March 11, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli (2) shoots against the Indiana Hoosiers in the first half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Image Nick Martinelli scored a game-high 28 points and freshman Jake West added 18 points, tying a career high, as Northwestern advanced to the third round of the Big Ten tournament with a 74-61 win over Indiana Wednesday night in Chicago.
Tre Singleton scored eight points and Jayden Reid added six assists for the 15th-seeded Wildcats (15-18), who have won their seventh straight win over the Hoosiers and their second in 16 days.
Martinelli, who was the Big Ten’s leading scorer during the regular season with 22.8 points per game, finished with 10 of his 18 points and became the 25th player from the floor to reach 20 points.
Northwestern earned its second tournament win in two days and faced No. 7 seed and No. 18 Purdue (23-8) on Thursday. The Boilermakers beat the Wildcats 70-66 on March 4 in Evanston, Illinois.
Lamar Wilkerson scored 17 points and Tayton Conaway added 14 off the bench as 10th-seeded Indiana (18-14) lost for the sixth time in seven games. Wilkerson was the Big Ten’s second-leading scorer with 21.0 points.
The Hoosiers shot 48.1 percent from the floor to 44.4 percent from the floor for the Wildcats and 6 of 11 from Northwestern. Indiana failed to advance to the second round and lost in the tournament opener.
Northwestern opened its first double-digit lead at 57-47 with 10:11 left after two free throws by Martinelli. Jayden Reid added a 3-pointer to put the Wildcats up 60-47 with 9:33 left, completing a 15-3 run.
Indiana went more than four minutes without a field goal until Wilkerson made a turnaround jumper that cut the Hosiers’ deficit to 60-49 with 9:15 remaining.
The Wildcats led by as many as 18 points, including 70-52 with 5:22 remaining after Jordan Clayton’s free throw.
Indiana was only 5 out of 20 (25.0%) in the second half.
Indiana hit nine of its first 12 shots to build a 22-13 lead midway through the first half before Northwestern went on a run to take a 33-32 lead. The Hoosiers shot 60.0 percent in the first half and led 37-36 at the break, 10 points behind Wilkerson. West held the Wildcats to 14 points in the first half.
–Field level media
