# 2024–25 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team represented Northwestern University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by 12th-year head coach Chris Collins. The Wildcats played their home games at Welsh–Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois as members of the Big Ten Conference. Following the team's loss in the Big Ten Tournament, they stated that they would decline any postseason invitations.

## Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2023–24 season 21–10, 12–8 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for third place. As the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost in the quarterfinals by No. 5 seed Wisconsin. The Wildcats received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, their third-ever appearance, as the No. 9 seed in the East Region. The Wildcats defeated Florida Atlantic in the first round before falling to 2 time National Champion UConn in the second round, closing their season with an overall record of 22–12.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Boo Buie | 0 | G | 6'2" | 180 | GS Senior | Albany, NY | Graduated/undrafted in 2024 NBA draft |
| Ryan Langborg | 5 | G | 6'4" | 195 | GS Senior | San Diego, CA | Graduated |
| Parker Strauss | 10 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Freshman | Costa Mesa, CA | Transferred to UC Riverside |
| Blake Preston | 32 | F | 6'9" | 240 | GS Senior | Charlotte, NC | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous college |
| Jalen Leach | 1 | G | 6'4" | 200 | GS Senior | Nyack, NY | Fairfield |
| Keenan Fitzmorris | 5 | C | 7'0" | 250 | GS Senior | Overland Park, KS | Stony Brook |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| K.J. Windham #27 PG | Indianapolis, IN | Ben Davis High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Aug 5, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Angelo Ciaravino SF | Chicago, IL | Mount Carmel High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Aug 9, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Northwestern Commits". Rivals.com. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

#### 2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2025) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Phoenix Gill SG | Chicago, IL | Saint Ignatius College Prep | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jun 10, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A |||||||
| Jake West PG | Malvern, PA | William Penn Charter School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Oct 15, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2025 Northwestern Commits". Rivals.com. "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 30, 2024* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Lewis | W 89–62 | | 25 – Martinelli | 6 – Martinelli | 5 – Tied | Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, IL |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., Peacock | | Lehigh | W 90–46 | 1–0 | 26 – Martinelli | 10 – Martinelli | 6 – Tied | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,521) Evanston, IL |
| November 9, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Dayton | L 66–71 | 1–1 | 32 – Martinelli | 14 – Martinelli | 3 – Tied | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| November 12, 2024* 6:00 p.m., BTN | | UIC | W 83–74 | 2–1 | 27 – Martinelli | 7 – Mullins | 5 – Windham | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,492) Evanston, IL |
| November 15, 2024* 7:00 p.m., Peacock | | Eastern Illinois | W 67–58 $^{OT}$ | 3–1 | 27 – Leach | 12 – Nicholson | 4 – Nicholson | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,969) Evanston, IL |
| November 19, 2024* 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Montana State | W 72–69 | 4–1 | 22 – Martinelli | 10 – Barnhizer | 4 – Barnhizer | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,034) Evanston, IL |
| November 22, 2024* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | | Pepperdine Arizona Tip-Off campus site game | W 68–50 | 5–1 | 21 – Leach | 7 – Tied | 4 – Barnhizer | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,853) Evanston, IL |
| November 28, 2024* 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. Butler Arizona Tip-Off Cactus Division semifinals | L 69–71 | 5–2 | 24 – Barnhizer | 8 – Martinelli | 2 – Tied | Mullett Arena Tempe, AZ |
| November 29, 2024* 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. UNLV Arizona Tip-Off Cactus Division 3rd place game | W 66–61 | 6–2 | 23 – Barnhizer | 9 – Barnhizer | 6 – Barnhizer | Mullett Arena Tempe, AZ |
| December 3, 2024 6:00 p.m., Peacock | | at Iowa | L 79–80 | 6–3 (0–1) | 21 – Barnhizer | 10 – Barnhizer | 4 – Martinelli | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (7,698) Iowa City, IA |
| December 6, 2024 8:00 p.m., BTN | | No. 19 Illinois Rivalry | W 70–66 $^{OT}$ | 7–3 (1–1) | 27 – Martinelli | 9 – Tied | 5 – Leach | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| December 15, 2024* 2:30 p.m., BTN | | vs. Georgia Tech Milwaukee Tip-Off | W 71–60 | 8–3 | 20 – Barnhizer | 10 – Barnhizer | 5 – Hunger | Fiserv Forum Milwaukee, WI |
| December 21, 2024* 3:00 p.m., BTN | | DePaul | W 84–64 | 9–3 | 23 – Martinelli | 12 – Barnhizer | 6 – Barnhizer | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,752) Evanston, IL |
| December 29, 2024* 12:30 p.m., Peacock | | Northeastern | W 85–60 | 10–3 | 23 – Berry | 10 – Barnhizer | 7 – Barnhizer | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,944) Evanston, IL |
| January 2, 2025 7:00 p.m., Peacock | | at Penn State | L 80–84 | 10–4 (1–2) | 20 – Barnhizer | 10 – Barnhizer | 8 – Barnhizer | Bryce Jordan Center (5,579) State College, PA |
| January 5, 2025 1:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 20 Purdue | L 61–79 | 10–5 (1–3) | 19 – Ciaravino | 8 – Barnhizer | 5 – Barnhizer | Mackey Arena (14,876) West Lafayette, IN |
| January 12, 2025 11:00 a.m., FOX | | No. 16 Michigan State | L 68–78 | 10–6 (1–4) | 27 – Martinelli | 8 – Barnhizer | 4 – Leach | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| January 16, 2025 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Maryland | W 76–74 $^{OT}$ | 11–6 (2–4) | 22 – Martinelli | 10 – Barnhizer | 6 – Leach | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,871) Evanston, IL |
| January 19, 2025 1:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 20 Michigan | L 76–80 $^{OT}$ | 11–7 (2–5) | 21 – Barnhizer | 16 – Nicholson | 5 – Leach | Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 22, 2025 6:00 p.m., BTN | | Indiana | W 79–70 | 12–7 (3–5) | 23 – Berry | 8 – Barnhizer | 7 – Leach | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| January 26, 2025 2:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 17 Illinois Rivalry | L 74–83 | 12–8 (3–6) | 17 – Tied | 6 – Berry | 4 – Leach | State Farm Arena (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| January 29, 2025 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Rutgers | L 72–79 | 12–9 (3–7) | 23 – Leach | 10 – Martinelli | 6 – Barnhizer | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,884) Evanston, IL |
| February 1, 2025 1:00 p.m., FS1 | | No. 17 Wisconsin | L 69–75 | 12–10 (3–8) | 23 – Leach | 7 – Tied | 7 – Leach | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| February 4, 2025 8:00 p.m., BTN | | USC | W 77–75 | 13–10 (4–8) | 27 – Martinelli | 13 – Marinelli | 6 – Leach | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,440) Evanston, IL |
| February 8, 2025 9:30 p.m., BTN | | at Washington | L 71–76 | 13–11 (4–9) | 23 – Martinelli | 10 – Martinelli | 5 – Clayton | Alaska Airlines Arena (8,064) Seattle, WA |
| February 11, 2025 10:00 p.m., BTN | | at Oregon | L 75–81 | 13–12 (4–10) | 23 – Berry | 6 – Martinelli | 4 – Tied | Matthew Knight Arena (6,039) Eugene, OR |
| February 16, 2025 2:00 p.m., BTN | | Nebraska | L 64–68 | 13–13 (4–11) | 23 – Tied | 12 – Nicholson | 3 – Windham | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| February 20, 2025 5:30 p.m., FS1 | | at Ohio State | W 70–49 | 14–13 (5–11) | 18 – Martinelli | 6 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Value City Arena (12,684) Columbus, OH |
| February 25, 2025 6:00 p.m., Peacock | | at Minnesota | W 75–63 | 15–13 (6–11) | 29 – Martinelli | 7 – Berry | 7 – Windham | Williams Arena (8,890) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 28, 2025 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | Iowa | W 68–57 | 16–13 (7–11) | 20 – Windham | 9 – Martinelli | 4 – Berry | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,249) Evanston, IL |
| March 3, 2025 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | UCLA | L 69–73 | 16–14 (7–12) | 22 – Berry | 7 – Berry | 7 – Clayton | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,099) Evanston, IL |
| March 8, 2025 2:00 p.m., Peacock | | at No. 13 Maryland | L 61–74 | 16–15 (7–13) | 19 – Reese | 11 – Reese | 4 – Rice | Xfinity Center (17,950) College Park, MD |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2025 2:30 p.m., Peacock | (13) | vs. (12) Minnesota First round | W 72-64 | 17-15 | 28 – Martinelli | 7 – Martinelli | 4 – Clayton | Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| March 13, 2025 1:30 p.m., BTN | (13) | vs. (5) No. 18 Wisconsin | | | | | | Gainbridge Fieldhouse (TBD) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
Source