Saturday, February 1
Evanston, Ill.
1 p.m. CT
Northwestern
12-10,3-8Big Ten
69
vs
75
#17 Wisconsin
17-5,7-4Big Ten
1
2
F
Wisconsin
25
50
75
Northwestern
31
38
69
Photo by: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics
‘Cats Come Up Short against No. 17 Wisconsin, 75-69
2/1/2025 5:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. - No. 17 Wisconsin scored 50 second-half points after trailing at halftime en route to a razor-thin 75-69 win over Northwestern on Saturday afternoon inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.
"Just heartbroken for my team today," Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins said. "I thought we left it all on the line. Sometimes, the hard part about the game is you can play with an effort worthy of winning, and it doesn't happen for you."
The Wildcats (12-10, 3-8 Big Ten) held Wisconsin (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) to a season-low 25 first half points, while forcing nine turnovers.
Graduate student Jalen Leach scored a team-high 23 points for the second consecutive contest, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, while pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out seven assists with zero turnovers. Leach became the first Big Ten player to post 20+ points, 7+ rebounds, 7+ assists, and 5+ threes in a game against a ranked opponent since Denzel Valentine (Michigan State) did so on Feb. 12, 2016. He had the seventh 20+ point, 7+ rebound, and 7+ assist performance by a Wildcat since 2005-06. The Nyack, New York native has scored 20+ points in consecutive games for the first time this season and led Northwestern in scoring for the fifth time in his career. Leach's five treys tied his career-high.
"I feel like the game is kind of slowing down for me," Leach said. "I watch a lot of film, so I've seen the mistakes that I made in the past and ways I can be aggressive looking for my shot, looking for (graduate student Matthew Nicholson) the roll, and stuff like that."
Junior Nick Martinelli, who ranked third in the Big Ten averaging 19.6 points entering the contest, notched 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Martinelli had his fifth 15+ point game against a ranked conference opponent of the season, which is tied for the most in the nation. He had his 19th 15+ point game of the season, which is tied for the most in the Big Ten and has scored 15+ points in a career-best seven consecutive contests.
Graduate student Ty Berry went 4-of-8 from 3-point distance, totaling 14 points. Berry has made 2+ threes in six consecutive games for the first time in his career. Leach and Berry became the first duo of Northwestern players to both knock down 4+ threes in a game since Jan. 31, 2024 when Boo Buie and Berry did so against Purdue.
Graduate student Matthew Nicholson registered 10 points, all of which came in the second half, six rebounds, and two blocks.
The 'Cats were without senior Brooks Barnhizer, who averaged 17.1 points (8th in Big Ten, 8.8 rebounds (4th), 4.2 assists (10th), 2.3 steals (2nd) and 1.1 blocks (14th) per game. Collins announced that Barnhizer will miss the remainder of the season with a foot injury.
Northwestern's 69 points were its most against Wisconsin since Jan. 18, 2022, when it scored 76. The Wildcats had just five turnovers, their fourth time having five or fewer turnovers in a game this season.
Northwestern converted 11-of-28 (39.3%) of its three-point attempts. The Wildcats have made 10+ threes in three of their last four games after failing to make 10+ threes in the season's first 18 contests. Northwestern registered 16 assists on its 25 made shots.
Northwestern jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in the game's opening three minutes. Wisconsin converted just 2 of its first 16 field goal attempts but ultimately fought back into the contest, taking the lead for the first time with over five minutes remaining in the first half. The 'Cats took the lead back and entered halftime up 31-25.
The Badgers shot 14-of-25 (56.0%) from the field and 8-of-14 (57.1%) from three in their 50-point second half.
With 10 minutes remaining in the contest, the score was 50-50. Wisconsin took the lead less than a minute later and held onto it for the remainder of the contest.
"Holding them to 25 points was huge in the first half, and we just couldn't sustain it in the second," Collins said. "I thought we ran out of gas a little bit, but I thought the crowd was great. The energy was great. We fought, and I can't fault our guys' effort."
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.
"Just heartbroken for my team today," Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins said. "I thought we left it all on the line. Sometimes, the hard part about the game is you can play with an effort worthy of winning, and it doesn't happen for you."
The Wildcats (12-10, 3-8 Big Ten) held Wisconsin (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) to a season-low 25 first half points, while forcing nine turnovers.
Graduate student Jalen Leach scored a team-high 23 points for the second consecutive contest, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, while pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out seven assists with zero turnovers. Leach became the first Big Ten player to post 20+ points, 7+ rebounds, 7+ assists, and 5+ threes in a game against a ranked opponent since Denzel Valentine (Michigan State) did so on Feb. 12, 2016. He had the seventh 20+ point, 7+ rebound, and 7+ assist performance by a Wildcat since 2005-06. The Nyack, New York native has scored 20+ points in consecutive games for the first time this season and led Northwestern in scoring for the fifth time in his career. Leach's five treys tied his career-high.
"I feel like the game is kind of slowing down for me," Leach said. "I watch a lot of film, so I've seen the mistakes that I made in the past and ways I can be aggressive looking for my shot, looking for (graduate student Matthew Nicholson) the roll, and stuff like that."
Junior Nick Martinelli, who ranked third in the Big Ten averaging 19.6 points entering the contest, notched 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Martinelli had his fifth 15+ point game against a ranked conference opponent of the season, which is tied for the most in the nation. He had his 19th 15+ point game of the season, which is tied for the most in the Big Ten and has scored 15+ points in a career-best seven consecutive contests.
Graduate student Ty Berry went 4-of-8 from 3-point distance, totaling 14 points. Berry has made 2+ threes in six consecutive games for the first time in his career. Leach and Berry became the first duo of Northwestern players to both knock down 4+ threes in a game since Jan. 31, 2024 when Boo Buie and Berry did so against Purdue.
Graduate student Matthew Nicholson registered 10 points, all of which came in the second half, six rebounds, and two blocks.
The 'Cats were without senior Brooks Barnhizer, who averaged 17.1 points (8th in Big Ten, 8.8 rebounds (4th), 4.2 assists (10th), 2.3 steals (2nd) and 1.1 blocks (14th) per game. Collins announced that Barnhizer will miss the remainder of the season with a foot injury.
Northwestern's 69 points were its most against Wisconsin since Jan. 18, 2022, when it scored 76. The Wildcats had just five turnovers, their fourth time having five or fewer turnovers in a game this season.
Northwestern converted 11-of-28 (39.3%) of its three-point attempts. The Wildcats have made 10+ threes in three of their last four games after failing to make 10+ threes in the season's first 18 contests. Northwestern registered 16 assists on its 25 made shots.
Northwestern jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in the game's opening three minutes. Wisconsin converted just 2 of its first 16 field goal attempts but ultimately fought back into the contest, taking the lead for the first time with over five minutes remaining in the first half. The 'Cats took the lead back and entered halftime up 31-25.
The Badgers shot 14-of-25 (56.0%) from the field and 8-of-14 (57.1%) from three in their 50-point second half.
With 10 minutes remaining in the contest, the score was 50-50. Wisconsin took the lead less than a minute later and held onto it for the remainder of the contest.
"Holding them to 25 points was huge in the first half, and we just couldn't sustain it in the second," Collins said. "I thought we ran out of gas a little bit, but I thought the crowd was great. The energy was great. We fought, and I can't fault our guys' effort."
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.
Team Stats
Wisc
NU
FG%
.415
.424
3FG%
.406
.393
FT%
.857
.889
RB
38
29
TO
10
5
STL
2
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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