INDIANAPOLIS-A day after being elected to the All-Big Ten second team in a move many regarded as a snub, Northwestern's Nick Martinelli showed everyone why the conference's leading scorer maybe should've been on the first team after all.
Martinelli poured in 28 points on 12-for-22 shooting to lead the Wildcats to a 72-64 win over Minnesota in the opening game of the Big Ten Tournament at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Martinelli quickly reminded coaches and the media why leaving him off of the starting squad was a mistake, scoring 16 of Northwestern's 32 first-half points. He cooled off a little in the second as his supporting cast chipped in. Veteran guard Ty Berry was resurgent with 14 points, and a surprising 11 came from sophomore Jordan Clayton, a career-high.
The 13th-seeded Wildcats' resilient performance was made even more impressive due to some overnight adversity. The air conditioning went out at their hotel and the room temperatures soared up into the 80s.
"It was 85 degrees in the rooms and that's where the league puts you," head coach Chris Collins bemoaned. "We're used to being treated like that this season."
"Last night, when it was happening, we were just joking around like, this is gritty!" Martinelli said. "Me and [Angelo Ciaravino] had a bucket of ice and we were rubbing it on ourselves to try and stay cool."
Dawson Garcia led the Gophers with 22 points, while Mike Mitchell Jr. was the only other player in double digits for the Gophers with 11.
The win gave the Wildcats a season sweep of Minnesota after beating them 75-63 in Minneapolis on Feb. 25.
Here are our takeaways from Northwestern's win that pits them against fifth-seeded Wisconsin on Thursday.
Martinelli outguns Garcia again: Martinelli apparently took the second team nod personally. He opened the game with an astonishing display of scoring, hitting eight of his first 11 shots from the floor while the Gophers threw the kitchen sink at him.
When the dust settled, he had 28 without a single made 3-pointer. The only chink in Martinelli's armor was his free-throw shooting: he made just 4-of-10.
"When you have the best player in the league on your team, he has so much attention drawn to him," Berry said.
Collins explained that the teams across the conference had to turn their ballots in by Sunday afternoon, before Martinelli clinched the scoring title and after Nebraska's stunning loss to Iowa that knocked the Huskers out of the Big Ten tournament and knocked Brice Williams out of the top scoring spot.
Williams was voted to the first team, but whether the slight was due to a logistical snafu or a critical assessment, Martinell doesn't care.
"I'm not super into comparison," Martinelli said. I'm more into competition."
And he loves to compete with Garcia, a fellow volume scorer and second-team member. Garcia put up 22 points and matched Martinelli with seven rebounds, but this game showed the difference between the two, a clear testament that Martinelli is the cream of this conference's crop.
Martinelli outscored Garcia in both their head-to-head matchups and, more importantly, got both wins by an average margin of 10 points. Garcia gets buckets, Martinelli gets wins.
Help comes to those who wait: Northwestern's major flaw in their season-ending loss at Maryland last Saturday was supporting scoring. Martinelli went for 28 points, but no one else had even 10.
Today, Martinelli went for 28 again, but he got the win with a little help from his friends. Berry, Clayton and KJ Windham all scored 10+ points, and Clayton set his career-high.
The junior point guard, who burned his redshirt barely a month ago after the loss of Jalen Leach to a season-ending injury, had a career-high 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting with four assists, smoothly navigating the Minnesota defense time and time again.
"What a story, right?" Collins said. "He stepped forward, put his hand up and said, 'My team needs me after sitting for 20 games,' and he came out on the biggest stage with 11 points and great defense."
The Wildcats' reserves have answered the bell when called to action. Northwestern got 21 points from Clayton and Windham, a redshirt and a freshman, to keep their season alive. In addition, Matt Nicholson came up with seven points, seven rebounds and three blocks and Justin Mullins played outstanding defense while coming up with four rebounds, three assists and a steal despite scoring just two points.
Wildcats made a second-half statement: Northwestern was up 32-23 and on cruise control before Minnesota closed the first half on a 6-0 run to slice the Wildcats' lead to just three at the half.
Despite the fact that the Wildcats had controlled the first half, the game seemed tenuous. Northwestern has had many second-half struggles this season, especially since they've been shorthanded, and this could have been the latest entry.
Instead, they pounced on the Gophers out of the half with a 12-2 run featuring five different scorers.
"It was about coming out and staying aggressive on the defensive end," Berry said. "By doing that, we could run out and play good offense. When we play defense like that, we're a really tough team."
The Wildcats' defense was excellent, holding Minnesota to 38% shooting from the floor and 32% on 3s. After the second-half burst, Northwestern led by seven points or more for the remainder of the game.
It was a strong statement from a team with its season hanging in the balance. They refused to let the season end on this day and gave the program its first win in the conference tourney since 2022.
On (to) Wisconsin: With the Gophers behind them, Northwestern will face No. 5-seeded and 17th-ranked Wisconsin in the second afternoon game on Thursday.
The last time these two teams played, the Badgers posted a 50-point second half to rally for a 75-69 win at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The losses of Brooks Barnhizer and Leach to injury has been discussed over and over, but it comes to a head once more reviewing this game, the team's first after Barnhizer's season ended.
"I think we've gotten better, but Jalen played in that game and he was fantastic," Collins said about the grad transfer who put up 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. "We were really emotional that day and I thought we played really hard. Then in the second half they wore us down... They have so many guys that can step up with great players across the board."
Wisconsin stars John Tonje, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, scored 27 in the last matchup with the Wildcats. Northwestern's sliver of hope comes from a hitch in the Badgers' stride coming into the postseason: they have lost three of their last five games, including an 11-point home loss to Penn State in their last outing on Senior Night.
The stage is set for two sets of revenge, both for the loss earlier this season and for last season, when Wisconsin knocked Northwestern in out of last year's Big Ten Tournament, 70-61.
The win over Minnesota, and the high temps at the hotel, prove that this Wildcat team can't be underestimated. With Martinelli's ascendence supported by scoring from the backcourt across the roster, they can play with anyone in this tournament.
