The ‘Cats are still dancing.
With its season hanging in the balance, Northwestern decided it wasn’t ready to go home just yet, taking down the Hoosiers 74-61 to advance to the third round of the Big Ten Tournament. The ‘Cats entered the game as 6.5-point underdogs (per Draft Kings) against an Indiana team that needed a win to safely secure its spot in the NCAA Tournament. However, Chris Collins and the ’Cats had other ideas, riding a dominant 38-24 second half to their seventh straight win over Indiana.
Here are three takeaways from Northwestern’s upset win at United Center.
Nick Martinelli isn’t ready to say goodbye to Northwestern
After winning the Big Ten scoring title in the 2024-25 season, Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli thought that it might be time to retire his purple threads. Following the ‘Cats’ 70-63 loss to Wisconsin on March 13, the news quickly broke that the Glenview, Illinois native would test the NBA draft waters in the offseason and strongly consider taking his talents to the next level. For 76 long days, Northwestern faithful held its breath, unsure whether its superstar forward would return to Evanston for one more year.
Now, ‘Cats fans can be sure that Martinelli does not want to leave.
Since February 18, Martinelli has put this Northwestern team on his back, leading it to an impressive 5-2 record over its last seven games. The senior sensation has averaged 26.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game during this stretch, heeding the call time after time in each games’ biggest moments.
Once again, on Wednesday night against Indiana, Martinelli was summoned to action. He started a bit slow, getting to the charity stripe just once and scoring just nine points in the first half. But, with the ‘Cats down one at the break, it was clear that they had a legitimate chance to win this game. That’s when Nicky Buckets once again became a “superhero.” Martinelli outscored Indiana 10-7 by himself in the first seven minutes of the second half, en route to a tally of 19 points in the second half on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 shooting from the free-throw line. He finished with 28 points and four rebounds, leading Northwestern in scoring for an eighth-straight game.
“When you come in the locker room, and this could be your last 20 minutes for this jersey… you just can’t let that slip. And we let it slip too much this year,” said Martinelli in the postgame presser.
It has been an up and down year in Evanston. Just under a month ago, Martinelli scored just 11 points in the ‘Cats’ 19-point loss to Nebraska, which punctuated a five-game losing streak that also included double-digit losses to Michigan, Illinois and Washington. It would have been easy for the ‘Cats to limp to the finish line and bow out early in the Big Ten tournament. Instead, Martinelli has decided he’s not yet ready to pull of his purple threads for a final time. Whether or not Northwestern beats Purdue on Thursday night, ‘Cats fans should always remember Martinelli’s long goodbye.
TEAM DEFENSE!!
For the first time all year, Northwestern has been able to play consistent team defense. After the Hoosiers came out hot in the first frame, the ‘Cats dug in their heels coming out of the break. In the second half, Northwestern put together the best thirty minutes of defense its played all season long, holding Indiana to 25% (5-for-20) shooting from the field, while winning the rebound battle 17-15 despite being without the 6-foot-11 Arrinten Page.
Northwestern’s defense has been gradually gaining momentum since mid-February. After allowing an average of 77.3 points during its 2-10 start to 2026, the ‘Cats have limited their opponents to just 66.9 points during its 5-2 stretch starting with the Maryland game on February 18.
Chris Collins finally has his boys much more aggressively pressuring the ball, with quick help side defense ready to crash the paint and cut off any dribble drives. Even when Northwestern’s guards have beat off the bounce, the ‘Cats have rotated well enough to force tough shots in the paint. These days, to have offensive success against the Wildcats, you have to shoot the three ball well. Northwestern surrendered 11 threes in its 68-49 loss to Nebraska and nine threes to Purdue on Senior Night at Welsh-Ryan. If wanted, these perimeter looks are there for team good three-point shooting teams. However, these defensive priorities have worked for Collins’ squad against less sparky teams like Indiana, who has shot a total of 35.5% from three in its two recent losses to the ‘Cats — not bad, but not good enough.
Watch the video linked above. Just look at these boys pressure the ball! Jayden Reid and Tyler Kropp’s aggressive on-ball activity kept the Hoosiers far behind the three-point line the entire possession, as the Hoosiers could not find any space to get to the basket. Then, once Indiana’s Jasai Miles finally was able to penetrate the paint, Kropp and Mullins were there to help. Miles then tries to kick it out to Nick Dorn, but Mullins times his recovery perfectly, getting in the passing lane to prevent an open three-point shot.
According to BartTorvik.com, Northwestern’s performance against Indiana was its best defensive game of its recent winning bout. The ‘Cats achieved a 94.0 defensive rating against the Hoosiers, just its sixth best mark of the season, but its second best grade against a Power Four opponent. TEAM DEFENSE from the ‘Cats!!
Speed has been key
For much of the season, the ‘Cats lacked speed on the floor. It was most clear, perhaps, in two instances.
On January 17, Northwestern fell 77-58 to Nebraska at Welsh-Ryan. Nebraska played a fast-pace offensive style, pushing the ball in transition, whipping the ball around the perimeter and consistently burning the ‘Cats off-the-dribble. The Cornhuskers found open looks all night long, scoring 28 points in the paint and draining 11 three-pointers.
On February 8, Bennett Stirtz burned Northwestern for 36-points. The ‘Cats simply had no answer for one of the best guards in the country. Stirtz was consistently able to win one-on-one on the perimeter, and Collins’ squad couldn’t rotate fast enough to stop Stirtz in the paint on the backside.
Throughout the season, part of Northwestern’s problem may have been that it wasn’t utilizing its athleticism. In a vacuum, Reid and West — and Reid especially — aren’t known for being standout one-on-one defenders. Per BartTorvik.com, West ranks fourth on the team with a 1.42 DBPR, while Reid ranks dead last with an 0.08 DBPR.
However, Collins may have figured out how to use his two star guards. Whenever, Jayden Reid and Jake West are on the floor together, they are usually the court’s two quickest players. Recently, Collins has decided to unleash this speed. He has Reid and West aggressively pressuring the ball, getting in passing lanes, and pushing the ball in transition off of turnovers. Against the better guards in the Big Ten, the ‘Cats may have to adjust their strategy, but against the Hoosiers it worked to perfect. Indiana’s guards were overwhelmed by Reid and West’s high-motor ball pressure and were forced to live on the perimeter in the second half, unable to get inside.
Additionally, though I am still one of Arrinten Page’s greatest supporters, there’s no doubt that without him in the lineup the ‘Cats have been better rotating on defense. Singleton and Kropp are much better defending the pick-and-roll, able to use their agility to more quickly recover. Similarly, while Page is the Wildcats’ best true paint defender, Northwestern’s quicker forwards are often better at rotating into help and preventing paint touches altogether. That was certainly true against Indiana, which scored just six points in the paint in the second half.
While early in the season, it oftentimes felt like the ‘Cats lacked speed on the court, against Indiana, Northwestern’s speed was a key to this victory.
