Big Ten Tournament Game Day Essentials
No. 10 Indiana (18-13) vs. No. 15 Northwestern (14-18)
- Tip Time: 6:30 p.m. Eastern, Wednesday
- Location: United Center (20,917), Chicago, Ill.
- Television: Big Ten Network
- Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
- Stream: FOX Sports
- Point Spread: Indiana is a 5.5 point favorite
- KenPom Projected Score: Indiana 75 Northwestern 72
- History: Indiana leads 120-58 (Northwestern owns six-game winning streak)
- Last Meeting: Northwestern won 72-68 on Feb. 24
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Northwestern (14-18) is under the direction of 13th-year head coach Chris Collins, who has the second-most wins in Wildcat history (208).
The Wildcats have won six straight games against IU.
Senior forward Nick Martinelli, a 2026 All-Big Ten Second Team honoree, entered the postseason with averages of 22.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He shot 50.1% (238-of-475) from the floor, 41.0% (41-of-100) from the 3-point line, and 80.9% (165-of-204) from the free throw line. The Glenview, Ill., native led the Big Ten Conference in scoring in consecutive seasons.
Junior forward Arrinten Page posted 10.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest, while junior guard Jayden Reid added 9.7 points and 4.7 assists per night. Page will not play against Indiana on Wednesday due to an injury. He had 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists in the first meeting.
THREE KEYS FROM THE FIRST MEETING
1. Second half collapse. Indiana led by as much as 13 in the first half, and by 11 after scoring the first points of the second half. But the Hoosiers made just 2 of their last 15 shots from the field to give the game away. Indiana missed 11 straight shots from the field beginning at the 9:02 mark of the second half, and went more than 10 minutes without a make from the field. IU still led by eight with under ten minutes remaining, but the Wildcats just kept chipping away as the Hoosiers went ice cold.
2. Wilkerson starts hot, then fades. So did his teammates. Indiana leading scorer Lamar Wilkerson scored 14 points in the first nine minutes of the game. But he did not make another shot from the field from that point on. Nick Dorn also made 2 of his first 3 attempts from three before finishing the game with four straight misses from long range. Tucker DeVries missed his final four attempts from three as well. Their collective collapse overshadowed solid role contributions by Sam Alexis (6 of 7 from the field), and Tayton Conerway (6 of 6).
3. Hoosiers can’t stop Martinelli. Big Ten leading scorer Nick Martinelli had a massive second half, pouring in 21 points after the break on 9 of 12 shooting. IU had contained Martinelli in the first half when he made just 3 of 9 shots for seven points. Martinelli was effective from all three levels and clutch late. He made four shots in the last 5:05 of the game as Northwestern completed the comeback and then put Indiana away.
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