Sunday, January 5
West Lafayette, Ind.
1 p.m. CT
Northwestern
at
#20 Purdue
Photo by: David Dermer
Wildcats Complete Two-Game Road Swing at No. 20 Purdue
1/4/2025 3:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. – The Northwestern men's basketball team completes its two-game road swing to begin 2025 by traveling to face No. 20 Purdue in West Lafayette for the only meeting between the two teams this season at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, Jan. 5. The game will air on BTN with Dave Revsine (play-by-play) and Stephen Bardo (analyst) on the call and can be heard on The Varsity Network, WGNRadio.com and SiriusXM Channel 372 with Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Billy McKinney (analyst) describing the action.
Northwestern is taking on an AP ranked opponent for the second time this season after defeating then-No. 19 Illinois 70-66 on Dec. 6 and is 7-5 over its last 12 games against ranked opponents. Over the last three seasons, the Wildcats' seven wins against ranked Big Ten opponents are the most in the conference.
The Wildcats (10-4, 1-2 Big Ten) dropped their last contest on the road at Penn State 84-80 on Thursday night (Jan. 2) in a game that featured 14 lead changes and 11 ties. A Northwestern basket which tied the game on a goaltending call with 20 seconds remaining was ultimately overturned via official video review. Brooks Barnhizer posted his seventh straight double-double and flirted with a triple-double by recording 20 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and one block. Nick Martinelli logged 18 points and converted a season-best eight free throws. Northwestern was saddled with foul trouble for the duration of the game as Jalen Leach, Ty Berry, Barnhizer and Justin Mullins finished the game with four personal fouls.
Penn State shot 36-for-45 (80.0%) from the free throw line and attempted more foul shots than field goals (22-44) in the game. The Nittany Lions 45 free throw attempts were the most in a regulation length Big Ten Conference game since Nebraska attempted 48 free throws against Penn State on Feb. 20, 2014. The 'Cats scored 25 bench points, their most since the season-opener against Lehigh (30) on Nov. 4. First-years Angelo Ciaravino and K.J. Windham scored eight points each.
The duo of Barnhizer (20.1) and Martinelli (20.1) are the only teammates in the country averaging over 20 points per game this season. Barnhizer's seven consecutive double-doubles is the longest such streak by a Big Ten guard in at least 30 seasons. He holds the longest active double-double streak in the country, which is tied with Maxime Raynaud of Stanford (11/4-11/26) for the longest streak by any player in the country this season. His seven straight double-doubles are believed to be the most by a Wildcat all-time and the most since three-time All-Big Ten First Team selection Evan Eschmeyer had six in 1997. The Lafayette, Ind. product is averaging 20.1 points (2nd in B1G), 9.6 rebounds (2nd), 4.4 assists (11th), 2.7 steals (1st) and 1.1 blocks (20th) per game. He is 23 points away from becoming the 42nd player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
Martinelli is tied for second in the conference in scoring and ranks 16th nationally while shooting 51.9% from the floor, which places 12th in the conference. He is one of only five high-major players in the country this season (along with teammates Brooks Barnhizer) average 20+ points and 5+ rebounds (5.7). He has scored 20+ points in seven games this season, the most by a Northwestern forward since Vic Law had seven such games in 2018-19.
Grad transfer Jalen Leach is third on the team averaging 13.6 points per game and is tied for 13th in the conference recording 1.4 steals per game. Berry is also averaging 1.4 swipes per contest. As a team, Northwestern ranks third in the conference posting 8.8 steals per game.
As a team, the Wildcats are averaging 9.4 turnovers lost per game, which is the fewest in the Big Ten, and ranks 10th fewest nationally. Northwestern's defense is allowing an average of 65.3 points per game, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten and 44th nationally. According to KenPom, Northwestern's defense ranks 21st nationally in adjusted efficiency and 27th in steal percentage. The 'Cats rank third in the Big Ten averaging 8.8 steals per game. Northwestern has forced its opponent to turn the ball over 15+ times in each of its last four games. Northwestern's 1.61 assist/turnover ratio ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 26th nationally.
The Wildcats have scored 70+ points in six straight games for the first time since 2021, and tallied 17+ assists in four straight games for the first time since 2016.
Northwestern has won two of the last three in the series against the Boilermakers and are trying to win three of the last four games for the first time since 2013-14. Both of Northwestern's last two wins over the nation's No. 1 ranked team have come against Purdue, in back-to-back games, both inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. Northwestern last defeated a ranked team on the road on Jan. 8, 2023, at No. 15 Indiana, 84-83.
The Boilermakers (10-4, 2-1 Big Ten) defeated Minnesota in Minneapolis 81-61 on Thursday (Jan. 2) night. Trey Kaufman-Renn leads the team averaging 18.2 points and 6.4 boards per game. Braden Smith leads the team and the conference posting 8.4 assists per game.
The Wildcats return to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday, Jan. 12 against Michigan State in a game that will be played at either 11 a.m. CT or 3:30 p.m. CT (game time will be announced soon). The game will air on FOX and WGN Radio 720.
Northwestern is taking on an AP ranked opponent for the second time this season after defeating then-No. 19 Illinois 70-66 on Dec. 6 and is 7-5 over its last 12 games against ranked opponents. Over the last three seasons, the Wildcats' seven wins against ranked Big Ten opponents are the most in the conference.
The Wildcats (10-4, 1-2 Big Ten) dropped their last contest on the road at Penn State 84-80 on Thursday night (Jan. 2) in a game that featured 14 lead changes and 11 ties. A Northwestern basket which tied the game on a goaltending call with 20 seconds remaining was ultimately overturned via official video review. Brooks Barnhizer posted his seventh straight double-double and flirted with a triple-double by recording 20 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and one block. Nick Martinelli logged 18 points and converted a season-best eight free throws. Northwestern was saddled with foul trouble for the duration of the game as Jalen Leach, Ty Berry, Barnhizer and Justin Mullins finished the game with four personal fouls.
Penn State shot 36-for-45 (80.0%) from the free throw line and attempted more foul shots than field goals (22-44) in the game. The Nittany Lions 45 free throw attempts were the most in a regulation length Big Ten Conference game since Nebraska attempted 48 free throws against Penn State on Feb. 20, 2014. The 'Cats scored 25 bench points, their most since the season-opener against Lehigh (30) on Nov. 4. First-years Angelo Ciaravino and K.J. Windham scored eight points each.
The duo of Barnhizer (20.1) and Martinelli (20.1) are the only teammates in the country averaging over 20 points per game this season. Barnhizer's seven consecutive double-doubles is the longest such streak by a Big Ten guard in at least 30 seasons. He holds the longest active double-double streak in the country, which is tied with Maxime Raynaud of Stanford (11/4-11/26) for the longest streak by any player in the country this season. His seven straight double-doubles are believed to be the most by a Wildcat all-time and the most since three-time All-Big Ten First Team selection Evan Eschmeyer had six in 1997. The Lafayette, Ind. product is averaging 20.1 points (2nd in B1G), 9.6 rebounds (2nd), 4.4 assists (11th), 2.7 steals (1st) and 1.1 blocks (20th) per game. He is 23 points away from becoming the 42nd player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
Martinelli is tied for second in the conference in scoring and ranks 16th nationally while shooting 51.9% from the floor, which places 12th in the conference. He is one of only five high-major players in the country this season (along with teammates Brooks Barnhizer) average 20+ points and 5+ rebounds (5.7). He has scored 20+ points in seven games this season, the most by a Northwestern forward since Vic Law had seven such games in 2018-19.
Grad transfer Jalen Leach is third on the team averaging 13.6 points per game and is tied for 13th in the conference recording 1.4 steals per game. Berry is also averaging 1.4 swipes per contest. As a team, Northwestern ranks third in the conference posting 8.8 steals per game.
As a team, the Wildcats are averaging 9.4 turnovers lost per game, which is the fewest in the Big Ten, and ranks 10th fewest nationally. Northwestern's defense is allowing an average of 65.3 points per game, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten and 44th nationally. According to KenPom, Northwestern's defense ranks 21st nationally in adjusted efficiency and 27th in steal percentage. The 'Cats rank third in the Big Ten averaging 8.8 steals per game. Northwestern has forced its opponent to turn the ball over 15+ times in each of its last four games. Northwestern's 1.61 assist/turnover ratio ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 26th nationally.
The Wildcats have scored 70+ points in six straight games for the first time since 2021, and tallied 17+ assists in four straight games for the first time since 2016.
Northwestern has won two of the last three in the series against the Boilermakers and are trying to win three of the last four games for the first time since 2013-14. Both of Northwestern's last two wins over the nation's No. 1 ranked team have come against Purdue, in back-to-back games, both inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. Northwestern last defeated a ranked team on the road on Jan. 8, 2023, at No. 15 Indiana, 84-83.
The Boilermakers (10-4, 2-1 Big Ten) defeated Minnesota in Minneapolis 81-61 on Thursday (Jan. 2) night. Trey Kaufman-Renn leads the team averaging 18.2 points and 6.4 boards per game. Braden Smith leads the team and the conference posting 8.4 assists per game.
The Wildcats return to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday, Jan. 12 against Michigan State in a game that will be played at either 11 a.m. CT or 3:30 p.m. CT (game time will be announced soon). The game will air on FOX and WGN Radio 720.
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