I was in NYC for 4 days, but did get to enjoy the first 10 minutes of the game, thanks to an Iphone, a pirated livestream and the knowledge of a recent NU grad.
Here are the numbers... I left out the last minute, after Leach made 4 free throws to put NU up 84-64.
Brooks Barnhizer stands out with the best box score line of 2024 (surpassing Martinelli's game against Dayton).
He was 9 of 15 from the floor, made 1 of 2 from distance, had 12 defensive rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks and 2 turnovers. He made 2 free throws, both of which were "and ones."
Barnhizer's performance overshadowed strong efforts by Matt Nicholson and Nick Martinelli and Brooks gets the lion's share of the credit for the 20 point victory.
The starting 5 opened with a 20-4 explosion. DePaul scored first, then NU ran off 20 straight before DePaul made another basket. The first TV stoppage occurred at 13:47.
The same starting 5 put together the 12-0 run very late in the game to turn a 72-64 margin into an 84-64 beating.
Between those runs there was some turbulence, but for the game the starters outscored DePaul 50-25 in about 19 minutes.
Lineup #2 (Hunger, Martinelli, Barnhizer, Mullins, Leach) played to a 12-5 advantage over 5:15.
Coach Collins made reference in his postgame to "it was a point of emphasis this week to make sure the guys realized Matt is open when the opposing big comes to help on defense."
We saw Martinelli throw a hook lob to Nicholson for an easy dunk and Barnhizer throw an awkward entry to Nicholson directly under the basket, which he tried to lay up and missed.
Obviously, those attempts made me happy and I was very pleased to hear Collins note that.
One little negative surprise is that when Nicholson was out there with Mullins and Leach we got outscored 15-3 in 4:30.
That "not so dynamic" trio has been pasted 56-33 over the last 7 games in 26.5 minutes.
In the 7 competitive games Northwestern has played since Barnhizer returned, the guy with the highest "Raw +/-" on the team is now... Ty Berry.
I hope everybody has a great Christmas, Hannukah or anything else you're celebrating. It is good to celebrate something... even if it is "only" a Wildcat win!
Here are the numbers... I left out the last minute, after Leach made 4 free throws to put NU up 84-64.
| Player | Minutes | NU Pts | DePaul Pts | Raw +/- | Player +/- | Net +/- | Box +/- |
| Barnhizer | 38 | 84 | 60 | +24 | +9.70 | +14.50 | 20.05 |
| Nicholson | 25 | 57 | 40 | +17 | +2.01 | +5.41 | 9.70 |
| Martinelli | 35.5 | 75 | 57 | +18 | -1.53 | +2.08 | 9.85 |
| Mullins | 18 | 34 | 35 | -1 | +1.48 | +1.28 | 5.80 |
| Windham | 2.5 | 6 | 4 | +2 | -0.02 | +0.38 | 0.90 |
| Hunger | 14 | 27 | 24 | +3 | -0.42 | +0.18 | 3.20 |
| Leach | 34 | 72 | 58 | +14 | -3.35 | -0.55 | 4.90 |
| Berry | 29 | 65 | 42 | +23 | -7.86 | -3.26 | 2.65 |
Brooks Barnhizer stands out with the best box score line of 2024 (surpassing Martinelli's game against Dayton).
He was 9 of 15 from the floor, made 1 of 2 from distance, had 12 defensive rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks and 2 turnovers. He made 2 free throws, both of which were "and ones."
Barnhizer's performance overshadowed strong efforts by Matt Nicholson and Nick Martinelli and Brooks gets the lion's share of the credit for the 20 point victory.
The starting 5 opened with a 20-4 explosion. DePaul scored first, then NU ran off 20 straight before DePaul made another basket. The first TV stoppage occurred at 13:47.
The same starting 5 put together the 12-0 run very late in the game to turn a 72-64 margin into an 84-64 beating.
Between those runs there was some turbulence, but for the game the starters outscored DePaul 50-25 in about 19 minutes.
Lineup #2 (Hunger, Martinelli, Barnhizer, Mullins, Leach) played to a 12-5 advantage over 5:15.
Coach Collins made reference in his postgame to "it was a point of emphasis this week to make sure the guys realized Matt is open when the opposing big comes to help on defense."
We saw Martinelli throw a hook lob to Nicholson for an easy dunk and Barnhizer throw an awkward entry to Nicholson directly under the basket, which he tried to lay up and missed.
Obviously, those attempts made me happy and I was very pleased to hear Collins note that.
One little negative surprise is that when Nicholson was out there with Mullins and Leach we got outscored 15-3 in 4:30.
That "not so dynamic" trio has been pasted 56-33 over the last 7 games in 26.5 minutes.
In the 7 competitive games Northwestern has played since Barnhizer returned, the guy with the highest "Raw +/-" on the team is now... Ty Berry.
I hope everybody has a great Christmas, Hannukah or anything else you're celebrating. It is good to celebrate something... even if it is "only" a Wildcat win!
