The Northwestern Wildcats will have to wait until Sunday for another chance at their first Big Ten win, falling 76-66 to Tom Izzo and the No. 12 Michigan State Spartans on Thursday night.
After a statement first half, NU’s control faltered after the break as Michigan State’s size, whistle and composure swung the game. Even with the heroics of Nick Martinelli, execution and rebounding proved decisive in the loss. Here are the three biggest takeaways from Thursday’s matchup.
Nick Martinelli carried the offense – again
In what’s becoming a theme
for both of Northwestern’s basketball teams this season, Martinelli carried the team once again. Martinelli was the only Wildcat on Thursday night to finish in double digits, delivering another all-conference performance with 28 points on 8-for-11 shooting alongside a 10-for-10 mark at the line. He was NU’s best source of rim pressure and touch shots, even adding a contested three within the final minutes of the game to keep the Spartans on their feet.
It’s clear that when Northwestern’s offense is able to flow when Martinelli’s usage is high and the paint touches are there. The thing that was missing on Thursday — and in the Minnesota and Ohio State games — is complementary scoring alongside him.
Jayden Reid was able to dish out eight assists and get four steals, but he was unable to convert consistently, finishing 3-for-14 from the floor. Tyler Kropp had a career-high at halftime with nine points on 3-for-3 shooting, but he was absent in the second half. Despite being NU’s second-leading scorer on the season, Arrinten Page came off the bench and wasn’t able to find much success in that time, putting up just two points in his 17 minutes.
Martinelli is an excellent player with great touch and fundamentals, capable of leading a good team. But if he can’t get help from the other Wildcats, wins might be hard to come by in the Big Ten.
MSU flipped the game with their size and composure
In the first 20 minutes, NU played about as well as it has all season. That started on defense, where the ‘Cats forced eight first-half turnovers (finishing with 15) to create extra opportunities to score. Those possessions helped build the Wildcats’ lead up at the end of the first, which wrapped up poetically with a Reid steal and an easy layup on the other end that gave Northwestern a 35-28 edge.
STEAL ➡️ SCORE
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) January 9, 2026
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But that all changed in the second half when MSU started enforcing its will on the boards. The Spartans outrebounded the Wildcats 42-31 in the game and grabbed eight crucial offensive boards. With the amount of turnovers they were giving up, those rebounds provided crucial extra opportunities at the rim which they either converted or drew a foul on (the Spartans took 33 free throws in Thursday’s contest).
MSU’s Jeremy Fears Jr. and Jaxon Kohler changed the game with their offense. Fears attacked the rim in the second, scoring all 15 of his points in the second half after being forced to sit majority of the first half due to foul trouble. Kohler punished switches and stretched out NU’s defense from deep — an atypical approach for an Izzo team which lives inside the arc — going 3-for-6 from distance.
With this working against the ‘Cats, their halftime lead powered by an 11-0 run evaporated as second-chance points and free throws stacked up for MSU.
Late-game execution remains the hurdle
This was not a one-off loss. Just like in the games against Minnesota and Ohio State, the same late-execution troubles flared up again in East Lansing.
At one point, Northwestern cut a 10-point deficit to two, trailing the Spartans 64-62 with 2:04 remaining. But Michigan State closed the game with poise and relentless pressure: Fears attacked the rim and hit free throws, Coen Carr delivered a crushing runout dunk and Carson Cooper topped it off at the line. By the time Northwestern scored its next point, the lead was already back to 10 with 30 seconds left.
NU’s opportunities looked rushed and incomplete, and it had no answers on the glass, allowing MSU to stack up second-chance looks. The loss echoed the previous two Big Ten matchups, but the story at Breslin Center was distinct. The Spartan guards controlled the whistle, Cooper protected the rim and grabbed boards, and Kohler’s timely threes created enough separation for MSU while Northwestern was unable to respond.
