Thursday, February 20
Columbus, Ohio
5:30 p.m. CT
Northwestern
14-13,5-11Big Ten
70
at
49
Ohio State
15-12,7-9Big Ten
1
2
F
Northwestern
31
39
70
Ohio St.
24
25
49
Photo by: Sam Mazzola
Wildcats Obliterate Buckeyes, 70-49
2/20/2025 10:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Northwestern held Ohio State to 49 points, the fewest points scored by a Big Ten team in conference play this season, as it claimed a 70-49 blowout victory on Thursday night at Value City Arena in Columbus. The Wildcats' (14-13, 5-11 Big Ten) 21-point win is their largest margin of victory against the Buckeyes in Columbus in series history.
Northwestern last held a Big Ten team to fewer than 50 points on Feb. 21, 2015 when Penn State scored 39 points.
"I just thought our defense tonight was tremendous," Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins said. "We put two halves together to have them at 24 (points in the first half) and 25 (points in the second half)."
The Wildcats have now won three straight games against Ohio State for the first time since 1966-67 and two consecutive road matchups against Ohio State for the first time since 1932-34.
"This was a much-needed night for us," Collins said. "I'm really proud of my team."
Northwestern forced Ohio State to shoot a season-low 32.7% (17-of-52) from the field. Northwestern also forced the Buckeyes, the Big Ten's leader in three-point percentage at 38.1%, to shoot a season-low 19.0% (4-of-21) from three-point range. Collins said the team made a concerted effort to "eliminate the threes".
Ohio State turned the ball over 16 times, their second highest mark of the season. The Wildcats last forced the Buckeyes to at least 15 turnovers in a game on Feb. 29, 2012.
The Wildcats shot 18-of-19 (94.7%) from the free throw line, their first time shooting at least 94% from the charity stripe with at least 19 attempts since Nov. 13, 2017 when they shot 23-of-24 against Seton Hall.
Gallery: (2-20-2025) Men's Basketball at Ohio State
Junior Nick Martinelli recorded 18 points and five rebounds on 7-of-15 shooting. Martinelli posted his 24th game with 15+ points of the year, which is tied for the lead in the Big Ten this season. The forward has scored 15+ points in 12 straight games, the longest such streak by an NU player since John Shurna did so in 13 straight games from Jan. 1 - Feb. 18, 2012.
First-year K.J. Windham registered 15 points, draining 2-of-4 threes and a career-high five free throws, while playing a career-high 29 minutes. Windham is the first Northwestern player to score 15+ multiple times in his first-year season since Boo Buie and Ryan Young both did so in the 2019-20 season.
Graduate student Ty Berry logged 15 points and a team-high six rebounds, shooting 6-of-12 from the field. He was a team-best +21 in the box score. By converting on zero threes, Berry scored his most career points without draining a three in a game. Berry has scored 15+ points in three consecutive games for the first time in his career. The Newton, Kansas native has scored 75 points over his last four games, the most over a four-game stretch in his career.
Matthew Nicholson tallied 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting while blocking two shots. Nicholson has recorded at least one block in ten consecutive games. He is the first Wildcat to have at least one block in ten straight contests since Dererk Pardon did so from Nov. 25, 2016 - Feb. 1, 2017. Nicholson had his second game of the season with 10+ points and 2+ blocks on at least 80% shooting from the floor.
The Wildcats defense proved to be a sturdy force early in the contest, holding the Buckeyes scoreless and forcing five turnovers from 18:09 to 11:48 in the first half. By the under-8 media timeout, Northwestern held an 18-11 lead with its first 16 points coming in the paint. Ohio State had already turned the ball over nine times.
At halftime, the 'Cats led 31-24. The Buckeyes were shooting 35.7% (10-of-28) from the floor and had 11 turnovers at this point.
Northwestern solidified its control early in the second half with a 12-0 run out of the locker room, growing the lead to 19. Windham and Berry combined for 10 of these points. Soon enough, that run grew to a 27-6 run to open the half, as the 'Cats held a 58-30 lead with 9:24 remaining in the contest.
Northwestern has its second consecutive road matchup against Minnesota on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. CT. The game will air on Peacock and WGN Radio 720 / ESPN 100 WMVP.
Northwestern last held a Big Ten team to fewer than 50 points on Feb. 21, 2015 when Penn State scored 39 points.
"I just thought our defense tonight was tremendous," Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins said. "We put two halves together to have them at 24 (points in the first half) and 25 (points in the second half)."
BUCK UP ?? pic.twitter.com/FY5BYdS3mj
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) February 21, 2025
The Wildcats have now won three straight games against Ohio State for the first time since 1966-67 and two consecutive road matchups against Ohio State for the first time since 1932-34.
"This was a much-needed night for us," Collins said. "I'm really proud of my team."
Northwestern forced Ohio State to shoot a season-low 32.7% (17-of-52) from the field. Northwestern also forced the Buckeyes, the Big Ten's leader in three-point percentage at 38.1%, to shoot a season-low 19.0% (4-of-21) from three-point range. Collins said the team made a concerted effort to "eliminate the threes".
Ohio State turned the ball over 16 times, their second highest mark of the season. The Wildcats last forced the Buckeyes to at least 15 turnovers in a game on Feb. 29, 2012.
The Wildcats shot 18-of-19 (94.7%) from the free throw line, their first time shooting at least 94% from the charity stripe with at least 19 attempts since Nov. 13, 2017 when they shot 23-of-24 against Seton Hall.
Junior Nick Martinelli recorded 18 points and five rebounds on 7-of-15 shooting. Martinelli posted his 24th game with 15+ points of the year, which is tied for the lead in the Big Ten this season. The forward has scored 15+ points in 12 straight games, the longest such streak by an NU player since John Shurna did so in 13 straight games from Jan. 1 - Feb. 18, 2012.
First-year K.J. Windham registered 15 points, draining 2-of-4 threes and a career-high five free throws, while playing a career-high 29 minutes. Windham is the first Northwestern player to score 15+ multiple times in his first-year season since Boo Buie and Ryan Young both did so in the 2019-20 season.
Graduate student Ty Berry logged 15 points and a team-high six rebounds, shooting 6-of-12 from the field. He was a team-best +21 in the box score. By converting on zero threes, Berry scored his most career points without draining a three in a game. Berry has scored 15+ points in three consecutive games for the first time in his career. The Newton, Kansas native has scored 75 points over his last four games, the most over a four-game stretch in his career.
Matthew Nicholson tallied 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting while blocking two shots. Nicholson has recorded at least one block in ten consecutive games. He is the first Wildcat to have at least one block in ten straight contests since Dererk Pardon did so from Nov. 25, 2016 - Feb. 1, 2017. Nicholson had his second game of the season with 10+ points and 2+ blocks on at least 80% shooting from the floor.
The Wildcats defense proved to be a sturdy force early in the contest, holding the Buckeyes scoreless and forcing five turnovers from 18:09 to 11:48 in the first half. By the under-8 media timeout, Northwestern held an 18-11 lead with its first 16 points coming in the paint. Ohio State had already turned the ball over nine times.
At halftime, the 'Cats led 31-24. The Buckeyes were shooting 35.7% (10-of-28) from the floor and had 11 turnovers at this point.
Northwestern solidified its control early in the second half with a 12-0 run out of the locker room, growing the lead to 19. Windham and Berry combined for 10 of these points. Soon enough, that run grew to a 27-6 run to open the half, as the 'Cats held a 58-30 lead with 9:24 remaining in the contest.
Northwestern has its second consecutive road matchup against Minnesota on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. CT. The game will air on Peacock and WGN Radio 720 / ESPN 100 WMVP.
Team Stats
NU
OSU
FG%
.463
.327
3FG%
.143
.190
FT%
.947
.846
RB
36
27
TO
11
16
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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