Brooks Barnhizer might just be that good

Nick Martinelli scored 32 points in a five-point loss to Dayton. Northwestern doesn’t beat Eastern Illinois without all 27 from Jalen Leach. But after two days in Arizona that left the Cats with more questions than answers, one thing is abundantly clear. This is Brooks Barnhizer’s basketball team.

Barnhizer played 77 of Northwestern’s 80 minutes in Tempe, totaling 47 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists – team highs in each category. In a two-game stretch in which Ty Berry, Martinelli and Leach struggled for extended periods, Barnhizer was Northwestern’s rock.

Captain Brooks hit big shot after big shot late against UNLV on Friday night, just as he did against Butler on Thursday. That late layup gave Northwestern fans flashbacks to the final dance on the sidelines, but more importantly, it gave the Cats a seven-point lead that proved too tall a task for the Runnin’ Rebels.

The rest of the offense around Barnhizer is still the scariest variety. I’m not worried about Martinelli – two poor shooting performances aren’t enough for me to forget the Wooden Award candidate we saw in early November – or Leach. The graduate transfer was advertised as much as a third option, and anyone who watched him in Fairfield knew he would never shine as a true one-guard.

The offensive decline after Northwestern’s family-sized three-pointer is truly shocking. There’s a reason Coach Collins had to play Barnhizer for 39 minutes last night against Dayton and Martinelli for a full 40 minutes. The circle of trust is small and gets smaller with every Berry three-pointer that rattles off the front edge. Collins played against 11 different players against UNLV and even channeled his inner blind darts player at one point when he turned to Blake Smith for an immediate attack in the second half.

Luke Hunger, who I hold in higher regard than most, lost all the confidence he had opened the season with against Lehigh. Hunger scored 15 points in as many minutes in that game, with 13 of his 15 coming from jumpers from off the field. Further evidence that 90-46 was a blip in the Matrix was that Hunger didn’t fire a shot from the field on Friday and he failed to hold up his end of the bargain on defense. It might be time for some Keenan Fitzmorris.

Barnhizer was good enough that none of that mattered. His six assists contributed to a real heavyweight performance in a must-win game for Northwestern. Captain Brooks will need more help – Jalen Leach was enough last night – but No. 13 alone could be worth six or seven wins in the Big Ten. He appears to have found his stroke from deep, hitting four three-pointers after only scoring twice in his first three games. The turnaround jumpers are slump-proof, as is its All-Big Ten defense.

All in all, Northwestern is one terrible decision away from finishing the weekend 2-0 (OK, not quite, but Butler beat Mississippi State, maybe!). There are plenty of problems for this iteration of Northwestern basketball, but it’s still November. This time last year, the Cats were averaging just 68.8 points per game after losing to Mississippi State, where they couldn’t buy a basket, and earning a four-point win over a Western Michigan team that finished the season in the KenPom 300’s.

We all remember what happened next. Boo Buie forced his boys to 92 points and a win over No. 1 Purdue. Northwestern will have a chance at this year’s signature win against Illinois next Thursday after a Quad 1 chance at Iowa on Tuesday.

Brooks hasn’t reached Boo territory yet – and probably never will – but it’s foolish to count the Cats out with No. 13 at the helm. He’s that good.