Northwestern men’s basketball team awards

On the final day of the college basketball season, what better way is there to look back at the accomplishments of Northwestern basketball than to vote for team awards! We start off with the men’s team today, and will release our voting results for the women’s group tomorrow.

For Chris Collins’ squad, we gave out seven awards for Inside NU writers to vote for in total. They range from more traditional (MVP) to more crowd-centric (best Welsh-Ryan Arena crowd). The voting rules were as follows: the staff gave their top three candidates for each award, and we gave out three points for a first-place vote, two for a second-place vote and one for a third-place one.

Eleven writers voted, making for a grand total of 33 points to be earned per award. Here are the results:

Let’s dive into each award winner a little more:

MVP: Boo Buie (33 points, 11-of-11 first-place votes)

There are a few no-brainers here, and Northwestern’s All-Big Ten First Team point guard is one of them. Once conference play came around, the star guard was the offensive engine that made this team go the places it did. He had so many incredible performances and moments it’s impossible to really choose one from the rest: his 26-point showing to take down Indiana in Bloomington, another 26-point performance in the upset over Purdue, his game-winning hook against the Hoosiers at home to basically clinch a March Madness berth or his 35-point outburst against Illinois after getting his jersey ripped are just a few of them. If he doesn’t withdraw from the NBA Draft and leaves Evanston, Northwestern will miss Buie dearly. He’s one of the best offensive players to ever play for NU.

Defensive Player of the Year: Chase Audige (33 points, 11-of-11 first-place votes)

How do you not give the guy who was named as one of the two best defenders in the Big Ten this award? Audige was a staple in the passing lanes, racking up about 2.4 steals per game. That was good for sixth in the Power Six and 11th in all of Division I. He’s one of the most versatile defenders Northwestern has ever had, and his ability to stick with both quicker point guards and bigger wings — as well as his quickness compensating for the double-team traps that defined this Wildcat team — helped propel NU’s defense to elite status.

Most Improved Player: Brooks Barnhizer (26 points, 8-of-11 first-place votes)

Second-year players are typically almost locks to get better, but Barnhizer went above and beyond. He didn’t just improve on his first year; he improved on his start of the season. No. 13’s minutes fluctuated heavily as late as early January, as he played only seven minutes in the loss against Rutgers. However, he morphed into one of the best sixth men in the Big Ten, becoming the team’s second-most consistent offensive threat behind Buie down the stretch. Until his rough shooting performance against UCLA in the Round of 32, he went seven straight games reaching double figures. Coming off a freshman season in which he played 11 games, averaged fewer than eight minutes per contest and shot 23% from the field, Barnhizer took a huge leap in 2022-23. Should Audige leave, he could be the focal point of Northwestern’s offense next season.

The other first-place votes went to Buie (2) and Matthew Nicholson (1).

Best Win: 64-58 vs. No. 1 Purdue, Feb. 12 (33 points, 11-of-11 first-place votes)

Need we say more? The only other win that comes close is possibly the March Madness win over Boise State, but that had nowhere near as much shock value as the win over the Boilermakers did. You probably know the story; down eight, at the under-four timeout, Northwestern decided it would prove everyone wrong and force Purdue to collapse. It’s not just the best win of the season, it might be the best win in the history of the program.

Worst Loss: 87-58 vs. Pitt, Nov. 28 (17 points, 4-of-11 first-place votes)

Our voters were the most divided on this question, as first-place votes also went to the Feb. 2 home loss against Michigan (3), the Senior Night overtime defeat at the hands of Penn State (2) as well as single votes for the road loss to Illinois on Feb. 23 and the Big Ten Tournament rematch against PSU.

The Pittsburgh game was truly ugly, though. The Panthers dropped 50 points in the second half and shot 14-of-22 from three while the ‘Cats shot 34% from the field. There were few students in Welsh-Ryan Arena due to it being Reading Week, also. It was the worst defensive performance of the season, and emitted what turned out to be a hilariously false sense that this season would be similar to past ones.

Best First-Year/Sophomore: Brooks Barnhizer (33 points, 11-of-11 first-place votes)

The other candidates here were Nick Martinelli, Julian Roper II and Luke Hunger. As stated above, it was clear that Barnhizer wasn’t just the best player of the first-years and sophomores, he was one of the best players on the entire team.

Best Welsh-Ryan Arena Crowd: Feb. 12 vs. Purdue (28 points, 7-of-11 first-place votes)

You can’t beat a court-storming. This took place on a Sunday afternoon, with the online ticket demand being so high that the portal literally crashed. Northwestern Wildside organized a phenomenal blackout in the student section, which was packed to capacity 30 minutes before tip. It still doesn’t feel real even writing those sentences out. The student contingent was able to match a loud Purdue crowd which showed out in the upper levels, and it created an atmosphere that will surely be a memorable part of many students’ Northwestern experiences long after they graduate. It also kicked off a week-long stretch of basketball nirvana in Evanston, with the home wins over Indiana and Iowa following the upset over the Boilermakers.

The other games to receive first-place votes were the Jan. 4 victory over Illinois (3), which prompted Northwestern athletics to reorganize the student ticket process due to sky-high demand, and the Feb. 19 blowout over Iowa (1).