Despite making some New Year’s resolutions, the first conference victory for the Wildcats is yet to come.
In its first game of 2026. Northwestern (8-6, 0-3 B1G) couldn’t pull away with a win, dropping to
Minnesota (9-5, 2-1 B1G) 84-78 on Saturday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats took decent leads multiple times during the process, but failed to weave through the Golden Gophers’ successive rallies in the second half.
Nick Martinelli dropped 26 points to lead the ‘Cats offense and garnered six rebounds. Jayden Reid, with seven assists, and Arrinten Page, with three blocks, followed his lead with 19 points apiece.
On the Golden Gophers’ side, five players scored in double-digits, led by Cade Tyson, who scored 24 points with five rebounds and six assists. Forward Grayson Grove added a new career high with 12 points, eight of them coming in the second half.
Northwestern forced the Golden Gophers into their first turnover with a shot-clock violation, but Minnesota hit the home team first with four points from Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, while the ‘Cats missed three opening shots. Northwestern went cold until Martinelli stepped up with a three-pointer to break the early three-minute drought for the Wildcats, followed by another triple by Jayden Reid on top of the key, retaking the lead for NU at 6-4 before the first media timeout.
The Golden Gophers tied the game with Cade Tyson’s jumper before the ‘Cats subbed their second unit. Max Green stepped on the court and impacted immediately with an impressive three. Martinelli and Reid piled up four points in the next two possessions, but Minnesota continued to threaten after an Isaac Asuma three. With a load of stumbling ball movement, Green found Page in a narrow angle for a reverse layup under the rim, giving Northwestern a 15-11 lead at the under-12.
Minnesota again fought back with another four-point prowess through off-ball cuts. Martinelli attempted to link Page up with an alley-oop throw, and Page’s put-back missed but drew a foul, leading to two points from the line. Following a Minnesota offensive foul, Angelo Ciaravino found a lane and finished a tough drive.
The Golden Gophers continued to space the floor, retaking the lead after Kai Shinholster juked out all defensive focus through a cut. Reid blitzed downhill with a driving two, and Ciaravino converted Clayton’s long pass with a corner three. Green then put up a reverse layup with a series of feints from the weakside.
Though Northwestern became more aware of Minnesota’s fast-paced style, the Golden Gophers continued to navigate methods to rip through the ‘Cats’ defense. Tyson cut in, with his first attempt being canceled by Jake West’s chasedown block, put back the second, and drew a foul on Page. Asuma again felt a hot hand with another triple, closing to a one-point game at the 3:32 mark.
Reid again battled downhill with his body and scored a driver. But Minnesota picked up a two-point lead after a Green turnover. Attempting the alley-oop throw for a second time, Martinneli finally connected with Page as the latter big man leapt up under pressure and shoved the ball in. After a short timeout, Page scored the final field goal before halftime, which tied Northwestern with Minnesota at 34-34.
For the first half, Reid finished with nine points and two assists, while Page and Martinelli scored eight and seven, respectively. On the Golden Gophers’ side, Asuma posted a team-high 11 points, nailing three of four shots from deep.
Reid drilled a stepback three to open the second half, and then Martinelli took on two defenders, diving through their arms with a hook shot. Page drew a foul on the post but missed two free throws. But Minnesota never faltered while faced with deficits. Reynold Langston put back four points in action. Page darted outside the perimeter and completed a wide shot from deep. Justin Mullen then stepped up with a steal and scored on the fastbreak he created, allowing Northwestern to lead by one at 44-43.
Reid again impacted inside the lane through contact, but Tyson kept up the threat with an and-one driver. Northwestern then ignited with a six-point prowess, including Martinelli’s four-point play and Ciaravino’s stunning alley-oop dunk fed by Reid, establishing a larger lead of seven (53-46).
Coming back from a timeout, West returned and found Martinelli in the paint with a bouncing pass for an easy banker. Martinelli then built up a momentum with five straight points, including an and-one layup, forcing Minnesota to call a timeout at the 10:29 mark.
Page made two consecutive massive defensive plays with a chasing block and a steal, but the Wildcats’ next possession was waved off due to Martinelli’s offensive foul on the post. The Golden Gophers cut it to a three-point game through the lapse. While struggling to attack, Page again rose for another block on Tyson’s drive, forcing a 24-second violation on Minnesota.
Page again drew a foul and nailed both shots from the line; but the Golden Gophers’ Grayson Grove powered down the road and posterized Page through a pick-and-roll. Both big men traded buckets in one round, until Martinelli muscled with a banker on his physicality. Page again benefited from a foul on a rebound and knocked two free throws, regaining the seven-point advantage for the Wildcats with 4:39 minutes left.
But what stood out from the opponent was a relentless heart to fight for possessions. The Golden Gophers put up a quick run and minimized the deficit to just two points within a minute. After Tyson’s and-one drive through the transition, Crocker-Johnson followed with a transition three, regaining the lead at 68-67 for Minnesota.
With around three minutes remaining, Reid drew a foul through the traffic and scored those two free throws, but his ensuing personal foul resulted in Reynolds’ two points from the line. Grove then converted a second chance with a jam, forcing Northwestern to call a timeout in the last two minutes, which trailed 72-69.
Reid missed a contested three, but Martinelli fought the rebound and drew a foul, making one of two attempts. In the crunch time, Tyson beat the clock with a fadeaway three, extending Minnesota’s lead to five.
After Clayton missed a three, NU took an intentional foul on Reynolds, who missed one of two shots. In return, the Wildcats rallied at 76-72 through a quick alley-oop dunk by Page. With 47 seconds to go, Northwestern played the full-court defense, but the opponent overcame the pressure through the midcircle, forcing Northwestern to take another foul on Tyson, who eventually made both free throws.
Instead of taking threes, Martinelli drew a foul through a drive and scored two, cutting to 78-74. Minnesota took a short timeout with 32.6 seconds left.
But Northwestern’s defense impacted immediately as it forced a travel violation. Martinelli capitalized on this golden possession and knocked down a quick jumper on the right post. After Tyson connected another two free throws off a personal foul, Reid strided toward the rim and finished a contested drive in nearly five seconds.
But Minnesoda again beat the pressure through an organized push, drawing another intentional foul and converting two from the line by Asuma. Martinelli roughly pulled up a quick three, but the ball went ridiculously off the target. Northwestern dropped its third conference game 84-78. The Wildcats will look to get their first win in Big Ten play when they travel to East Lansing on January 8 to take on ninth-ranked Michigan State.
