Martinelli scores 28 and Northwestern beats Minnesota 72-64 to begin the Big Ten tourney
Cassie goes 1-on-1 with Nick Martinelli
Northwestern basketball has been hit with a rash of injuries, but Nick Martinelli has still established himself as a star. Cassie Carlson went one-on-one with the local product.
INDIANAPOLIS - Nick Martinelli scored 28 points to help No. 13 seed Northwestern beat No. 12 seed Minnesota 72-64 on Wednesday to begin the Big Ten Tournament.
Northwestern (17-15) earned its first conference tournament win since 2022 for a chance to play No. 5 Wisconsin in Thursday's second round. The Wildcats lost to then-No. 17 Wisconsin 75-69 on Feb. 1.
"To me, it was a real even matchup because you had Garcia and Nick the two top scorers and just two kind of gritty, tough teams," Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said. "Our guys made enough plays. We had a spurt in the second half where we got some separation, and obviously we had to make some free throws down the stretch."
Five Northwestern players scored during a 12-3 run to begin the second half to go ahead by double digits, 44-32, for the first time in the game. The Wildcats stayed ahead by at least nine points until Mike Mitchell Jr. scored five straight points to get Minnesota within 67-60 with 45 seconds remaining.
Martinelli and Matthew Nicholson each went 1 of 2 at the stripe down the stretch, and K.J. Windham went 3 of 4 to keep Northwestern ahead by multiple possessions.
Ty Berry added 14 points, Jordan Clayton had 11 and Windham finished with 10 for Northwestern. Martinelli, averaging a league-high 20.2 points per game, was 12 of 22 from the field. Martinelli was just 4 of 10 at the free-throw line as the Wildcats finished 12 of 22.
Dawson Garcia led Minnesota (15-17) with 22 points and Mitchell added 11 points. The Golden Gophers lost five of their last six games to end the season.
Northwestern and Minnesota were meeting for the third time in the last six tournaments, all in the 12-seed vs. 13-seed game.
What Chris Collins said after the game
"Our guys are just a tough group of guys. They've had a lot thrown at them. Even last night, they put us in a hotel, the rooms were a thousand degrees. There was no AC in the hotel, and our guys' rooms were 85 degrees, and that's where the league puts you. Every way they turn, they're trying to get us, and our guys just are a resilient bunch. They just fought, and they played with a toughness and a chip on their shoulder. It was a really good win because we knew Minnesota, they're a tough-minded team. They're a tough-minded team. That's why they got here. Ben's had a helluva year with those guys."
What Nick Martinelli said about being second-team All-Big Ten
"I'm not super into comparison. I'm more into like competition and things of that nature. I'm not motivated by that at all. What I'm motivated by is the guys that are with me every single day that have faith in me that actually get to see the work that's put into it. I take my time and give all my time and emotion to those guys as opposed to people that obviously just see games and whatever and have their opinions."