Northwestern University Athletics
Saturday, March 2
Evanston, Ill.
4:30 p.m. CT
Northwestern
vs
Iowa
Photo by: Griffin Quinn / Northwestern Athletics
Northwestern Hosts Iowa, Will Retire Billy McKinney's Jersey at Halftime
3/1/2024 12:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. – Winners of five of its last six games and three straight, third-place Northwestern hosts Iowa in its penultimate home game of the regular season at 4:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 2. Northwestern will retire Billy McKinney's No. 30 jersey at halftime, becoming the first student-athlete in University history to have their jersey retired. The game will air on BTN with Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Brian Butch (analyst) on the call, while Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Billy McKinney (analyst) will have the radio call on ESPN 1000 and SiriusXM 161/195.
Northwestern (20-8, 11-6 B1G) grinded out a 68-61 win at Maryland on Wednesday night (Feb. 28), marking the team's fifth NET Quad 1 win this season (third-most in the Big Ten). Northwestern reached 20 or more wins in a season for the second-straight campaign and sixth time in program history. Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins has guided the team to four seasons of 20-plus wins (2015-16, 2016-17, 2022-23, 2023-24).
Nick Martinelli scored a career-high 27 points (9-for-14 fg, 9-for-10 ft) and grabbed seven rebounds. He became the first Wildcat to score 27-plus points without making a 3-pointer since Dererk Pardon (28) on December 30, 2015, at Nebraska.
Boo Buie scored 12 points and dished out five assists while making NU's only two 3-pointers of the night. It marks the first time the 'Cats won a game when making two or fewer three-pointers since at least 2010-11. The grad student is Northwestern's all-time leading scorer with 2,062 points and is the only high-major player in the country averaging at least 18 points and five assists per game this season.
Brooks Barnhizer tallied his seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Barnhizer went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line for the second time this season (November 6 vs Binghamton). His seven double-doubles this season are tied for the fifth-most by a Wildcat in a season since 1996-97.
Filling in for Ryan Langborg, sophomore walk-on Blake Smith earned his first career start and contributed career highs of 27 minutes, six points, and five rebounds.
Northwestern is 8-0 in Big Ten home games this season, surpassing the 1967-68 team (7-0) for the best start in program history. Dating back to last season, the Wildcats have won 11 of their last 12 conference home games, their best stretch since going 12-1 over the 1932-33, 1933-34, 1934-35 seasons. The Wildcats have recorded 14 wins inside Welsh-Ryan Arena this year, one shy from tying the 2009-10 team for the single-season program record of 15 wins.
NU and Iowa will meet for the 186th time, with the Hawkeyes holding a 124-61 lead in the all-time series. The 'Cats won the last meeting 80-60 inside Welsh-Ryan Arena on Feb. 19, 2023.
Iowa enters Saturday's contest at 17-12 (9-9 B1G), seeking its fourth win in five games. Peyton Sandfort paces the Hawkeyes offensively, averaging 15.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
Northwestern travels to Michigan State on Wednesday, March 6, for its last Big Ten road trip. Tip from East Lansing is set for 6 p.m. CT on BTN and WGN Radio 720.
Northwestern (20-8, 11-6 B1G) grinded out a 68-61 win at Maryland on Wednesday night (Feb. 28), marking the team's fifth NET Quad 1 win this season (third-most in the Big Ten). Northwestern reached 20 or more wins in a season for the second-straight campaign and sixth time in program history. Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins has guided the team to four seasons of 20-plus wins (2015-16, 2016-17, 2022-23, 2023-24).
Nick Martinelli scored a career-high 27 points (9-for-14 fg, 9-for-10 ft) and grabbed seven rebounds. He became the first Wildcat to score 27-plus points without making a 3-pointer since Dererk Pardon (28) on December 30, 2015, at Nebraska.
Boo Buie scored 12 points and dished out five assists while making NU's only two 3-pointers of the night. It marks the first time the 'Cats won a game when making two or fewer three-pointers since at least 2010-11. The grad student is Northwestern's all-time leading scorer with 2,062 points and is the only high-major player in the country averaging at least 18 points and five assists per game this season.
Brooks Barnhizer tallied his seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Barnhizer went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line for the second time this season (November 6 vs Binghamton). His seven double-doubles this season are tied for the fifth-most by a Wildcat in a season since 1996-97.
Filling in for Ryan Langborg, sophomore walk-on Blake Smith earned his first career start and contributed career highs of 27 minutes, six points, and five rebounds.
Northwestern is 8-0 in Big Ten home games this season, surpassing the 1967-68 team (7-0) for the best start in program history. Dating back to last season, the Wildcats have won 11 of their last 12 conference home games, their best stretch since going 12-1 over the 1932-33, 1933-34, 1934-35 seasons. The Wildcats have recorded 14 wins inside Welsh-Ryan Arena this year, one shy from tying the 2009-10 team for the single-season program record of 15 wins.
NU and Iowa will meet for the 186th time, with the Hawkeyes holding a 124-61 lead in the all-time series. The 'Cats won the last meeting 80-60 inside Welsh-Ryan Arena on Feb. 19, 2023.
Iowa enters Saturday's contest at 17-12 (9-9 B1G), seeking its fourth win in five games. Peyton Sandfort paces the Hawkeyes offensively, averaging 15.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
Northwestern travels to Michigan State on Wednesday, March 6, for its last Big Ten road trip. Tip from East Lansing is set for 6 p.m. CT on BTN and WGN Radio 720.
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