Nick Martinelli scores 28 and Northwestern defeats Indiana 74-61 at Big Ten Tournament

Mar 12, 2026, 09:06 am

CHICAGO -- — Nick Martinelli scored 28 points, Jake West added 18 and 15th-seeded Northwestern knocked off No. 10-seed Indiana 74-61 on the second day of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday.

The Wildcats (15-18) trailed 37-36 at halftime then held cold-shooting Indiana to 24 points in the second half. Northwestern now has a seven-game winning streak against the Hoosiers (18-14).

Martinelli made 5 of 7 shots early in the second half while Indiana was mired in a 2-for-11 shooting slump, leading to a 57-47 Northwestern lead with 10 minutes remaining.

Jordan Clayton made one free throw for a 70-52 Wildcats lead with about 5 1/2 minutes left. Both teams limped home from there, with the Wildcats missing their last seven shots and Indiana making only 1 of 4 down the stretch.

At one point in the second half the Hoosiers went six minutes without making a shot and they went 3 for 15 from the field in the final 14-plus minutes.

Lamar Wilkerson scored 17 points and Tayton Conerway had 14 for Indiana. Tucker DeVries had eight rebounds and six assists but was only 2-for-9 shooting for six points.

Northwestern led only once in the first half, when Tyler Kropp's 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a 33-32 lead with 2:49 remaining before halftime. Nick Dorn responded with a 3 for Indiana and the Hoosiers went on to lead 37-36 at the break.

The Hoosiers have lost six of their last seven games.

Up next

Northwestern plays seventh-seeded Purdue on Thursday. No. 2 seed Nebraska awaits in the quarterfinals.

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