Northwestern had very little margin for error Thursday night, and against a bigger, deeper Purdue team, that margin disappeared quickly.
Playing its third game in three days, Northwestern looked worn down from the start in an 81-68 loss to the Boilermakers in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. The Wildcats were already facing a difficult turnaround, but the challenge became even steeper with Arrinten Page out due to illness and Tre Singleton limited after injuring his wrist the night before.
Against
Purdue’s size, that was a brutal combination.
The Boilermakers outrebounded Northwestern 35-23 and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, turning those extra chances into eight more field goal attempts and several additional possessions that ended at the free throw line. For a Northwestern team already running on fumes, that was too much to overcome.
Purdue set the tone almost immediately. The Boilermakers came out with more energy, more force and more physicality, building a 24-point halftime lead while exposing how little NU had left in the tank after two emotional wins in as many days.
Northwestern coach Chris Collins said Purdue’s early burst knocked the Wildcats back.
“Really their pop early knocked us back,” Collins said. “I thought we were kind of a step slow to everything early. Their older guys really set the tone. We dug ourselves a big hole there in the first half.”
The first half made clear just how difficult the matchup was going to be. Without Page, Northwestern did not have enough size to consistently hold up inside. With Singleton limited, the Wildcats had even less room to compensate.
Collins said that showed up most on the glass.
“Yeah, he [Arrinten Page] just wasn’t able to go unfortunately,” Collins said. “He wasn’t cleared medically to play in the game. It hurt us. I mean, obviously having him last time we played these guys, size, athleticism, strength, with Kaufman-Renn and Cluff, just have another big body, and it really hurt us.”
He added that Purdue’s size affected much more than just the post-ups.
“The post-ups was one thing, but it was the glass, the offensive boards, and we just didn’t have the size to combat it, especially when you’re on the third game in three days,” Collins said. “Tre hurt his wrist last night. I thought you guys probably saw his shooting wrist. He couldn’t even shoot. He was out there battling with one hand.”
That context made Northwestern’s second-half response more notable.
After trailing by 24 at the break, the Wildcats came out with much more life, scoring 47 points in the second half and trimming the final margin to 13. They never seriously threatened to complete the comeback, but they did make Purdue work more than the halftime score suggested they would.
Collins said his message at halftime was simple: keep competing.
“I challenged our guys, we were down big, I said, guys, we’re not going to tap out,” Collins said. “We’re not throwing the white towel. That’s not who we are as a program. That’s not how you guys are as individuals, as competitors.”
That fight showed up in Northwestern’s leaders.
Nick Martinelli delivered again with 25 points, closing his Northwestern career the same way he played much of the season, with toughness, consistency and a refusal to back down. Jayden Reid was excellent as well, finishing with 19 points and nine assists while helping fuel the Wildcats’ second-half push. Jordan Clayton continued his strong late-season shooting stretch with 10 points.
For a team that simply did not have enough bodies or energy to fully match Purdue, those performances at least gave Northwestern some life.
Afterward, Collins made it clear how proud he was of what Martinelli meant to the program, especially on a young team that needed steadiness.
“Really proud of this group for fighting through adversity through the year,” Collins said. “Obviously proud of this guy. He’s going down as one of the all-time greats in our program’s history.”
Martinelli also reflected on what staying at Northwestern meant to him in an era when so many players leave.
“I found my place,” Martinelli said. “This is my home. I’ve got so much love reciprocated because I stayed. It’s been such a blessing and an honor.”
That sentiment fit the way Northwestern played Thursday night. The Wildcats did not have enough to win, not against Purdue, not with the injuries and not after three games in three days. But they still competed, still pushed and still made sure the final chapter was about resilience rather than surrender.
In the end, the circumstances were just too much. Northwestern was shorthanded, exhausted and outsized. But even in a season-ending loss, the ‘Cats never stopped fighting.
