Northwestern came into its matchup with Indiana believing they could beat the Hoosiers again. That belief was not empty — the ‘Cats had done it before. Six times in a row, to be exact, including in Bloomington this February.
In that first meeting this season, Northwestern fell behind early before roaring back in the second half and finding a way to win.
So when Indiana jumped out in front again on Wednesday night, there was no panic. The Wildcats had seen this script before, and more importantly, they
had already proven they could flip it. Even so, the opening stretch was far from ideal.
“We struggled early,” said Northwestern head coach Chris Collins. “They had a bunch of points in the paint early. We had some miscommunications on some of our post doubles. They had some good schemes. They were getting us caught in some tough spots.”
Indiana built a 25-15 lead in the first half and looked like the sharper, more comfortable team. Northwestern was chasing the game, trying to settle in and trying to keep the moment from speeding up. Against a team as desperate as Indiana, that kind of slow start could have buried the ‘Cats. Instead, they answered, and Jake West made sure of it.
With Northwestern needing someone to steady things, the freshman delivered the best half of his young career. West scored 14 points in the first half and kept the Wildcats from letting the game drift away. Every basket mattered. Every confident touch mattered. He gave Northwestern life and helped turn what could have been a long night into a fight. By halftime, the ‘Cats trailed by only one.
The Wildcats did not need to dominate the first half. They just needed to survive it. They needed to absorb Indiana’s punch, stay connected and get to the break within reach. They did all three, and once they got there, the game changed.
The second half was one of the best halves Northwestern has played all season, and maybe the best when the stakes are considered. Five minutes in, the Wildcats led 45-44. It was still close, still tense and still waiting for a team to take it. Then Northwestern did more than take it. It ripped the game away.
The ‘Cats went on a 9-0 run fueled by seven points from Nick Martinelli and two from West. That quick burst created separation, but Northwestern did not stop there. It kept defending, kept pushing and kept feeding off the energy of a team that simply was not ready to be done. What had been a one-point game turned into a 67-49 Northwestern lead as the Wildcats put together a devastating 22-5 run. The defense tightened. The effort sharpened. The young players looked fearless. Martinelli looked like Martinelli. And for one long stretch, Indiana had no answer.
That was the beauty of the performance. It was not just about surviving. It was about taking over. Northwestern overwhelmed the Hoosiers in the second half and played with the poise, force and togetherness that had too often felt just out of reach earlier in the season.
More than anything, the Wildcats rallied around Martinelli and made sure his season was not ending that night.
In the postgame at the Big Ten Network desk, West pointed directly to Martinelli when asked what had fueled Northwestern’s turnaround over the last seven games.
“It’s been our leader, Nick Martinelli,” West said. “He’s told us not to give up. He’s the hardest-working guy I’ve ever been around, and he’s pushed us every day.”
When West was asked what he had learned from the senior, his answer came back to the same thing.
“That guy lives in the gym,” West said. “He’s always there. He’s a great leader and one of the best to ever play here.”
And on a night when Martinelli was not fully in rhythm early, West helped carry the weight until the Glenview native could take over. Martinelli still scored nine points in the first half, but it was West’s 14 that gave Northwestern the stability it needed. By the end of the game, West had scored 18 points in a terrific performance. He was calm. He was fearless. He looked ready for the moment.
Tre Singleton gave Northwestern eight points and five rebounds, bringing toughness and energy on both ends. Jayden Reid added seven points, six assists and five rebounds, impacting the game in all the ways winning guards do. Tyler Kropp, Jordan Clayton, Justin Mullins and Angelo Ciaravino also gave the Wildcats valuable minutes. This was not a one-man effort. This was a group effort, and on a stage like this, that made it mean even more.
After the game, coach Chris Collins spoke about both the resilience of the team and the belief it never lost.
“Just really proud of my team,” Collins said. “We always felt like we were better than our record indicated. We lost a lot of close games, but there’s no quit in this group. They kept coming to practice every day and kept preparing.”
At 2-13 in conference play, it would have been easy for the season to collapse inward. Collins made clear that it did not.
“A lot of teams would have checked out,” he said, “but these guys weren’t like that.”
That is part of why this win felt bigger than one result. It was proof that Northwestern was better than its record, that the ’Cats weren’t not done and are still capable of becoming something more than the sum of their heartbreaks.
Collins also made sure to highlight the younger players who stepped up in such a meaningful moment.
“Nick is an absolute warrior,” Collins said. “And for Jake to come of age as a freshman in this venue against a team like Indiana, I’m just so proud of him. Tre [Singleton], Angelo [Ciaravino], Tyler Kropp, there are a lot of young guys out there competing.”
Martinelli echoed that same feeling after the game, crediting the younger players for the way they stayed locked in through a difficult season.
“It’s really a credit to the young guys,” Martinelli said. “They’ve kept their heads up through thick and thin and they’ve been practicing super hard. These guys love being in the gym.”
That made this feel even more meaningful. Northwestern did not keep playing just because its star scored 28 points, though he did and once again looked every bit like the player this team leans on. The Wildcats kept playing because the players around him refused to let this be the end.
So much of this season has been about what slipped away. Wednesday was about what Northwestern held onto.
It held onto belief after another shaky start. It held onto composure when the game could have tilted. It held onto the season. And most of all, it held onto at least one more game for Martinelli.
Now, the ‘Cats move on with momentum, confidence and another chance to keep going. For one more night, they pushed heartbreak aside. For one more night, they looked like a team with more left to give. And for one more night, they made sure Martinelli’s Northwestern career was not over yet.
