Northwestern turned nationwide expectations on their head with an emphatic 70-49 win on the road on Thursday night in Columbus.

Ohio State came in as the bubble team but it was the Wildcats who played like their season was on the line. They opened up a 31-24 lead at half and, with the specter of the blown lead against Nebraska last week looming, they made sure to run through the finish line with by outscoring the Buckeyes 39-25 in the second half.

"The game plan was to be the hardest playing team in the country," Nick Martinelli said on the FS1 broadcast after the game. "Before every game we talk about it, and it needed to start on the court. There have been games where we've been outhustled and that's not our culture. That's not our program."

The win snapped a three-game losing streak and was Northwestern's third straight over the Buckeyes, the first time that's happened in 58 years.

Martinelli led the team with 18 points, while flamethrower freshman KJ Windham and veteran Ty Berry came up with 15 apiece. The real excellence came on the defensive end, where the Wildcats held the Buckeyes to just 49 points, a season-low by a Big Ten team in conference play and the lowest by a Northwestern opponent since the season opener against Lehigh.

Here are our takeaways from the blowout of the Buckeyes that lifted NU's record above .500 again at 14-13, and 5-11 in Big Ten play.

Late-season win a testament to team culture: This game was a true display of Northwestern's culture and dedication through adversity. After veteran guard Jalen Leach went down against USC on Feb. 4, on the heels of the loss of star guard Brooks Barnhizer, the Wildcats suffered three grueling losses by 15 points combined. That included a brutal 68-64 home loss to Nebraska after the Wildcats held a 20-point lead in the second half.

Many thought the Wildcats might not win another game this season.

"We feel we've let people down, even if things have happened," Martinelli said. "Me, Ty, Matt [Nicholson], we take it all to heart. We've been hurting and that motivates us... It just feels so good."

A good feeling that was well earned. Even at peak strength, Northwestern was scratching and clawing for wins. Their four previous Big Ten wins came by a total margin of 17 points, eclipsed in a single night by this 21-point rout.

In three of the previous five games, the Wildcats have ceded 40+ points in the second half. Against Ohio State, the 25 points allowed were their fewest in a second half all season. When almost everyone outside the building had thrown in the towel and started looking ahead to 2025-26, the incoming recruiting class and the transfer portal, the team got off the mat and threw one hell of a punch at a solid Ohio State team.

They unearthed their defensive roots, forcing 16 turnovers. They dominated the glass, 36-27, and feasted around the rim, outscoring the Buckeyes 40-22 in the paint. They forced Ohio State to shoot an appalling 19% on 3s and an anemic 33% from the floor.

In short, they played Northwestern basketball again.

""This jersey, we want this to mean something," Martinelli said. "These guys, the coaches, the fanbase, it all means so much to me."

On nights like this, even in a star-crossed season, you see the signs of what Martinelli and this program are building, the throughline of grit and the refusal to quit on this season or each other.

Martinelli got some help: It was no mistake that the first win after Leach's injury was also the first game in that four-game stretch where Northwestern's leading scorer was under 20 points. The Wildcats finally got some diversity to their scoring efforts, with three players at 15+ points and four players at 10+ points for the first time in the same stretch.

Nicholson's 10-point and four-rebound performance doesn't leap off the stat sheet but his dedication on the glass and quick hands to snag or redirect 50-50 balls were fundamental to this win.

Berry was also exceptional with another solid outing as the team's top guard. It has been brought on by thoroughly unfortunate circumstances, but it has been impressive to see him push his ceiling as a scorer and a creator to meet the team's needs.

And the freshmen deserve their flowers, too. Collins talked postgame against Nebraska about being able to accelerate development for young guys, and Windham is Exhibit A. His scoring changed the course of this game and the increased role forced upon him by Leach's injury has changed the course of his season. He's scored 35 of his 77 points on the campaign in two of the last three games and is gaining experience that will reap exponential dividends down the line.

Similar to Nicholson, Angelo Ciaravino's performance went beyond the box score. Two plays stuck out for the springy freshman who finished with six points and five rebounds: the first, throwing down a lob off an inbounds play in the first half; the second was when he drew a charge on Sean Stewart while up 17 in the second half. Ciaravino stood his ground, took the hit, got the whistle and let out a as much of a primal scream of triumph that a teenager can on a Big Ten basketball court. Windham laced a 3-pointer on the next possession and NU was up 20 for the first time.

The ceiling of Ciaravino, an inconsistent shooter but promising athlete and slasher, is still undefined. However, after tonight, the future for him and Windham to make an impact at this level is undeniably bright.

Big Ten Tournament back on the table: After losing six of seven games and falling to 17th in the Big Ten's 18-team standings, Northwestern's chances for a trip to Indianapolis for the 15-team conference tournament looked dire. Overnight, they are back in business.

The win in Columbus propels the Wildcats to sole ownership of 16th, a half-game back of Iowa. If the Wildcats can beat Iowa on Feb. 28, they would split the season series and default to the second tiebreaker, record against the top-ranked Big Ten teams. Neither of the two have a win against Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin or Purdue, but the Wildcats did beat 5th-place Maryland.

So unless the Hawkeyes were to turn around and upset Michigan State, a win to split the series would give the Wildcats the tiebreaker back.

There is also a prime opportunity in the next game, on Feb. 25 at 14th-place Minnesota. A win in the Twin Cities would push the Wildcats a game up on the Hawkeyes headed into their matchup.

Back-to-back conference wins might be too much to ask for an undermanned team whose limits are being tested late in the season, but the win over the Buckeyes has delivered one clear lesson: never count out the Cats.