Northwestern hosts No. 17 Wisconsin after Leach's 23-point game

Published Jan. 31, 2025 3:43 a.m. ET

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Wisconsin Badgers (16-5, 6-4 Big Ten) at Northwestern Wildcats (12-9, 3-7 Big Ten)

Evanston, Illinois; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Northwestern hosts No. 17 Wisconsin after Jalen Leach scored 23 points in Northwestern's 79-72 loss to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

The Wildcats are 10-2 on their home court. Northwestern is 2-2 in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Badgers are 6-4 against Big Ten opponents. Wisconsin ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 25.0 defensive rebounds per game led by Steven Crowl averaging 4.3.

Northwestern makes 44.3% of its shots from the field this season, which is 2.8 percentage points higher than Wisconsin has allowed to its opponents (41.5%). Wisconsin has shot at a 46.7% clip from the field this season, 3.2 percentage points higher than the 43.5% shooting opponents of Northwestern have averaged.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nick Martinelli is averaging 19.6 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Wildcats. Brooks Barnhizer is averaging 15.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.4 steals over the last 10 games.

John Tonje is shooting 41.1% from beyond the arc with 2.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Badgers, while averaging 18.2 points. John Blackwell is averaging 17.4 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 4-6, averaging 75.5 points, 28.9 rebounds, 15.1 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.1 points per game.

Badgers: 8-2, averaging 81.8 points, 33.4 rebounds, 15.4 assists, 4.4 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.7 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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CBK - Wisconsin Badgers vs. Northwestern Wildcats - 02/01/2025