How to Watch No. 8 Nebraska Basketball at Northwestern with Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

Back in his home state and in familiar territory, Oregon head coach Dana Altman and the visiting Ducks were playing well enough to hang with the undefeated and No. 8 Nebraska men's basketball team late in the first half, but Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager flipped the script.

The two Huskers combined for 12 points as part of a 14-2 outburst in the final four minutes of the first half, turning a tie game into a 42-30 lead at the intermission. Behind a season-high 17 three-pointers and a combined 51 points from Sandfort and Frager, NU blew out UO 90-55 to move to 17-0 on the season and record its 21st-straight win. Frager added a career-high 23 points off the bench, which included seven treys. Sam Hoiberg reached double figures with 11 points and a career-best mark with six steals as the Nebraska defense forced 16 Duck turnovers.

In what appears to be a forgiving stretch of Big Ten opponents on paper, the Huskers hit the road again to visit a Northwestern team that hopes to take down NU for its first conference win.

Here's all you need to know for Saturday's matinee battle in Evanston.

How to Follow Along

Matchup: No. 8 Nebraska (17-0, 6-0 B1G) at Northwestern (8-9, 0-6 B1G)
When: Saturday, January 17
Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, Ill.
Time: 3 p.m. CST
Watch: Big Ten Network
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

Northwestern Scout

Head Coach

Chris Collins | 13th season at Northwestern & as HC
202-199 (.504) at NW & Career Record
3x NCAA Tournament Apps.
Jim Phelan Award (2023), 1x B1G Coach OTY (2023)
Previous assistant at Duke, Seton Hall, and Detroit Shock

2024-2025 Record & Awards

Record: 17-16 (7-3 B1G, T-12th)
All-B1G: 1x Second Team, 1x Honorable Mention

All-Time Series

Northwestern leads 14-11
Feb. 16, 2025, last matchup, 68-64 NU

Northwestern forward Nick Martinelli (2) leads the Big Ten in scoring with 23.8 points per game. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Key Returners

Nick Martinelli | F | Sr. | Returning All-Big Ten Second Team forward who has improved his production with 23.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
K.J. Windham | G | Soph. | Appeared in 29 games as a key reserve in her freshman season, but has regressed to below four points a game as a sophomore.
Jordan Clayton | G | Jr. | Has gone from playing in 10 games last year to 14 games this season, including 10 starts, but he's scoring just two points a game.
Justin Mullins | G | Sr. | 14 of his 16 appearances this season have been off the bench, totaling four points per contest.
Angelo Ciaravino | G | Soph. | Gained valuable experience off the bench as a true freshman, leading the way for him to contribute over six points and four rebounds per game in an improved sophomore campaign.

Key Departures

Brooks Barnhizer | G | Graduated | Averaged 17 points and eight rebounds per game in only half a season in his final year of college basketball before being drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Jalen Leach | G | Graduated | Veteran guard who scored 14.3 points per game, but missed 10 games.
Ty Berry | G | Graduated | The last of four players to average double figures (10.6) while adding over three rebounds per game out of 33 appearances.
Matthew Nicholson | C | Graduated | Seven-foot center from Michigan who added over five points and rebounds per contest as a full-time starter for the Wildcats.
Luke Hunger | F | R-Soph. | Played in 62 career games for the Wildcats, but transferred to George Washington over the offseason.

Former Northwestern guard Brooks Barnhizer scored 17 points and grabbed a team-high 8.8 rebounds per game for NW last year. — Former Northwestern guard Brooks Barnhizer scored over 17 points and grabbed a team-high 8.8 rebounds per game for NW last year. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Impact Transfers/Newcomers

Arrinten Page | F | Jr. | A bottom bench piece at Cincinnati last year, Page has broken out for 13.6 points and 6.2 points per game for NW.
Jayden Reid | G | Jr. | Former All-AAC preseason honoree Jayden Reid, who's pouring in nearly 12 points a game for the Wildcats.
Tre Singleton | F | Fr. | Former top-100 recruit who has started in 14 of his first 17 career games with an average of seven points, nearly five rebounds a night in over 23 minutes.
Max Green | G | Soph. | Third-Team All-Patriot League Team as a true freshman at Holy Cross before coming to Northwestern to score four points per game.
Jake West | G | Fr. | A former three-star recruit out of Pennsylvania, the first-year guard gets just short of three points per game.

Outlook

Stripped of three of their four leading scorers from last season, head coach Chris Collins and Northwestern are on pace for another campaign such as that, which would be considered a missed opportunity to make the NCAA Tournament since going there back-to-back seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

Most of that guilt would stem from the fact that they would have wasted the last two years of star forward and All-Big Ten Second Teamer Nick Martinelli, who has gone from averaging 20 points per game to nearly 24. Angelo Ciaravino leads a group of okay returners, dropping in over six points and four rebounds per game. K.J. Windham (3.8 PPG) and Justin Mullins (4.1 PPG) round out the edges, but a large batch of difference makers needed to come to campus for 2025-2026.

Collins made a great find in Cincinnati transfer Arrinten Page, who went from benchwarmer to second on Northwestern in scoring with 13.6 and over six rebounds per contest as part of a breakout junior season. Jayden Reid was a heralded transfer target from USF, and it has paid off with him averaging 12 points a game in his first Power Four season. True freshman Tre Singleton (7.0 PPG) and Jake West (2.8 PPG) are key reserves for NW alongside Holy Cross transfer Max Green, who was Third-Team All-Patriot League last season.

A former benchwarmer at Cincinnati, Northwestern forward Arrinten Page (22) has broken out for 13.6 PPG and 6.2 RPG. — A former benchwarmer at Cincinnati, Northwestern forward Arrinten Page (22) has broken out for 13.6 PPG and 6.2 RPG this season. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Despite the brilliance of Martinelli, the Wildcats and Collins are doing him a great disservice in their lack of ability to build a contender around one of the Big Ten's best players. Arrinten and Reid offer nice secondary options, but after Reid, there's a massive drop-off in quality of scoring, which was an issue last season.

Don't count out the Wildcats for a challenge. Despite losing its last four games entering Saturday, the Wildcats lost two games by single digits (including one OT) and the other two by 11 and 10 for respectable performances. However, I still think Nebraska remains unbeaten and takes down the Wildcats to give Northwestern its seventh-straight conference loss this season.

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