at a single digit deficit with a 72-64 score with under four minutes remaining.
Three consecutive Martinelli mid-range baskets jump started a 12-0 run for Northwestern, which put the game to rest as the Wildcats started the season 7-0 at home for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Northwestern hosts Northeastern next weekend on Sunday, Dec. 29 at 12:30 p.m. CT inside Welsh-Ryan Arena for the Wildcats' final non-conference matchup of the season. The game will air on Peacock and WGN Radio 720.Gallery: (12-21-2024) Men's Basketball vs. DePaul
The Wildcats (9-3, 1-1 Big Ten) forced 18 turnovers by the Blue Demons (8-4, 0-2 Big Ten), turning them into 25 points to start the season 9-3 or better for the third straight season. The Wildcats have now won seven of their eight games against DePaul.
"We held them to 64 points, and we turned them over 18 times, and a lot of those steals turned into transition baskets, which — for us — is huge," Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins said. "That's been something we've really talked about as a team. We're a really good defensive team. … If we can get to 84 (points), we'll be hard to beat because we usually defend really well."Business Handled. pic.twitter.com/SkCbOkzRck
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) December 21, 2024
In addition to his 21 points and 12 rebounds, Barnhizer also logged six assists, four steals, and three blocks, becoming the fourth Division I player and second high-major player since 2005-06 to post these numbers in a game. He is the first Big Ten guard to post five consecutive double-doubles since Ohio State's Evan Turner in 2009. In the process, he registered his 18th career double-double, tying Dererk Pardon (2015-19) for the second most double-doubles by a Wildcat since 1996-97. He was named the Fisher-McGrath Award recepient, given annually to the most valuable player in the Northwestern-DePaul game.
Junior Nick Martinelli had a game-high 23 points, converting 10 of his 19 field goal attempts. It was his seventh game with 20+ points this season, becoming the 18th Northwestern player since 2005-06 to have seven or more such games in a season. Graduate student Jalen Leach added 13 points and tied his career-high with five steals, while fellow graduate student Matthew Nicholson put up 14 points and tied his career-high with three steals.Your Fisher-McGrath Award Recipient: Brooks Barnhizer ????? pic.twitter.com/OhWVbWinVP
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) December 21, 2024
The Wildcats had a season-high 14 steals, its first time recording 14+ steals in a game since Jan. 8, 2023 when they defeated Indiana. This marked the fourth time in the Chris Collins era that Northwestern had 14+ steals. The 'Cats also shot 34-of-64 from the field (53.1%), its second-best percentage of the season, and drained 5-of-12 attempts from three-point range (41.7%), its first time converting over 40% of its threes in back-to-back games this season.
"You have to keep getting better," Collins said. "Our league is too good. Coaches are too good. I've looked at the teams that we've had that have done really well, (and) as time has gone on, we keep improving."
After the Blue Demons (8-4) tallied the game's first points, Northwestern responded with 20 unanswered points. Martinelli opened the scoring for the 'Cats with a signature hook shot and followed it up with an assist for a graduate student Ty Berry three, opening the floodgates for the hosts. Northwestern converted on its first nine field goal attempts while forcing six turnovers during the run. The 'Cats did not miss a shot until the 13:40 mark in the first half.
"It kind of just solidified that we were ready to play," Barnhizer said. "We've had some trouble with how we've started early in the season, so it definitely was better to come out and throw that first punch."
By the eight-minute mark in the first half, the Northwestern lead remained as much as 19 before DePaul cut the lead to 10 heading into halftime with a 37-27 score. By halftime, the 'Cats had already forced 14 turnovers.
Barnhizer opened the scoring for the 'Cats in the second half, as he would go on to score 16 of his 21 points in the latter half, which Collins called a "takeover". Northwestern soon expanded its lead back up to 18 points with a 10-0 run, half of which came from Barnhizer, from 16:29 to 13:11 in the second half.
The Blue Demons cut into the lead again, to which the 'Cats responded with a 9-0 run midway through the half, and ultimately, DePaul found themselves at a single digit deficit with a 72-64 score with under four minutes remaining.
Three consecutive Martinelli mid-range baskets jump started a 12-0 run for Northwestern, which put the game to rest as the Wildcats started the season 7-0 at home for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Northwestern hosts Northeastern next weekend on Sunday, Dec. 29 at 12:30 p.m. CT inside Welsh-Ryan Arena for the Wildcats' final non-conference matchup of the season. The game will air on Peacock and WGN Radio 720.
Team Stats
DePaul
NU
FG%
.370
.531
3FG%
.444
.417
FT%
.800
.688
RB
33
30
TO
18
8
STL
7
14
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballC
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