What you need to know from Northwestern basketball's loss to Purdue
Nick Martinelli talks his Northwestern career and the Big Ten Tournament
Nick Martinelli will end his storied Northwestern career soon, but he wants to play as long as he can. Martinelli talks about his NU career with Cassie Carlson.
Northwestern basketball's season has come to an end.
Purdue didn't have a repeat of last week's thriller at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Boilermakers came out and steamrolled the Wildcats in impressive fashion.
With elite shooting, elite point guard play and elite rebounding, Purdue beat down Northwestern 81-68 to advance to the Big Ten Quarterfinals. The Boilermakers will advance to play Nebraska.
Here's what you need to know from the Boilermakers' win over the Wildcats at the United Center, ending Northwestern's tournament run.
Why Northwestern lost
The Wildcats were playing their third game in three games. Purdue was playing its first game of the Big Ten Tournament.
Northwestern needed to have elite shot-making and a crafty presence on the boards if it wanted to keep up with Purdue. The Wildcats couldn't sustain the success they did find.
Tre Singelton, one of the few true post players NU could have guard Trey Kaufman-Renn, had four fouls early on in the second half. He sat for most of the final half.
Northwestern did cut the Purdue lead to 14 with seven minutes to go. Purdue led by as many as 26 in this game, but the Wildcats didn't just give up.
It's hard to keep up with fresh legs, though. Northwestern couldn't cut that Purdue lead into single digits. There were too many ways Purdue could score, and not enough ways for Northwestern to keep Purdue from scoring.
It was over when…
Purdue went into halftime leading 45-21.
With a shortened bench and tired legs, there was little Northwestern could do to halt Purdue's barrage.
After NU cut Purdue's lead to 14, Northwestern's offense disappeared and the Boilermakers expanded the lead back to 20 with under four minutes remaining.
Who starred
As per usual, Martinelli starred. He had another 20-point game as he tried to keep the 'Cats in the game. Jayden Reid scored in double figures, too.
For Purdue, Braden Smith showed why he's one of the best point guards in America. Trey Kaufman-Renn finished in double figures. Oscar Cluff dominated the glass and the offensive post. It was a showing of how talented the Boilermakers are.
What it means
The ‘Cats’ season is most likely over.
Unless NU gets an invitation to the NIT and decides to accept, they'll end the 2025-2026 season 13-18 overall. However, Northwestern hasn't played in the NIT under Collins. NCAA Tournaments are the expectation.
This also spells the end of Nick Martinelli's college basketball career. He finishes as the Big Ten scoring champ for the last two seasons. He set a standard for the Northwestern program going forward, where multiple freshmen started in an experienced league.
NU coach Chris Collins gave Martinelli a massive hug as he left the court in the final minute.
Still, Northwestern won two Big Ten Tournament games for the first time since the 2017 season. There were signs of growth in the younger players. There were obvious ways that Northwestern could improve in the coming seasons.