We’re talking about PLaYoFfs? Yes, the ‘Cats still are.
This season, Northwestern basketball has been less than ideal. Ideally, the Wildcats are humming right along through conference play with two Big Ten Player of the Year candidates leading the charge. Ideally, Josh Dix doesn’t hit a stunning buzzer beater in Iowa City. Ideally, Big Ten refs understand goaltending. Ideally, Brooks Barnhizer isn’t clearly a little hobbled. Ideally, Ty Berry is replicating his performance from last season.
But nothing has been ideal. And in my opinion, that has to be ok with fans in a post-Boo Buie world. Expecting this team to make the tournament was probably always unfair. Even after a thrilling Nick Martinelli buzzer beater in overtime to dispose of Maryland last night by a final of 76-74, the tournament is still probably unlikely.
But don’t tell these players that. Buie might be gone, but these are a lot of the same players in the same Chris Collins-led program who have given fans unlikely moment after unlikely moment over the past two seasons. They aren’t going to lie down.
“We just go one game at a time…. Just as much as we get motivated by a loss, we get motivated by a win,” Martinelli said.
He went on to reaffirm that this team has one goal: getting back to the Big Dance.
The basketball analysis part of my brain knows it’s unlikely. In Patrick Winograd’s most recent bracketology update for our site, he listed Northwestern as the last Big Ten team still “in consideration.” The ‘Cats still rank just 55th in the NET and 53rd in KemPom. None of this bodes well.
But the emotional part of my brain is saying something different after last night’s win, another game at Welsh-Ryan Arena that made you believe that anything is possible with this program and these players. This team’s success at home over the past three seasons has been remarkable. It was a cardiac ‘Cats show last night, as it often is, but they somehow always seem to find a way.
“We just have a magic potion,” Collins said postgame. “I have a special bottle–the overtime bottle–and I kind of just douse the guys with it. We just have tough kids.”
He’s right. There’s no denying that this team has tough kids, and last night’s game was proof positive. The presumed “big three” for this team (Barnhizer, Martinelli and Berry) showed off all kinds of character and grit against the Terps.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t start with Nick Martinelli. If Collins has a magical clutch potion for the whole team, then what in the world has he sprinkled on Martinelli? The efficiency potion? Is there more of it for others?
Martinelli is averaging 20 points per game this season after a ho-hum 22 point effort last night, including arguably the biggest shot of his career. But the more impressive statistic is that he shot 9-of-14 from the floor and is shooting 51.2% from the field this season. It’s ridiculous. The guy just goes out there and makes shots.
Two seasons ago, Martinelli looked like a deer in the headlights with a strange ability to make a lefty jump-hook. Now, he’s transformed into one of the most confident players I’ve ever watched play college hoops. He knows he has a comparative advantage. He knows if he can get to his spots, the shot is going in. And it went in last night, though Martinelli wasn’t interested in taking credit.
“That play, obviously it’s cool, but it did not define the game. Everyone had to make big plays,” Martinelli said.
And others did. Including Ty Berry. Berry has had a well-documented nightmare season thus far. If you want to read about it, just read anything that’s been written about him on this site in 2024-25. I’m not here to discuss it today. Not now. He deserves better after last night.
Collins pulled the trigger on a lineup change before the game, inserting impressive freshman Angelo Ciaravino into the starting lineup and pushing Berry to a bench role. His veteran responded immediately, posting 15 points, providing solid defense (as he’s done all season) and, most importantly, knocking down three triples for a team in desperate need of outside shooting.
“I just felt after Michigan State that we needed to shake it up a little bit,” Collins said of the move. “I think I know Ty as well as anybody…. It was something I wanted to try.”
It’s fair to be frustrated with Berry. But it’s also an objective truth that he’s needed if this team is going to get where it wants to go. Berry is part of the heart and soul that makes Northwestern go. He also provides a unique skill set that’s extremely lacking right now. You could feel the elation from the student section watching someone in purple confidently knock down threes. Make no mistake, Ty Berry is crucial, and he looked more like himself last night.
Brooks Barnhizer also hasn’t been looking like himself lately, though that stretch was just two games long. Last night, after social media rumors surfaced of a potential reaggravation of the foot injury that kept him out at the beginning of the season, Barnhizer showed up and delivered. The senior stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, including his 1,000th career point.
“I love Brooks Barnhizer. He’s everything I want a player to be,” Collins said. “He’s a warrior.”
After the game, he reassured reporters that he was fine, though he did say it’s “something I’ve been playing through all year.” Honestly, Barnhizer did look somewhat hobbled at times throughout the game, most notably after hitting the floor hard on the last play of regulation. He sat on the ground under the basket for an extended period as the arena collectively held its breath.
Since it’s college sports, we’ll probably never know exactly what he’s going through. It seems like it’s probably fine, but it’s worth monitoring. Barnhizer showed again last night why he’s a stud for this Northwestern team, and Northwestern simply could not survive an extended absence from its captain.
Martinelli, Berry and Barnhizer all delivered for Northwestern last night — exactly how we drew it up at the start of the season. Again, nothing about the ‘Cats’ current situation is ideal. They’ve been unlucky in a multitude of crushing ways and haven’t looked the part of a tournament team. That’s ok with me, but it’s not ok with them. And that’s what makes this program so intoxicating to the fans that pack Welsh-Ryan for every conference game. They never give up, and it’s always a dog fight.
“I’m a big believer in the basketball gods,” Collins said. “I feel like when you do things right and you invest in the game the way you’re supposed to, you deserve some good fortune.”
And playing with resiliency, no matter what? That’s doing things right.