Northwestern University

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern Basketball begins its 119th season with an opening contest against Lehigh on Monday, November 4, at 7 p.m. CT at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tipoff from Evanston is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on Peacock with Paul Burmeister (play-by-play) and Northwestern alum Tre Demps (analyst) and WGN Radio 720 with the voice of the Cats, Dave Eanet (play-by). -play) and Billy McKinney (analyst).

In their exhibition game, the Wildcats used a strong second half to race past Lewis 89-62 last Wednesday night (October 30). Junior striker Nick Martinelli led the team in points (25), rebounds (6) and assists (5) in 32 minutes of play. In his first game in a Northwestern uniform Jalen Leach scored 20 points, 14 of which came in the second half on 5-of-6 shooting. Junior Justin Mullins posted eight points, four steals, five rebounds and a plus-minus of +30 in the contest.

Last season, Northwestern reached the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year and posted a 22-12 overall record and a 12-8 record in the Big Ten Conference in consecutive seasons. The Wildcats recorded consecutive top-three finishes in the Big Ten for the first time since 1958-59 (T-2) and 1959-60 (T-3) (T-2 in the 2022-23 season, T-3 in the 2023-24 season). The Wildcats tied the program record by winning 21 regular season games (2016-17, 2022-23, 2023-24). Northwestern tied its program record for Big Ten wins in a season with 12.

Over the last two seasons, Northwestern has won a total of 44 games, ranking third among Big Ten schools, behind Purdue (59) and Illinois (45). NU has won 24 Big Ten Conference games over the last two seasons, trailing only the same two teams.

Sullivan-Ubben head coach ChrisCollins begins his 12th season at the helm of the Cats and his 177 wins are the third-most wins by a head coach in program history. Collins, who was unanimously named the 2023 Big Ten Coach of the Year, has led the team to more than 20 straight wins. Of the six seasons with 20 or more wins in school history, Collins has recorded four of them (2015-16, 2016-17, 2022-23, 2023-24). Over the past two seasons, the Wildcats have won 24 Big Ten Conference games, the most in consecutive seasons in school history, surpassing 20 wins in the 1930-31 and 1931-32 seasons.

The 'Cats return three cornerstones as they enter their final year with the program – senior Brooks Barnhizer and doctoral students Ty Berry And Matthew Nicholson. Barnhizer and Berry started in every appearance last season, while Nicholson started in all but five appearances. The three will be joined by their teammates as Northwestern's captains for the 2024-25 season. Nick Martinelli And Luke Hunger Both started last season with double-digit games and became important parts of Northwestern's rotation as the season progressed. Both were starters in Northwestern's 77-65 overtime win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Florida Atlantic.

This season, first years will join the “Cats”. KJ Windham And Angelo Ciaravinotogether with transfer doctoral students Jalen Leach And Keenan Fitzmorris. Leach comes to the program from Fairfield, where he is an All-MAAC First Team selection and averages 16.2 points per game. Fitzmorris comes to Evanston after spending two years at Stony Brook, where he was named to the CAA All-Conference Tournament team last season.

The Wildcats have won their last four home openers and are 10-1 ChrisCollins Epoch. Northwestern has won a total of 15 of its last 16 home openers. Northwestern is 2-0 all-time against Lehigh and 13-1 all-time against current members of the Patriot League. The Cats and Mountain Hawks last met in the 2005-06 season opener at the BCA Invitational in Laramie, Wyoming. Vedran Vukusic scored 25 points and NU came back from a 12-point deficit to beat Lehigh 61-59.

Lehigh enters the 2024-25 season after falling to Colgate, 74-55, in the 2024 Patriot League Tournament Championship. The Mountain Hawks return five players who started 15 or more games, including two All-Patriot League honorees in Tyler Whitney-Sidney and Keith Higgins Jr.

Northwestern will hit the road for the first time of the 2024-25 season to face Dayton on Saturday, November 9th at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+ and WGN Radio 720.