EVANSTON-Northwestern opened their season in style with an 90-46 decimation of Lehigh.

Junior forward Nick Martinelli led the way with 26 points and 10 rebounds, using his size and speed to get to the paint and bully the smaller or slower Mountain Hawk defenders.

Center Luke Hunger poured in 15 points. Graduate transfer Jalen Leach had 12 and true freshman KJ Windham and senior captain Ty Berry chipped in 10 a piece. Three different players scored their first career points: Windham, freshman Angelo Ciaravino and redshirt freshman Blake Barkley.

But it was Martinelli who led the charge.

"He was poised to come in and up it to another level, be an all-league guy, those are my hopes for him," Collins said. "He's such a difficult matchup. He's strong, he can score in the post, he knows how to get a shot off and he's worked so hard to able to make those shots that it makes it hard to guard him without double-teaming."

Collins is typically stingy with his rotations but on a night when the Wildcats were without their best player, Brooks Barnhizer, and the lead kept ballooning, 12 different Wildcats saw action.

Northwestern opened up a palindromic 51-15 lead at the half behind sensational defense and scorching offense. The 44-point win was fueled by 12 forced turnovers, a 23-5 advantage in points off turnovers and 55% shooting from the floor, including 45% on 3s didn't hurt matters, either.

"We were all over the place, we were active, but not going crazy to give up open drives or shots," Collins said. "It's always important, especially in the first game when there's nerves involved... Everybody's a little on edge, so when you can come out and play defense like that, it settles you in."

Collins also got to avenge a loss and take care of family business. Collins' sister, Kelly, played four years at Lehigh. Plus, the Mountain Hawks, starring future NBA star CJ McCollum, infamously upset second-seeded Duke with Collins on the Blue Devils' staff in 2012.

"My sister was a really good player at Lehigh," he said. "The only other time I've played Lehigh was the CJ McCollum game... So she's been talking trash for 12 years that Lehigh has my number and I've had this one circled so I don't have to hear that anymore."

Here are our takeaways from the Wildcats' wire-to-wire win.

New season, same culture: The Wildcats swarmed the Mountain Hawks and put the game away early. Collins was quick, and rueful, to note that it is his 12th season in Evanston, but as the gray hairs have come in, an ironclad defense and culture have come with them.

The Wildcats have made key additions in the past with transfers like Chase Audige and Ryan Langborg. Leach is poised to be the latest, but Collins took time to set the stage for what he's accomplished and the course they're charting ahead.

"We're going to sprinkle the portal, we're not ignoring it," Collins said. "But we've built our program on chemistry, camaraderie, guys coming in as young players to learn what it's all about. Then playing off the bench in smaller roles, then becoming great players as they get older."

Martinelli and Hunger both perfectly embody Collins' philosophy, even as the thesis, Boo Buie, has graduated, and the secondary supporting argument, Barnhizer, was on the bench in a polo.

To go back to 2022 and tell someone that Martinelli and Hunger would combine for 41 points and lead the team to a seamless victory in this manner would be unfathomable. But Collins' dogged determination and development have yielded fruit once more.

The Wildcats were without their top three scorers from 2022-23, two lost to graduation, another to injury, and didn't miss a step. The team that was picked to finish 16th in the Big Ten took the court like heavyweight favorites and delivered an early knockout.

There are plenty more games against plenty of better teams, but adding Barnhizer will only further stoke the fire that is at the core of a third straight Northwestern team.

Martinelli poised for a special season: The junior forward gave credence to Collins' all-league case with a monstrous 26 and 10 performance, finishing with an astronomical plus/minus of +43.

Martinelli spoke to his progression year-to-year, following in Barnhizer's footsteps.

"Me and Brooks are super close, we talk about ball all the time, we live together," he said. "When I came in, I saw how hard he worked and what it takes to get on the floor."

The 6-foot-8 forward used his length and strength to pick up two steals, becoming an improbable model for the team's brand of defensive intensity. He also knocked down both of his 3 attempts and finished 9-for-12 from the floor. After shooting 27.1% from beyond the arc last season, long hours in the gym have paid off.

"That was definitely a big focus. Last season I was chucking up a lot of bricks," Martinelli said with a smile. "I worked on game shots. I was always in the gym but I wasn't necessarily taking game shots. So I narrowed it down to take stress off my legs. I've also dealt with stress injuries a lot since I've been here, so it's about just getting quick and right to game shots."

Lehigh is a Patriot League team, but they were utterly without answer for Martinelli's skillset. With Barnhizer back, Berry up to full speed and progression from the rest of the roster to give better defenses more to think about, Martinelli could bring the same impact all season long.

Leach brings new style of guard: Leach's first points as a Wildcat can be seen above, a slashing and swooping layup across the lane. Pair that with the one-dribble poster dunk he threw down in the exhibition against Lewis, and that's an accurate portrait of what Leach can bring to this team.

Buie was about as exceptional a college guard as there can be, but his play style was decidedly below the rim, and while he had moments or plays of lockdown defense, he rarely asserted his will defensively. He was conserving energy to serve as maestro for the offense, and rightfully so.

But Leach has more bounce and strength and also stands 6-foot-4, two inches taller than the generously listed Buie. He adds another above-the-rim finisher while harrying opposing ballhandlers.

"You look out there and we have good size at every spot..." Collins said. "We do a lot of switching so when you have size [like Leach], it allows you to switch more and not get punished.

"I thought he did a great job in his first game. I think he's still getting accustomed to the speed and intensity of this level, but if he's going to give us 12 [points], six [assists] and five [rebounds], that'll be pretty darn good."

No one can fill Buie's shoes, and no one should expect Leach to even try, but it does look like, in the mold of Langborg and Audige, the Wildcats have made another successful and selective guard addition through the portal.

Collins still getting rotation up to speed: With a massive hole in the rotation from the absence of Barnhizer, it was on young guns like Windham, Ciaravino and Mullins to step into the fray.

Windham got the start in lieu of Barnhizer, and held his own, showing flamethrower traits that will make him an immediate contributor to this team with excellent upside as a sixth man.

Nicholson and Berry's return to full health will shake up the rotation even further. Collins signaled he wants Nicholson and Hunger to split time at center, around "20-20, or 22-18, whatever it may be," he said. Berry also played more in the second half of a big win than he would have normally, as Collins wanted to knock off as much rust as possible in the senior's first game back from a meniscus tear last season.

Seven-footer Keenan Fitzmorris played eight minutes late in the game but seems set for a reserve role this season. Guard Jordan Clayton, who burned his redshirt last season playing emergency point guard, was the only healthy player not to play in the game. Collins has legions of guards at his disposal, and with Leach, Berry, Windham, Mullins, Ciaravino and, of course, Barnhizer, seemingly ahead on the depth chart, it will be hard to see him crack the rotation this year.

A trip to Dayton is up next for Northwestern this Saturday, a matchup that will provide a much more accurate read on what Collins has in store for the rest of the season.