Northwestern Basketball

Northwestern men's basketball coach Chris Collins is not happy with the Big Ten.

After helping lead his team to a 72-64 victory over Minnesota in the first round of the conference tournament Wednesday, Collins revealed his team was placed in a hotel without air conditioning and said he was tired of the Big Ten's treatment of the Wildcats.

"We're used to being treated like that by this league," Collins said, per Scott Dochterman of The Athletic. "The rooms were a thousand degrees. There was no AC in the hotel, and our guys' rooms were 85 degrees, and that's where the league puts you. Every way they turn, they're trying to get us."

The coach also said he and the staff reported the issue on Tuesday to no avail.

"You just hate it for the guys," Collins said. "I have seniors, and they're playing for their lives, and they come down and said, 'Coach, I have to have an ice bucket next to my bed. It's steaming hot.' Even this morning after we did our walk-through, our guys had to sit in the lobby or sit in our team room. They couldn't even go to their rooms."

It is certainly noteworthy for a head coach to so blatantly suggest his team's conference is "trying to get us," but Northwestern does have some reason for complaints this season.

Nick Martinelli led the league in scoring at 20.2 points per game but was not named to the All-Big Ten First Team by the coaches or media. In fact, he became the first player to lead the conference in scoring and not earn first-team honors since Michigan State's Maurice Ager in 2006.

What's more, Collins may have been thinking about some officiating during the campaign.

"Something tells me this has something to do with some of the officiating gaffes that have crippled the Cats this season," Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated wrote. "Hotel seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back."

Collins himself said, "You guys watch the games... You guys are the ones tweeting out how we're being officiated and how we're being treated. I don't have to say anything. You guys watch the same games I do, so I'm not going to get into any of that stuff."

Fortunately for the Wildcats, no officiating or lack of air conditioning stopped them from advancing with a win over Minnesota. 

Martinelli poured in 28 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field, and the game was never in doubt down the stretch. 

Next up for the Wildcats is a showdown with Wisconsin on Thursday.

Former Northwestern cheerleader Hayden Richardson has dropped her lawsuit alleging sex trafficking and forced labor against the school.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg noted Richardson's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Monday.

The Title IX lawsuit was originally filed in January 2021, with Richardson alleging the school attempted to cover up complaints of sexual harassment toward her and other members of the cheerleading team from fans and alumni at tailgates and donor events.

Former Northwestern athletic director Mike Polisky, who was promoted from deputy athletic director of external affairs on May 3, 2021, was among those named in the lawsuit. He resigned from the position nine days later amid media backlash and on-campus protests to his hiring.

Polisky issued a statement to Rittenberg about Richardson's decision to drop the lawsuit:

A sexual harassment/trafficking lawsuit against Northwestern and several employees, including former athletic director Mike Polisky, has been voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff, a former cheerleader at the school. Here is Polisky’s statement to ESPN. pic.twitter.com/Y0sjHQBIpJ

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) August 28, 2024

Northwestern also issued a statement included in Rittenberg's report:

"Since Hayden Richardson's lawsuit was filed over three years ago, Northwestern has steadfastly maintained that her claims should be dismissed. She has now voluntarily dismissed her lawsuit against all defendants. The university is committed to fostering an environment in which all members of our community are safe, secure and free from discrimination or harassment in any form."

Richardson's original lawsuit alleged that university employees, including Polisky and then-spirit squad coordinator Pamela Bonnevier, ignored complaints by her and other members of the team.

Northwestern said in an October 2023 court filing it "promptly and effectively addressed the concerns Richardson raised in 2019 and in 2020." Bonnevier, Polisky, former deputy Title IX coordinator Amanda DaSilva and former associate athletic director for marketing Heather Van Hoegarden Obering filed separate responses at the same time disputing the lawsuit.

Richardson was a member of the Wildcats' cheer squad from 2018 to '20.

The Northwestern Wildcats gothic jerseys will have a new twist in 2024-25.

The men's basketball team unveiled white versions of the gothic uniform design during their offseason trip to Italy and Greece.

From the Duomo di Firenze, one of the world’s greatest masterpieces of gothic architecture…

Introducing our new “𝖂𝖍𝖎𝖙𝖊 𝕲𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖈𝖘” pic.twitter.com/tBhBisx0qV

— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) August 26, 2024

pic.twitter.com/6U7wz9Jf9x

— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) August 26, 2024

The uniforms are similar to the black gothic uniforms that are utilized by both the men's and women's basketball teams as well as the football team. The design features purple lettering for the school and player names as well as some purple, black and gold mixed throughout the rest of the uniform.

Northwestern typically uses a purple and white color scheme, but began mixing in a gothic uniform in 2014 for the football program.

The Wildcats basketball program is currently on the best stretch in program history. It did not reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time until 2017 but has now reached March Madness in two consecutive seasons. The Wildcasts advanced to the Round of 32 in both trips, but fell to UCLA in 2022-23 and eventual champion-UConn in 2023-24.

As the team looks to replace star player Boo Buie, they will have some swagger to mix in and add an intimidation factor to the rest of the Big Ten.

The Wildcats will open the 2024-25 season on Nov. 8 against Lehigh.

Brooks Barnhizer had quite the day on-and-off the court Friday.

The Northwestern junior guard helped guide his team to a 77-65 overtime victory over Florida Atlantic to help the Wildcats advance to the second round.

Barnhizer had 13 points and 10 rebounds and really stepped up in the absence of seniors Matthew Nicholson and Ty Berry, who are out for the remainder of the season. However, no points were bigger than the ones he scored at the end of regulation, as he buried a clutch layup that helped send the game to overtime, where the Wildcats would prevail.

NORTHWESTERN TIES IT UP!

WE'RE HEADING TO OVERTIME 😱#MarchMadness @NUMensBball pic.twitter.com/jR2wPCYkyt

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2024

The play got some attention from Buffalo Wild Wings as well, as the play activated a promotion at the restaurant where customers who order through the app during a game can win six free boneless wings if the game goes to overtime.

Barnhizer clinched that promotion for the first time during this year's tournamentwith the basket, and the restaurant wasted little time as it announced a NIL deal with Barnhizer.

After today’s game, Buffalo Wild Wings has signed Brooks Barnhizer to an NIL deal for his game-tying layup that sent the game to OT. pic.twitter.com/PgrwPUiqKg

— Kelly Hallinan (@kellyhals) March 23, 2024

Northwestern’s @BrooksBarnhizer’s shot sent the Wildcats to OT against FAU, the 1st OT of the 2024 tournament.

Barnhizer cashes in, scores NIL deal with the overtime guys, @BWWings. pic.twitter.com/VfJZPWLfzq

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 23, 2024

Northwestern has made the tournament only three times in its program history, with the first coming in 2017. Remarkably, it has never lost in the opening round, and Barnhizer's shot kept that streak alive.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the second round hasn't been as kind. It lost to Gonzaga in 2017 and UCLA in 2023. It will not be a walk in the park to break that skid this year, as it will have to face UConn in the second round. The Huskies earned the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and won the tournament in 2023.

Still, the Wildcats beat Purdue and Illinois this season, so it is capable of pulling off the upset. Regardless of that future outcome, Barnhizer and Buffalo Wild Wings are officially linked.

It was a historic afternoon for the Northwestern basketball program Sunday after the Wildcats beat No. 1 Purdue 64-58 for the school's first-ever victory over a top-ranked opponent.

It was an incredible scene at Welsh Ryan Arena as the home crowd stormed the floor following the final buzzer.

Ready. Set. Storm. 🙌@NUMensBball knocks off No. 1 Purdue for its first-ever win over a No. 1 team. pic.twitter.com/Ylb5uwxdqc

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 12, 2023

It's been a poor run of form lately for the Boilermakers (23-3, 12-3 Big Ten), who have lost two of their last three games and are now sure to fall out of the top-ranked spot. They first fell to No. 18 Indiana on Feb. 4 before the loss to the Wildcats (18-7, 9-5).

Northwestern, who was previously 0-19 against No. 1 teams, was led by the duo of Boo Buie and Chase Audige, the two seniors combined for 41 points in perhaps the biggest win of their college careers.

They did so in dramatic fashion as well.

After Purdue's Zach Edey, who had a team-high 24 points, hit a hook shot with 3:52 to go, the Boilermakers went up 55-47.

However, it was a 17-3 run by the Wildcats to close the game that decided things.

Audige gave Northwestern the lead that it would never surrender when he knocked down a three-pointer with 1:43 left in the game.

In addition to Buie and Audige's impressive offensive performances, what might be even more impressive was what coach Chris Collins' team managed to do on the defensive end of the floor.

Purdue shot just 6-for-21 from the field in the second half and they turned it over 16 times for the game. Coming into the matchup, the Boilermakers ranked top 50 in limiting their turnovers per game.

Three of those turnovers came in the final minute of the game, which helped the Wildcats seal the win.

Despite being unranked, Northwestern now sits second in the Big Ten standings, just 2.5 games behind Purdue.

The Wildcats will look to carry that momentum into the postseason while the Boilermakers may have to go back to the drawing board after their recent struggles.

The University of Wisconsin announced Thursday that a fan who made a racist anti-Asian gesture toward the Northwestern student section during a men's college basketball game between the teams at Evanston's Welsh-Ryan Arena has been banned from all future events.

The fan was ejected after making the gesture and made it again as he was escorted away from his seat:

We join with @UWBadgers and all #Badgers in condemning the abhorrent anti-Asian actions of an attendee at the Northwestern game this week. We applaud NU for removing him.

He is no longer welcome at UW Athletics events – we are barring him from buying tickets on our platform.

— UW–Madison (@UWMadison) January 20, 2022

"We are deeply disturbed by this behavior and find it abhorrent and disgusting," the Wisconsin Badgers Twitter account added in a statement. "This is no representation of what it means to be a Badger. We denounce any acts of racism or discrimination. We applaud Northwestern for removing this individual. His actions have no place at our events."

"The actions by an individual at Tuesday's men's basketball game towards the Wildcats student section were unacceptable and a violation of our fan code of conduct," Northwestern said in a statement of its own. "We appreciate those who spoke up and brought this behavior to our attention so event staff could take the appropriate steps to remove him from Welsh-Ryan Arena."

It is unknown if the man who made the racist gesture is a Wisconsin student. The school has reportedly been in contact with Northwestern and is further investigating the incident.

The No. 8 Badgers won the meeting between the teams 82-76 behind Johnny Davis' 27 points.

Northwestern athletic director Mike Polisky announced his resignation Wednesday following protests and pushback from the university community following his hire amid a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former Northwestern cheerleader Hayden Richardson.

Polisky, who was promoted from his role as Northwestern's deputy athletic director of external affairs on May 3, is one of the defendants named in Richardson's lawsuit.

Drew Schott, sports editor for the Daily Northwestern, provided more information on the lawsuit after Polisky's promotion became official:

Richardson alleges NU did not properly handle complaints she and other cheerleaders raised around sexual harassment. In the lawsuit, Richardson said Polisky accused her of 'fabricating evidence' and did not allow her to meet with Phillips.

Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune reported that while 'some on the search committee urged caution and some were against hiring Polisky' because of the lawsuit, others favored him because of his role in helping Phillips turn Northwestern's athletic department into one of the best in the nation.

Vi Nguyen of NBC Chicago also added more information:

Back in February, Hayden Richardson filed a federal lawsuit against the university, Polisky and three other administrators. She alleged she was sexually harassed and exploited at school events and brought her complaints to school officials but they did not take her complaints seriously.

Richardson said: "I filed it because I can't allow other individuals and women that come after me to be subjected to the same thing."

Northwestern filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, with university president Morton Owen Schapiro stating in a letter addressed to the NU community that "there is no information to suggest that Mike engaged in any conduct that is a violation of policy" upon the initial inquiry portion of an independent investigation.

Former cheer coach Pam Bonnevier, who was also named in the lawsuit, stopped working for NU in October 2020.

Polisky's hire elicited backlash from the Northwestern community.

Per Yunkyo Kim and Jacob Fulton of the Daily Northwestern, six university professors penned an open letter to Provost Kathleen Hagerty criticizing the move, with History Prof. Amy Stanley notably saying the hire was a "slap in the face."

According to Kim and Sophia Scanlan of the Daily Northwestern, former NU cheerleader Erika Carter started a petition with hundreds of signatures demanding an independent investigation into Polisky's Northwestern tenure.

Last Saturday, over 200 members of the Northwestern community protested in front of Schapiro's house, according to Kim and Nick Francis of the Daily Northwestern.

Polisky has his backers, including Darren Rovell of the Action Network and Teddy Greenstein of PointsBet:

A long list of the prestigious athletes, alumni and executives at Northwestern have written a letter to the Board of Trustees in support of their new athletic director Mike Polisky.

Disclosure: I have signed the letter. pic.twitter.com/0bJmZcheGj

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 12, 2021

I'd like to sign as well in support of Mike Polisky. Does a tweet count? https://t.co/mBtIbFxVQs

— Teddy Greenstein (@TeddyGreenstein) May 12, 2021

Others in the media criticized the hire, including Stewart Mandel of The Athletic and Kevin B. Blackistone of the Washington Post:

Northwestern's AD search:

-- Took 4 months
-- Promoted someone named as a defendant in a cheerleader's discrimination lawsuit.
-- No introductory press conference
-- Mass student protest.
-- Resigns.

Now, a linguistics professor is temporarily running a B1G athletic department.

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) May 12, 2021

One other note: Kudos to the student media at @DailyNU_Sports and @insidenu who held the school accountable. @Lassimak in particular with her reporting.

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) May 12, 2021

"But I do know this: The hiring was insulting to Richardson and her former teammates who corroborated her claims," Blackistone wrote.

It was embarrassing to alumni such as me who, like proud alums of any school anywhere, have developed a fanaticism for our school that we express most fervently by cheering for its teams.

It was infuriating to faculty, from whose ranks six women wrote an open letter of protest to provost Kathleen Hagerty on Wednesday.

And it was not surprising.

Polisky had served as Northwestern's deputy athletic director of external affairs since 2010 before his promotion.

Northwestern linguistics professor Robert Gundlach, who serves as the university's faculty athletics representative to the Big Ten conference as well as the NCAA, will be serving as the school's interim AD.

The school's athletic director search committee recommended four people for the job, per Schott.

The other three candidates were former Northwestern basketball player and former New York Knicks executive Anucha Browne, Duke senior deputy director of athletics/administration of legal affairs Nina King and Northwestern deputy athletic director for administration and policy Janna Blais, who was the school's interim AD before Polisky's hire.

Polisky was hired to replace James J. Phillips, who served as Northwestern's AD from 2008 to 2020 before leaving last December to become the ACC's new commissioner.

Northwestern has added a potential impact player in the post with the commitment of power forward Pete Nance.

The 2018 prospect announced his decision on Twitter:

Excited to announce that I will be continuing my academic and athletic career at Northwestern University. #PoundTheRock #B1GCats pic.twitter.com/HixVPx8Nn3

— Pete Nance (@peteln22) June 29, 2017

According to Scout, the 4-star recruit is the No. 77 overall player in his class and No. 18 at his position.

Nance comes from an NBA family as the son of Larry Nance and the younger brother of current Los Angeles Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. While that's a lot to live up to, his talent makes him a high-upside addition to the Wildcats.

Nance could add weight to his 6'8", 210-pound frame, but he is a skilled player for his size who make things happen on the offensive end. Not only can he hit outside jumpers if left open, he can create looks for himself off the dribble with an impressive mid-range game.

Even without the same level of athleticism as his brother, he could fit perfectly in Northwestern's system as the squad tries to build on its recent success. The program reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in history last season and returns a lot of talent ready to improve upon that result in 2017-18.

With 3-star point guard Jordan Lathon also headed to Evanston, head coach Chris Collins has the makings of a quality class for 2018.

The Northwestern Wildcats won their first NCAA tournament game in history in 2017 and rewarded head coach Chris Collins for the program's progress.

Northwestern confirmed the new contract on Tuesday after Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com first reported the news. Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune cited a source who said the extension will carry through the 2024-25 campaign.

"My family and I could not be more excited to be a part of the Wildcats community for many years to come," Collins said in the school release. "I have absolutely loved coaching here, the support that we've received from the University, its leadership and our fans has been exceptional. We love being a part of the Northwestern family and we can't wait to continue building on the foundation established over the last four seasons."

It's a busy day for Northwestern considering the Big Ten school also gave football head coach Pat Fitzgerald a contract extension. Brett McMurphy of ESPN.com reported Monday that the deal runs for "at least" the upcoming 10 seasons.

As for Collins, he is 73-60 in four seasons at Northwestern and has the program trending in the right direction:

Season	Record
2013-14	14-19
2014-15	15-17
2015-16	20-12
2016-17	24-12

He led the Wildcats to an appearance in the Big Ten tournament's semifinals, their first-ever Big Dance appearance and a victory against Vanderbilt once they got there in 2016-17. They also lost by just six in the round of 32 to a Gonzaga team that advanced to the national championship game.

Look for Northwestern to challenge for another NCAA tournament appearance next season under Collins with four of five starters returning (Bryant McIntosh, Scottie Lindsey, Vic Law and Dererk Pardon).

For more news, rumors and related stories about the Northwestern Wildcats and college basketball, check out the college basketball and Northwestern streams on Bleacher Report's app.