Back from the game. A few observations from a limited sample size.

Loudest crowd I can remember for a nonconference game against a bad team. I have been to some of these early games and you could hear conversations across the court. Student sections were filled. I really hope this becomes part of the culture.

Martinelli looks very, very confident and under control. Berry and Nicholson are understandably still getting into game shape. Leach has a pretty nice overall skill set. He can score from anywhere on the court, can handle the ball and has decent vision. Hunger looked much improved. Freshmen will both be contributors down the road (how far down the road I don’t know).

And the worse the opponent the crazier Collins gets. He was pretty nuts today. Every bad play resulted in pained looks and then a fair amount of yelling. I assume he is trying to fight complacency. But sometimes it’s just kind of silly. He always tones it down when we play quality teams and is much more encouraging.

What an opener! Here are @mshelton33's takeaways from NU's wire-to-wire demolition of Lehigh.

Kid near me near half court at Lehigh game who’s here on an OV - Lou or Matt any idea who it is?

7 Northwestern basketball games are on stupid Peacock this season including 2 of our last 4. Here is the link...

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Basketball is back! Northwestern (0-0) starts their season in earnest tonight vs Lehigh (0-0) at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

The game is set for a 7 pm tip and will air on Peacock.

A national BTN early kickoff at Wrigley Field.

This was probably expected, yeah, but I am definitely concerned this is lingering a lot longer than was expected… he’s got to get right and soon.

Doesn't seem to be much interest/concern about Lehigh tonight. They play in the Patriot League so they got game. With Brooks out and the truism that anything can happen in an opening game, seems to me there should be some concern. They have two all-league returning players. Anyway here's a brief review.

What would you think is a reasonable expectation for this year in the B1G?

I don’t think I have seen a pundit put us above 14th?

I think about 10-10 is par. So we’ll do better than expected as long as Barney is his normal self. 12 would be great and 8 or less would be disappointing!

Is brooks healthy enough to play?

My lovely wife is coming to game with me tonight. She has an injured leg. I am trying to figure out if there is parking across the street so she will not have to walk far. I went to NUSport and came up empty. Anyone have any idea? Thank you in advance.

TEAM

One quick note before the breakdowns by unit. NU ran more plays than Purdue, 72-65, and won time of possession, 35:01 - 24:59. It was the first time they've run more plays and held the ball longer than their opponents since Week 3 vs. Eastern Illinois.

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Jeez they are having a miserable season.

@mikefitz77 has three things we learned, two questions we're asking and one bold prediction as Northwestern heads into their second bye of the season.

AP Top 25

1. Oregon (9-0)
2. Georgia (7-1)
3. Ohio State (7-1)
4. Miami (9-0)
5. Texas (7-1)
6. Penn State (7-1)
7. Tennessee (7-1)
8. Indiana (9-0)
9. BYU (8-0)
10. Notre Dame (7-1)
11. Alabama (6-2)
12. Boise State (7-1)
13. SMU (8-1)
14. LSU (6-2)
15. Texas A&M (7-2)
16. Ole Miss (7-2)
17. Iowa State (7-1)
18. Army (8-0)
19. Clemson (6-2)
20. Washington State (7-1)
21. Colorado (6-2)
22. Kansas State (7-2)
23. Pitt (7-1)
24. Vanderbilt (6-3)
25. Louisville (6-3)

@mikefitz77 has three things we learned, two questions we're asking and one bold prediction as Northwestern heads into their second bye of the season.

Nine different Northwestern commits won playoff games last week, including 2026 quarterback Johnny O'Brien in his debut. Read about his big game and more in this week's recruit roundup.

This week the following three things:

1) The opener vs. Lehigh. We unwrap our presents and see what we've got. Is Brooks playing? Is everybody healthy? Is Windham going to be in the rotation? Is Leach ready? Can Nicholson do more offensively than dunk? Is Martinelli ready to become a star?

2) The first big test: Dayton. Is NU ready to play a good team (on the road no less)? Can this team step up without Boo's steady hand?

3) Bennerman to announce. Another thread said it's between NU and Michigan. Will this be the final (and best?) piece of the fantastic 2025 class that is the first class to truly reap the benefits of the back-to-back NCAA appearances?

Are we unable to bring an extra defender every now and then? It seems like blitzing is not in our playbook. Maybe we’re holding out for the OSU and Michigan games?

Using a medical RS for an extra year of eligibility. Getting those two known commodities back would be very welcome given how challenging it is for NU to find viable transfer candidates.

I don’t know what he was doing to confuse the Purdue D with RBs coming out of the backfield. But it worked all game, and it got NU the win.

And some advice for him: don’t take 12 off the field. He’ll miss some throws, sure. But he’s the only QB with upside.

Say hi if you see me, I'll be the guy in the Northwestern hoodie.

If you are interested in hearing three guys crying in their beer and in some ways expressing many of the same frustrations as posters here, take a listen to this post game analysis by the Purdue gurus. Ryan Walters doesn't have much time left.

PS Gold and Black

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