Wildcats Set for Road Clash at No. 7 Nebraska

Saturday, February 14

Lincoln, Neb.

Noon CT

Northwestern

#7 Nebraska

Photo by: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics

Wildcats Set for Road Clash at No. 7 Nebraska

2/13/2026 1:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Charlie Spungin, NUSports.com

LINCOLN, Neb. — Northwestern men's basketball plays its second consecutive AP Top 10 opponent when it travels to face No. 7 Nebraska on Saturday, Feb. 14 at noon CT. The game will air on Big Ten Network with Jeff Levering (play-by-play) and Jordan Taylor (analyst) on the call, and it can be heard on WGN Radio 720 and SiriusXM Channel 380 with Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Billy McKinney (analyst).

Last time out (Feb. 11), the Wildcats (10-15, 2-12 Big Ten) led deep into the second half against No. 2 Michigan, but suffered an 87-75 defeat. Northwestern led by as many as 16 points, which was the Wolverines largest deficit of the season. The Wildcats held Michigan to 43.5% (30-of-69) shooting, the Wolverines' worst shooting percentage in conference play and second-worst this season. Junior guard Jayden Reid registered a game-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, adding three assists, while senior forward Nick Martinelli posted 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Junior forward Arrinten Page came off the bench and recorded 11 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

This season, Martinelli leads the Big Ten and ranks sixth nationally in scoring, averaging 22.5 points per game, while converting 50.5% of his field goal attempts (9th in Big Ten). The Glenview, Ill., native is pulling down 6.5 rebounds per game (14th). He is shooting 44.2% from 3-point distance, the 67th-best mark nationally, per KenPom. Martinelli has 18 games with 20+ points this season, which is tied for the most nationally. Martinelli's 22.5 points per game would rank fifth in program history, trailing Dale Kelley in 1969-70 (24.3), Frank Ehmann in 1954-55 (23.9), Rich Falk in 1963-64 (23.3), and Joe Ruklick in 1958-59 (23.0). Martinelli would be the first Northwestern player to average 20+ points per game in back-to-back campaigns since Jim Burns (1965-66, 1966-67). Over the last two seasons, Martinelli has scored 1,217 points, which ranks second nationally and is the most by a forward.

Martinelli joins Zach Edey (2022-23, 2023-24), Keegan Murray (2020-21), and Luka Garza (2019-20, 2020-21) as the only Big Ten players in the past 30 years to average 22+ points per game and 6+ rebounds per game.
Martinelli had a 12-game streak of 20+ points from Dec. 6, 2025-Jan. 29, 2026. It was the third-longest streak by a Big Ten player since 1996-97, behind Iowa's Luka Garza (2020, 19) and Purdue's Zach Edey (2024, 16). It was also tied for the eighth-longest streak by a high-major player since 1996-97.
Martinelli has scored in double figures 66 times in his career, including 49 of his last 51 games, and has posted 20+ points 38 times, ranking third at Northwestern since 2004, trailing only John Shurna (2008-12, 45) and Boo Buie (2019-2024, 41).
Martinelli has five career 30+ point games, tied for the most among active Big Ten players.
Martinelli has 1,569 career points, which ranks 11th in Northwestern program history. He needs seven points to pass Kevin Rankin (1990-94) to move into 10th place, 12 points to pass Vedran Vukusic (2001-06) to move into ninth place, and 14 points to pass Jim Stack (1978-83) to move into eighth place.
Last season, Martinelli set program records in single-season points (676) and field goals made (251).

The Wildcats have continued to share the ball without turning it over, as their 2.08 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second in the nation and would be the second-highest mark in Division I history. Northwestern is averaging the nation's second-fewest turnovers (8.3), while ranking 34th in the country with 17.2 assists per game. The Wildcats' offense is producing 75.0 points per game, its most since 1993-94 (75.0). Northwestern has scored 75 or more points in 14 games this season and is aiming to reach that mark for the 15th time, which would be its most in a single season since 1993-94 (16)

Northwestern's 8.3 turnovers per game is a program record.
Northwestern's 17.2 assists rank second in program history, trailing only 1993-94 (17.8).
The Wildcats' +2.6 turnover margin ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 50th nationally.
The Wildcats have upped their pace this season, averaging 11.8 fast break points per game — ranking third in the Big Ten.

Reid has averaged 10.6 points and 5.0 assists per game (5th in Big Ten). He would be the fifth player in program history to average 5+ assists per game, which was most recently done by Boo Buie in 2023-24 (5.0). He has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.23, which is the highest in Northwestern single-season program history (min. 50 assists). Page is averaging 10.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game on 55.2% shooting.

First-year forward Tre Singleton has 22 starts this season, the most by a Northwestern first-year since 2019-20 when Ryan Young tallied 31, and is averaging 8.2 points (12th among Big Ten first-years), 5.0 rebounds (4th), and 1.4 assists (T-9th) per game. His 8.2 points per game are the most by a Wildcat first-year since the 2019-20 season (Boo Buie: 10.3, Ryan Young: 9.0). Singleton has scored 10+ points in four of his last six games.
First-year guard Jake West has started the last nine games for the Wildcats. Over his last 10 games, he is averaging 6.8 points and 4.3 assists per game. His 2.7 assists per game on the season rank fourth among Big Ten first-years, and are the most by a Northwestern first-year since Bryant McIntosh averaged 4.7 in 2014-15.
Sophomore guard Angelo Ciaravino is averaging career-highs across the board with 6.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game on 51.7% shooting.

Northwestern narrowly leads the all-time series against the Cornhuskers (21-3, 10-3 Big Ten), 14-12. The Wildcats have won eight of the last 11 games in the series and 12 of the last 17, including winning three of the last four games in Lincoln. Saturday afternoon's matchup will be the second time Northwestern has faced a ranked Nebraska squad. The first time was earlier this season (Jan. 17), when the then-No. 8-ranked Cornhuskers claimed a 77-58 victory inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. Martinelli recorded a double-double with team-highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Singleton added 14 points.

With the matchup, the Wildcats will be playing back-to-back top 10 teams for the first time since 2022, when they played three straight from Jan. 15-23, 2022. Northwestern is playing its sixth game this season against a Top 15 team, its most in a season since 2021-22 (7). Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins has won 17 games in his career against ranked opponents, the most by a Northwestern head coach in program history, and has won a game against an AP Top 20 team in six consecutive seasons.

Nebraska has dropped three of its last four games, with losses to Michigan, Illinois, and Purdue. Each contest was decided by 10 points or fewer. Nebraska's 21-3 start is the program's best record after 24 games since the 1919-20 season. The Cornhuskers are tied for third in the Big Ten race currently. They are led by Pryce Sandfort's 17.0 points per game, which ranks 12th in the Big Ten. Sandfort averages a Big Ten-best 3.4 threes per game, as Nebraska knocks down 11.0 threes per game — third-most in the Big Ten and 12th-most nationally. The Cornhuskers have the country's third-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.04).

Nebraska is averaging 18.5 assists per game (11th nationally) to 9.1 turnovers per game (9th nationally).
The Cornhuskers have a +3.9 turnover margin, which ranks second in the Big Ten and 18th nationally. They force 13.0 turnovers per game, the second-most in the conference.
Nebraska is holding opponents to 66.7 points per game, which is the third-best mark in the Big Ten and 24th-best mark in the country. The team is forcing opponents to shoot 39.8% from the floor, ranking third in the Big Ten and 22nd in the nation.
The Cornhuskers are outscoring opponents by 13.2 points per game, ranking 27th nationally.
Rienk Mast (14.8), Braden Frager (12.0), and Jamarques Lawrence (11.0) join Sandfort in averaging double figures.
Sam Hoiberg leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.5). He ranks second in the conference in steals per game (2.0), while averaging 9.5 points per game.

The Wildcats return home, where they will host three of the next four games, to take on Maryland on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Tipoff from Welsh-Ryan Arena is slated for 7 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network and WGN Radio 720.