Northwestern Info
Head Coach: Chris Collins
Location: Evansville, IL
Conference: B1G
Nickname: Wildcats
Mascot: Willie the Wildcat
Line: Northwestern by 2.5
Last Time Out: Lost at Oregon
Typical Rotation Depth: 7+
KenPom rank: 58
Nota bene:
- Northwestern has won 8 of the last 9 meetings and Nebraska under Fred Hoiberg has not won at Evanston. The Huskers have not won at NW since 2014, Chris Collins' first season.
- Northwestern has suffered through some recent injury misfortune. They lost leading scorer Brooks Barnhizer for the season 4 games ago. They lost starting PG Jalen Leach two games ago. They were the 2nd and 3rd leading scorers for the Wildcats, respectively.
- Much like their road trip out west, Nebraska will stay on the road as they also travel to Penn State on Wednesday
- Nebraska will attempt to win their third straight road game for the first time since 2021-22
- This game will be a matchup of the B1G 2nd leading scorer (Nick Martinelli - 19.7 ppg) and 3rd leading scorer (Brice Williams - 19.5 ppg)
Player to watch: Nick Martinelli
The Junior forward currently leads the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding per game. While more of an inside threat, Martinelli has developed a serviceable outside shot, shooting 37.8% on the year, 32% in conference.
Player to watch: Ty Berry
Seems like he's been around forever because Tim Miles offered him a scholarship in 2017. The 5th year senior is the main 3pt threat for the Wildcats, currently is shooting 39.4% from three and likely will be hunting shots. Leads this ball-hawking team in steals. Last season Berry spent 9 minutes in a game vs Nebraska mocking Keisei Tominaga before leaving the game with a season ending injury. Karma, perhaps.
Northwestern's Roster
| Player | # | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | Summary |
| Nick Martinelli | 2 | JR | F | 6-7 | 200 | 19.7 Pts 6.0 Reb 1.7 Ast |
| Jalen Leach | 1 | SR | G | 6-4 | 190 | 14.3 Pts 2.1 Reb 3.4 Ast |
| Brooks Barnhizer | 13 | SR | G | 6-6 | 215 | 17.1 Pts 8.8 Reb 4.2 Ast |
| Ty Berry | 3 | SR | G | 6-2 | 190 | 9.6 Pts 3.1 Reb 1.0 Ast |
| Matthew Nicholson | 34 | SR | C | 7-0 | 255 | 5.2 Pts 5.4 Reb 1.2 Ast |
| Justin Mullins | 20 | JR | G | 6-6 | 190 | 4.0 Pts 3.2 Reb 1.3 Ast |
| Angelo Ciarvino | 44 | FR | G | 6-6 | 195 | 3.5 Pts 1.7 Reb 0.7 Ast |
| K.J. Windham | 24 | FR | G | 6-3 | 190 | 3.7 Pts 0.7 Reb 1.4 Ast |
| Luke Hunger | 33 | JR | F | 6-10 | 255 | 3.0 Pts 2.5 Reb 1.3 Ast |
| Keenan Fitzmorris | 5 | SR | C | 7-1 | 225 | 2.2 Pts 0.9 Reb 0.3 Ast |
| Jordan Clayton | 11 | SO | G | 6-2 | 180 | 6.5 Pts 1.5 Reb 2.5 Ast |
Nicholson and Fitzmorris are traditional centers in a rotation for the Cats. Both are rebounding/shot block types who occasionally chip in offensively; Fitzmorris is quite foul prone. Glue guy Justin Mullins has been elevated to a starter. Jordan Clayton burned his redshirt this season due to the injuries and has started the last two games. Freshman combo guard KJ Windham has been shooting better in conference. Freshman wing Angelo Ciaravino has been turnover and foul prone. Luke Hunger is typically just spot minutes and the 4 and 5.
UNL Game Notes
Roster/infirmary report
9 Forward Berke Büyüktuncel 6-10 244 lbs Sophomore - Ankle OUT
Possible starters for Nebraska
3 Guard Brice Williams 6-7 214 lbs Senior
4 Forward Juwan Gary 6-6 226 lbs Senior
24 Guard Rollie Worster 6-5 210 lbs Senior
23 Forward Andrew Morgan 6-10 242 lbs Senior
1 Guard Sam Hoiberg 6-0 185 lbs Junior
Bench
0 Guard Connor Essegian 6-4 190 lbs Junior
2 Guard Ahron Ulis 6-3 190 lbs Senior
34 Center Braxton Meah 7-1 264 lbs Senior
31 Guard Cale Jacobsen 6-4 195 lbs Sophomore
12 Guard Gavin Griffiths 6-7 193 lbs Sophomore
5 Forward Braden Frager 6-7 220 lbs Freshman
8 Guard Jeffrey Grace III 6-3 200 lbs Junior
20 Forward Justin Bolis 6-8 225 lbs Sophomore
25 Guard Nick Janowski 6-4 208 lbs Freshman
35 Forward Henry Burt 6-7 222 lbs Sophomore
Out for year
51 Forward Rienk Mast 6-10 260 lbs Senior
The Skinny:
Northwestern has had Nebraska's number in Evanston in this matchup as Chris Collins has gotten enough out of his guys in down years and won a lot of games in the Boo Buie era. This season has been a challenging one for the for Wildcats, and that was before the loss of 2 main players. Is this the year that the Huskers break through?
Northwestern isn't a great shooting team but they tend to out-volume teams by not turning over the ball and gathering offensive rebounds. They were able to beat a USC team shooting over 50% by taking 15 more shots. You'll see Martinelli and Berry score for sure. Where NW gets their other points has varied game to game. The Wildcats will try to find that hot hand and Nebraska simply needs to recognize that.
Defensively, Northwestern will turn you over so it's a matter of minimizing the damage. It's tempting to attack their defense from outside but the Cats happen to be one of the hackiest defenses in the conference. Nebraska taking advantage at the FT line is one way to win on the road.
Not sure that this Northwestern team has checked out yet but despite playing most games closely they only have 3 wins in 2025. Nebraska needs to bring their defense and realize that Northwestern tends to fad at the end of games.
Prediction: Nebraska 78 - Northwestern 72
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