Northwestern (17-16, 7-13 Big Ten)
Big Ten scoring champion Nick Martinelli is back for his fourth season at Northwestern. Beyond him, there aren’t many familiar faces. The Wildcats lost four starters with Brooks Barnhizer, Jalen Leach, Ty Berry and Matthew Nicholson using up their eligibility. Barnhizer, Berry and Nicholson spent their entire careers at Northwestern and helped the Wildcats make the NCAA Tournament in 2023 and 2024 before getting hit hard by injuries last season. Even though he has just one starter back, coach Chris Collins likes his roster depth, particularly at guard and on the wing. He envisions a longer rotation after leaning heavily on his starters last year. He also expects a faster pace.
Players to watch
Martinelli (senior, F, 6-7, 20.5 ppg). Martinelli set the school’s single-season record for points (676) and made field goals (251) and posted Northwestern’s highest scoring average since Evan Eschmeyer scored 21.7 points per game in 1997-98. A second-team, all-conference pick, he averaged 6.2 rebounds while logging a Big Ten-leading 37.6 minutes per game. Martinelli threw his name into the NBA Draft pool but withdrew.
Departures and arrivals
Tre Singleton, a 6-foot-8 forward from Jeffersonville, Indiana, heads a highly touted freshman class. He led Jeffersonville to the 4A state championship as a senior.
Top games
Northwestern hosts Mercyhurst in the season opener on Nov. 3. There are nonconference games in the Greenbrier Tip-off against Virginia on Nov. 21 and South Carolina two days later, and against Oklahoma State at the United Center in Chicago on Nov. 27. Big Ten play begins at No. 24 Wisconsin on Dec. 3. Northwestern hosts No. 7 Michigan on Feb. 11 and top-ranked Purdue on March 4.
Facts and figures
Collins comes into his 14th season with a 194-190 record. This is his first head coaching job. … Northwestern has three straight winning seasons for the first time since a four-year run from 2008-09 to 2011-12 under former coach Bill Carmody.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
The Associated Press
