March 10, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli (2) shoots a free throw against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the second half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Image Indiana went 5-1 before losing five of six games to close the regular season.
That fully captures the profile of the Hoosiers, who enter Wednesday’s second-round Big Ten tournament game against Northwestern in Chicago with a sense of realism.
Indiana, seeded 10th, needs a strong run in the conference tournament to strengthen its case for an NCAA Tournament bid.
“We have a lot of motivation going into the Big Ten tournament to show what we can do,” said Reed Bailey, a senior for the Hoosiers.
Indiana (18-13) aims to avenge a 72-68 home loss to the Wildcats on Feb. 24. Northwestern standout Nick Martinelli, the Big Ten’s leading scorer with an average of 22.8 points per game, scored 21 of his 28 points after halftime to buoy the Wildcats.
No. 15 seed Northwestern (14-18) opened its conference tournament with a 76-66 first-round win over No. 18 seed Penn State on Tuesday.
Martinelli was successful once again, scoring 24 points and 9 rebounds. But with second-leading scorer Arrinten Page sidelined due to illness, the Wildcats welcomed a strong assist effort from Jayden Reid.
Playing in his first Big Ten tournament, the South Florida transfer had 14 points and nine assists, one assist shy of his career high.
“Obviously my teammates did a great job finishing, but I just trusted the offense and let the game come to me and didn’t force anything,” Reid said. “Obviously we have great players on the court, obviously Nick Martinelli. … It makes my job easier.”
Northwestern set a conference tournament record with 21 assists.
Indiana, meanwhile, has been on a roll since Saturday’s 91-78 loss to Ohio State to close the regular season. Lamar Wilkerson led the Hoosiers with 18 points, his 12th straight game in double figures.
Sam Alexis scored in double figures for the 13th time on the season with 14 points. But the senior forward has six points in his last eight games, including 13 in a win over Northwestern.
“He played the best basketball of his career last month, from our perspective,” Hoosiers coach Darian DeVries said. “It’s been fun watching him grow throughout the year.”
–Field level media
