College Hoops Top 50

Last Year: 22-12; 12-8, Third in the Big Ten Conference, lost in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament

Head Coach: Chris Collins (12th Year; 177-174 at Northwestern, with three NCAA Tournament appearances)

Projected Starting Lineup

G Jalen Leach – 6’4″, 200 – 5th-year Senior

G Ty Berry – 6’3″, 185 5th-year Senior

W Brooks Barnhizer – 6’6″, 230 Senior

F Nick Martinelli – 6’7″, 220 Junior

C Matthew Nicholson – 7’0″, 280 5th-year Senior

Experienced Reserves

G Jordan Clayton – 6’2″, 190 Sophomore

W Justin Mullins – 6’6″, 200 Junior

W Blake Smith – 6’6″, 190 Junior

F/C Luke Hunger – 6’10”, 260

C Keenan Fitzmorris – 7’0″, 260 5th-year Senior

Freshmen

G KJ Windham – 6’3″, 190

G Angelo Ciavarino – 6’6″, 195

F Blake Barkley – 6’7″, 220 (Redshirt)

It wasn’t so long ago that Northwestern was considered the genuine doormat of the Big Ten Conference. That reputation has been forever transformed. 

The program which had gone 111 years as a Division I program has now been to the Big Dance three times, including back-to-back appearances the last two seasons. The architect of all that success – head coach Chris Collins – is back, but the superstar who became the program’s backbone – point guard Boo Buie – has gone. Now, having achieved milestones upon milestones, Collins is out to prove that he can sustain success. 

You see, following their first trip to the NCAA’s, the Wildcats pretty much fell apart. Despite a talented and proven returning core, NU plummeted from 24 wins to a 15-17 record. Two years later, Northwestern won just eight games, and a significant number of fans were ready to see the school part ways from Collins. Now that he’s shown that his program can meet lofty expectations on a whole new level, the next challenge for Collins is to prove that his program can remain steady contenders. 

It’s just that, well, Buie remains gone, and he was the greatest player ever to play for the Wildcats. When their backs were against the wall, Buie always seemed to find a way to save the day. Northwestern returns a talented and still-rising core, though, and the expectation is that NU can keep challenging for postseason success even in an expanded B1G. 

The mantle of go-to guy has passed to Brooks Barnhizer, and that is a comfort to the folks inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. In a star-making junior campaign, Barnhizer earned Big Ten All-Defense accolades and emerged as a worthy co-star to Buie. The 6’7″ Barnhizer is a stat-sheet-stuffer whose complete array of skills proved invaluable last year as opposing defenders constantly threw the kitchen sink at Buie. Not only was his breakout just what the Wildcats needed, especially after the injury bug bit them late in the season, but Barnhizer actually kept getting better as the season wore on. Once the calendar turned to January, 2024, Barnhizer averaged 15.3 points on 38.5% shooting from the land of trey for the rest of the campaign. 

As befits a Northwestern student, Barnhizer has tremendous smarts on the court, and his combination of vision and unselfishness are a lubricant for every part of the team’s offense. He became an excellent secondary facilitator playing alongside Buie, and the guard skills which Barnhizer cultivated in high school make him a dangerous matchup. Without an obvious heir to replace Buie at the point, Barnhizer’s passing and comfort level creating opportunities for others are going to be keys to the NU offense – and he will have the ball in his hands constantly. As a scorer, Barnhizer does his best cooking from mid-range. Nimble, quick, and stronger each year, Barnhizer drives like he means it and ought to be the focal point of the offense in isolation when NU really needs a basket. His tenacity really shows up on the defensive end, where Barnhizer plays all-out and is hugely productive on the glass. He’s also become one of the Big Ten’s primary ballhawks; in addition to ranking third in the league in defensive rebounds, Barnhizer finished 14th in blocks and fifth in steals. For a Wildcat team which has long been acquainted with scoring droughts, the live-ball opportunities and steady stream of free throw chances Barnhizer generates are like cool water in the desert. 

It may have been cut short by injury, Ty Berry had been working on a breakout of his own last winter. A knee injury took Berry down in early February, but the veteran guard has attacked his rehabilitation this summer and will return as one of the biggest keys to Northwestern’s success this year. 

When he’s on, Berry can be a devastating deep threat. A 36.3% career shooter from downtown, Berry managed to set new bests with 55 makes and a sparkling 43.3% rate on triples despite missing NU’s final 11 contests last season. It was a huge upswing from 2022-23, when Berry had started every game and emerged as an invaluable perimeter defender but suffered through the worst shooting percentages of his career. One thing that has remained steady throughout his career is Berry’s defense. Over the past three seasons, Berry has absorbed a whole lot of assignments against the best scorers in the league and established his reputation as a very good defender. He’s added 78 thefts across 57 games the past two years, and like Barnhizer, Berry has helped NU transition from a positionally-sound outfit that doesn’t cause much mayhem into a considerably more disruptive crew. 

If he can return to last year’s form, Berry will be even more productive, because suddenly he is the veteran hand in the Wildcat backcourt. In previous seasons, Collins has not needed to utilize Berry as one of the team’s primary facilitators. This time around, Berry – who is a very capable passer but has played the off-guard role as he’s leveled up – could really alleviate some pressure on his teammates new and old by taking more turns helping to coordinate the offense. 

For the second straight spring, Collins has added a proven, playmaking guard from out east. If Jalen Leach can have another season like his first-team All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference performance last winter, it will go a long way towards stabilizing NU’s rotation. Last year’s model, Ryan Langborg, ended up the Wildcats’ third-leading scorer and a valuable facilitator – especially after Berry was lost. Now, Collins is hoping that Leach can step in and provide more of the same – and potentially, give NU a different dimension. Part of a standout quartet last year which led Fairfield to 24 victories, Leach nearly tripled his scoring average from his junior to his senior season. He also came into his own creating for the guys around him, and Leach proved highly dangerous in transition for a team that finished 13th in the country in steals. Running alongside Berry and Barnhizer, he’s looking to replicate that success and excitement. 

Always a strong shooter at the charity stripe, Leach finally started to deliver on that skill while the clock was running last year. He dropped in 46 three-balls at a 35.4% rate, and to top it off posted a career-best 89.5% mark (as did Berry) on 111 made freebies. What makes the improvements in his jumper so exciting is that Leach is also very comfortable slashing in from the wing, and he has both the size and speed to beat defenders to the rack. It’s possible that Collins will allow his Wildcats to ratchet up their attack in the open floor, as Barnhizer, Leach, and young scorer Nick Martinelli can all make things happen with a quick drive to through the paint. 

If Jalen Leach can have another season like his first-team All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference performance last winter, it will go a long way towards stabilizing NU’s rotation.

When Berry went down last February, Martinelli stepped up. Then a sophomore, he averaged 11.8 points and 6.3 boards over NU’s final 12 games, and after a summer of honing his perimeter skills and jumper, Collins is looking forward to even more from Martinelli’s junior campaign.

A rambunctious forward who seems to fit almost any lineup, Martinelli led the Wildcats in offensive rebounds last year and proved to be a very efficient scorer. With a slick lefty hook shot that he could get to even as defenders started looking for it, Martinelli is developing into a dangerous mid-range scorer. Given his willingness to get into the lane, if Martinelli can extend the range on his jumper consistently out beyond the three-point arc he will become truly difficult to guard. He ranked among the B1G’s top play-finishers, hitting 70.7% of his shots which came after a cut to the hoop, per Synergy Sports. If he can keep on following or – dare NU fans dream it? – exceeding the trajectory Barnhizer has been on, Martinelli will go a long way towards solidifying the Wildcats’ chances this winter. 

Over the past two seasons, Matthew Nicholson has absolutely feasted on the many good feeds NU’s playmakers have been handing out. The Wildcats’ biggest dude has converted 153 field goals since becoming a starter in 2022-23, and 96 of them have been flushes. He may not be the most dangerous shooter on the floor, but Nicholson is not without skills. He’s a very capable passer and outstanding screener who stays aware of what’s happening at both ends of the floor. As important as anything, Nicholson provides a full-size anchor for the NU defense, and he’s an effective rim protector who has finished top ten in the corn-fed Big Ten with 40 blocked shots each of the last two seasons. He would love to have added more to that tally last winter, but Nicholson joined Berry by finishing the season in street clothes following a serious foot injury at the beginning of March. Now that ‘the Beard’ is back and healthy, he’ll be counted on to remain a reliable presence in the paint; and if he can add a few more short jumpers, Collins will be quite pleased. 

Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks)

1.767 – Assists Per Turnover (5th)

0.292 – Free Throw Attempts Per FG Attempt (279th)

39.0% – Team 3FG Percentage (7th)

51.5 – Opponent Effective FG Percentage (242nd)

24.1% – Offensive Rebounding Rate (268th)

Nicholson will have to fight for all the best minutes this year, though, as both redshirt sophomore Luke Hunger and newly-arrived veteran Keenan Fitzmorris have arrived to strengthen the Wildcat frontcourt. In his first substantial action for NU, Hunger kicked in a couple of important performances. He scored in double figures three times during conference play, provided a couple of slick passes and a timely triple in a huge win over Purdue, and contributed a bit of physicality and all five of his fouls each time NU played the Boilermakers. Not to be discounted, the Wildcats went 5-1 when Hunger scored at least eight points – as he did in the NCAA Tournament, stepping in for Nicholson and putting up eight points, eight boards, and four assists to help beat Florida Atlantic and their star center Vladislav Goldin. He’s got real offensive potential, and Hunger understands the game well for a young big. If he can learn to effectively use his strength and size each and every game, Hunger will quickly lock in his place as the pivot of the future in Evanston, IL. 

In two years at Stanford, Fitzmorris never really got out of neutral; he played just 32 minutes across 17 games for the Cardinal. So, following an injury which wiped out his 2021-22 campaign, Fitzmorris headed east to Stony Brook. There, he was one of the more productive bigs in the Coastal Athletic Association for the past two seasons, and now Fitzmorris hopes to carry that momentum to NU. He gives the Wildcats a second legit seven-footer, and Fitzmorris better learned to use his length and soft hands while at Stony Brook. He can finish with either mitt, and though not the world’s most fluid athlete, Fitzmorris is assertive and deliberate around the basket. What’s more, he can face up and hit jumpers, and Fitzmorris is more comfortable and proven as a featured offensive option than either Nicholson or Hunger. He’s become a decent rim protector, worked to become a more imposing presence, and Fitzmorris understands the importance of positioning and active hands defensively. If he can hang against the Big Ten’s bigs, Fitzmorris has the skills to give Collins matchup options and a sneaky strong center spot.

The bench will be home to some hungry Wildcats looking for a chance to grow their roles. Former walk-on Blake Smith is an energetic guy who played well late in the year and came up with some of his biggest performances when things felt most wobbly in Evanston. He’s a rangy 6’6″ and has some bounce, which Smith shows off particularly on defense. He will try to and occasionally succeed in blocking shots, sticks his nose into any matchup, and uses the strength he has to bother scorers. The next step for Smith, who scored almost exclusively around the basket last year, will be to show some more confidence offensively. With a decent jumper added to his other good work, Smith could become a steady help to NU’s rotation. 

Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on

N Mississippi State/UNLV – November 29

@ Dayton – November 9

N Butler – November 28

N Georgia Tech – December 15

vs DePaul – December 21

They didn’t play much last winter, but big and little guards Justin Mullins and Jordan Clayton are hoping for their opportunity this fall. Mullins began with a promising freshman season at Denver before coming to Evanston. He’s big, quick, and has more of the functional length which could give NU some real advantages when guarding on the perimeter this year. He shot 36.5% from downtown as a Pioneer, and if Mullins can step up as a 3-and-D guy, Collins will find ways to get the junior involved. A rookie last season, Clayton averaged just over seven minutes per contest, but the NU coaches made sure to get him onto the floor in 28 of the team’s 34 tilts. With playmaking instincts and some burst on the drive, Clayton is an interesting developmental guard. 

There will be a trio of freshmen fighting for a chance to help out, but as Clayton and others have found out, Collins doesn’t always play his rookies much. Where the road will meet that rubber this winter is that NU simply doesn’t have much proven depth at guard, so someone is going to get minutes. Blake Barkley took a redshirt last season and now will take his turn to hop on the Barnhizer/Martinelli escalator. Another shooting forward with some toughness inside and solid scoring potential. He finished his prep career at the elite Putnam Science Academy prior to his developmental year, and Barkley looks like another solid youngster who will rise with the Cats. First-year guys KJ Windham and Angelo Ciavarino are similar to Clayton and Mullins, and may find themselves similarly far down the bench to start out. Windham added to his reputation as a creative scorer and passer with a strong showing at this past year’s EYBL Peach Jam, and should one day be a good option to run NU’s offense. A wing who can shoot inside or from beyond the arc, Ciavarino will have to prove his strength in guarding the Big Ten’s sizable perimeter players. 

One of the biggest advantages that Buie gave the often-anemic Wildcats offense was that he scored and created quality scoring chances for others interchangeably. This group will have to rely on playing complete games, and yet it has the sorts of different pieces to make that approach work.

No Big Ten team returns a larger share of their minutes played from last season, even without Buie and Langborg. Behind their stars’ leadership, NU has been building up a core of solid players. For the majority of the time Collins has been in charge, even when his teams are good, NU has faced the constant threat of extended scoring droughts. Somewhere between those disparate realities, this group will find its way. This year’s crew must find its own way, and must do enough different things well to keep the points flowing. If they can, the Boilermakers’ bane will be a problem for everyone in this year’s bloated iteration of the B1G.