Three takeaways from NU vs. Northeastern

After a slow start, the ‘Cats showed why West is best.

With 13:49 to go in the first half of the Wildcats’ battle against Northeastern, mild jitters were setting in.

Fans in Welsh-Ryan Arena knew for a fact that their team shouldn’t be trailing 17-4 to Northeastern. Indeed, the slow starts that the ‘Cats had seemingly vanquished made an ugly return following the holiday break. Fortunately for Northwestern, the narrative changed in a hurry, as it outscored the Huskies 81-43 the rest of the way en route to an 85-60 victory.

With the win, the Wildcats improved to 10-3 on the season, officially completing their non-conference slate without obtaining a truly “bad” loss on their resume. Now sitting firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble, NU will have to stay competitive in the Big Ten to have a chance at a third straight March Madness berth. As we look ahead at the gauntlet to come, here are three takeaways from Northwestern’s final non-conference bout.

Ty Berry is the catalyst for Wildcat offensive firepower

Until Sunday, the ‘Cats had largely relied on their “big three” of Brooks Barnhizer, Nick Martinelli, and Jalen Leach for the vast majority of offensive output. Everything changed against Northeastern, as Ty Berry — who had struggled to regain form following last season’s injury — stepped up in a big way for the team.

Berry was an efficiency maestro on Sunday, scoring a season-high 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting. He knocked down 5 of 7 from three and also recorded three steals, staying on the floor for 32 minutes as a consistent game-changer for the team. We’ve seen Berry produce in spurts this year, but his performance against Northeastern was his best yet.

Northwestern will need Berry to keep his hot streak going in 2025, as the ‘Cats have struggled at times on offense, going cold from three and becoming prone to long offensive droughts. Having only three scoring options won’t cut it in Big Ten play, making Berry’s resurgence all the more crucial going forward. If Berry can be relied upon, pressure is removed from the likes of Justin Mullins and Luke Hunger, two players at different positions who have struggled with outside shooting. Undoubtedly, when Berry heats up from behind the arc, this Northwestern squad has the ability to achieve an extra gear.

Brooks Barnhizer can do it all

We already kind of knew this one, but Barnhizer hit a new level against Northeastern, coming as close as he ever has to a potential first career triple-double. The senior guard has been a scoring and rebounding machine, having put up at least 17 points and 10 rebounds in every game since Thanksgiving Day against Butler.

Against the Huskies on Sunday, Barnhizer put up 22 and 10 on 7-of-13 shooting. But that wasn’t all. Barnhizer tied two career-bests in the game, matching his all-time highs in assists (seven) and steals (five) and further proving why he’s considered the jack-of-all-trades for the Wildcats. Head coach Chris Collins must’ve been thrilled that his team as a whole forced 22 turnovers against Northeastern (shoutout to Justin Mullins, who also recorded four steals of his own). In the end, though, it all comes back to Barnhizer, who will hope to take this team on his back to its third straight March Madness run.

Northwestern fans may suffer from chronic high blood pressure down the stretch

As much as the Wildcat faithful would love for this team to drop 85 every game, the fact remains that Northwestern’s success will still be predicated on its defensive ability. And this ability should not be undersold — in fact, entering Sunday’s contests, the ‘Cats were ranked 34th in all of Division I in scoring defense, allowing just 64.2 points per game. Against Northeastern, the Wildcats were stifling once again, successfully taking away passing lanes and preventing open looks.

Defense alone may not win championships, but it certainly keeps teams in games, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the ‘Cats are constantly in high-pressure situations late in Big Ten contests. Offensively, the resurgence of Ty Berry may help the ‘Cats maintain average production, but this squad doesn’t have the same scoring ceiling that it had with Boo Buie and Ryan Langborg last season. That means that many Big Ten games will likely mimic what we already saw against Illinois: a pressure-packed, back-and-forth defensive slugfest that went down to the wire.

Anxious watchers may have to observe the beginning of 2025 with their eyes partially obscured behind their fingers, but for the eager basketball viewer, Northwestern’s conference slate should be nothing short of thrilling. The good news is that Northwestern has experience with both its players and head coach, so there will likely be many clutch moments in the final minutes of Big Ten games. That’s what makes Northwestern basketball so hard to predict on a game-by-game level — in a balanced conference with a lot of close games, anything can happen. Looking at the broader picture, one would expect the jubilation and heartbreak to balance out somewhat by the end of the season. At the very least, the ‘Cats should remain competitive in the winter months.