EVANSTON - The Wildcats upset Illinois for the third straight season at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Friday night, 70-66 behind an incredible game from their Big Three of Brooks Barnhizer, Nick Martinelli and Jalen Leach.

The trio combined for 60 of the team's 70 points, and 12 of 14 in overtime. Martinelli led the way with 27 points, lurching back to life after a four-point first half. Barnhizer was in typical Iron Man form, playing all 45 minutes, finishing with 17 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

But it was Leach who was the linchpin.

"For as well as Martinelli played, I thought it was Leach that was the difference...," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "They've been a two-headed monster but Leach gave them that extra productivity."

After just nine points in 33 minutes against Iowa, Leach poured in 16 points, five assists and was a team-high +9 in 43 minutes. Those five assists were crucial as Leach hadn't dished out more than three in a game since the opener agaibst Lehigh.

But setting aside the trio's heroics for a moment, this was a landmark win for Northwestern. It wasn't just their second straight win in overtime over a ranked Illinois team in the past two seasons; it was the first time they have strung together three wins in a row at home in the rivalry since 1966-68.

Northwestern coach Chris Collins has often talked about one of the reasons he left his assistant job at Duke to lead the Wildcats was hopes of charting his own course, making a program's history.

"Being at a place like Duke for a long time, studying those high-level programs...there's a belief that no matter who is wearing that jersey, they believe they're supposed to win," Collins said. "When you don't have that, you hope you win... I think now, because of our success, when we come into these games, they believe they're going to win...

"What's been really fun for me in our program the last couple years is see that attitude start to formulate."

It also gave the Wildcats a heart-stopping conference win to counteract a heartbreaking loss at the buzzer to Iowa just three nights before.

Illinois still dominates the all-time series against Northwestern with nearly 100 more wins, but the Wildcats have now won three of the last five games.

"If it's going to be a rivalry, we have to be good," Collins said. "And the last three years, we've been pretty good."

Underwood agrees.

"Northwestern is really good. People need to wake the hell up,” he said.

Here are our takeaways from the win that evens Northwestern’s record to 1-1 in the Big Ten:

"I've got a mid-range team": Northwestern shot an appalling 4-for-21 from beyond the three-point line and it took them 45 minutes to reach 70 points. Their three leading scorers all hoisted mid-range jumper after mid-range jumper in heavy traffic.

Martinelli was 11-for-20, Leach was 6-for-14 and Barnhizer was 7-for-23. They looked at Illinois' carefully crafted analytical style, their 13 more three-point attempts, and told them to shove it. It was time for some old-school hoops.

"I've got a mid-range team and we won," an unrepentant Collins said. "That's what we want. Brooks Barnhizer is a mid-range player, Nick Martinelli is a mid-range player, Jalen Leach is a mid-range player. You have to coach the players you have. I'd be an idiot not to tell them to take mid-range jump shots."

The Wildcats have won with many unorthodox box scores, and this was an all-timer. They held an Illini offense that entered the game averaging 89 points to just 66 with overtime by playing them basically dead-even on the glass, forcing 11 turnovers while committing just four of their own, and scoring just seven points off the bench.

Collins says he isn't anti-analytics, but for now, the Wildcats are running into the teeth of all that modern basketball says is wrong, and it paid off.

The crowd helped the Wildcats down the stretch: For the second year in a row, the Wildcats just had more gas in the tank than the Illini, and their top three players all played 40+ minutes without flagging.

Collins lauded the Northwestern student body for boosting his players over the finish line.

"I was a little more animated with our crowd in the second half because I knew how tired our guys were and I wanted our students to feel they needed that energy," he said. "That's what a home crowd does when you got to dig down and get stops... Man, they showed up tonight. We wouldn't have won without our students."

Martinelli mused about how different the atmosphere is now than during his freshman season.

"So many dang people here today, super loud..." he said. "I'd watch with Blake Smith last year, people were standing in the stairwells... My first big game here, against Pitt [in 2022], I could hear my mom in the stands. It's crazy how it's grown, and I could see our fans take pride in our team."

Collins shortens his bench: Early in the season, against a few non-conference opponents, Collins seemed willing to expand the rotation. Big Ten play has returned, and so has Collins' iron grip.

The Wildcats’ rotation immediately contracted down to just seven players with 10+ minutes. After playing 28 and 31 minutes in his first two games back from injury, Barnhizer has been out of the game for five minutes combined in his last four games. He played all 45 minutes against Illinois. Martinelli is playing 38 minutes per game by comparison over that same stretch.

Collins is right to play his horses heavy minutes. Herculean efforts from Barnhizer and Martinelli, and from Leach, who chipped in a career-high 43 minutes, is how this team is going to compete and win games.

It's very early in the season, but both Barnhizer and Martinelli deserve First-Team All-Big Ten consideration at this point.

Northwestern can go three straight in a more important stat: Three straight wins over Illinois at home is something to hang your hat on, but Collins has eyes on the real prize: a return to the NCAA Tournament fir the third straight year.

He spent most of the last two seasons tamping down tournament expectations until March itself rolled around, when he began to advocate for his team.

Not so this year. The Wildcats are conscious of their resumes and are willing to talk about it.

"When you have two [Big Ten] games out the gate, worst-case scenario to stay in it is to be 1-1," Collins said. "It was an agonizing, crushing loss on Tuesday... Not making shots [against Illinois] and having to kind of grit and grind to win, it just shows the character of the veterans in that locker room. Couldn't be more proud of my guys."

Martinelli has never missed a tournament in his Northwestern career and now that he's an integral starter, he doesn't plan to.

"I made sure our guys knew we thrive with our backs against the wall," he said. "0-2 to start a Big Ten would not have been good. We all have a goal and that's to make March Madness."

The early season woes in tight losses to Dayton, Butler and Iowa took chances for a cornerstone win in the early winter months away. Those three losses by eight total points looked like they might swamp Northwestern's chances for a third postseason run before they could even get to 2025.

But another thrilling overtime upset of the Illini has put their run back on firm ground and Collins, Martinelli, Barnhizer and Leach have the Wildcats poised to challenge for the chance to add another chapter to a storied stretch of seasons.