Northwestern's quest to make the NCAA Tournament two years in a row for the first time in school history suffered a major setback on Wednesday when head coach Chris Collins announced that guard Ty Berry is out for the season after surgery to repair a meniscus tear he suffered against Nebraska on Feb. 7.

There had been hope that Berry could potentially undergo a minimal procedure and return late in the season for the final games or tournament play. Collins said that the surgery was successful, but the injury proved to be too severe.

"It's a blow to this team but more a blow to Ty," Collins said. "He was having the best year of his career, and he was a leader on this team."

Berry, a 6-foot-3 guard, was in the midst of a standout senior season. He started the first 23 games and was averaging a career high in points (11.6 per game), field-goal percentage (44.9%) and critically, three-point percentage (43.3%). He was Northwestern's best three-point shooter and ranked third in the Big Ten.

Berry has a year of eligibility remaining in light of the COVID-waived 2020-21 season and could return to Northwestern next season in a graduate program. Collins said that he and Berry have talked about a possible fifth season in Evanston, but he didn't want to disclose the result of those discussions.

"Today isn’t the day to announce that but I think it’s a positive for a senior that it doesn’t end his career," said Collins.

Nick Martinelli, who started in place of Berry during Sunday's win over Penn State, figures to get the majority of Berry's 29.7 minutes per game this season.

More to come from WildcatReport.