Northwestern University Athletics
Tuesday, March 10
Chicago, Ill.
Approximately 6:30 p.m. CT
Northwestern
14-18,5-15Big Ten
76
vs
66
Penn State
12-20,3-17Big Ten
1
2
F
Penn St.
32
34
66
Northwestern
34
42
76
NU Opens Big Ten Tournament With 76-66 Win Over Penn State
3/10/2026 10:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CHICAGO — Northwestern knocked off Penn State 76-66 in the Big Ten Tournament's opening round on Tuesday night in the United Center, advancing to Wednesday's Second Round against Indiana.
Behind 24 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals from senior forward Nick Martinelli, the 15-seed Wildcats (14-18, 5-15 Big Ten) overpowered the 18-seed Nittany Lions (12-20, 3-17 Big Ten). Martinelli, the two-time conference scoring champion, posted his 24th game of at least 20 points in the win.
"Nick's going to do what he does," Collins said. "This was a really good team win. We knew we were going to have a battle tonight. Excited about the opportunity to continue to play."
Junior guard Jayden Reid recorded 14 points, nine assists and two steals. Reid tied the program's record for assists in a Big Ten Tournament game, equaling the previous mark set by Steve Lepore in against Michigan State on March 5, 1999.
Northwestern dished out 21 assists, a program-high in Big Ten Tournament play.
Gallery: (3-10-2026) MBB - Big Ten Tournament First Round
"All of us have confidence to make the shots and take the right shots," Reid said. "Coach preached before the game, we're going to be open, take the right ones, move the ball."
First-year forward Tre Singleton chipped in nine points, all of which came in the second half, three rebounds and a steal. First-year guard Jake West tallied eight points and five assists in his first-career conference tournament action.
Senior forward Justin Mullins canned a pair of 3-pointers en route to a seven-point, three-rebound display.
First-year forward Tyler Kropp turned in six points, six rebounds and three steals. Kropp's defensive display marked the most steals by an NU first-year in Big Ten Tournament play since at least 2004-05.
Defensively, the 'Cats forced Penn State into 17 turnovers. They caused 10 in the second half alone.
"In the second half, I really challenged these guys to be more active on the defensive end of the floor," Collins said. "We had to be more active with our hand activity. We had to do a better job of sealing angles on their drives. They were really trying to drive and spread us. And, we got some turnovers, which got us out to the open floor."
After an end-to-end opening 20 minutes, NU held a 34-32 halftime lead. Martinelli led all scorers in the opening frame with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. West and Reid each chipped in six first-half points.
The Wildcats never trailed in the second half and surged late to secure a decisive win. Northwestern outscored Penn State 42-34 in the latter 20 minutes.
"We always tell guys in tournament situations that if you start thinking ahead to another game, you get beat," Collins said. "It was more about what we had to do to win tonight… It was more about living to see another day."
The 'Cats will face 10-seed Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament's second round on Wednesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network and WGN Radio 720.
"Really proud of these guys, man," Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins said. "I thought the first half was two teams feeling each other out, going back and forth. We would throw a couple punches. They would come back and hit us a little bit."MOVING ON ???? pic.twitter.com/0MIfD54mPC
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) March 11, 2026
Behind 24 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals from senior forward Nick Martinelli, the 15-seed Wildcats (14-18, 5-15 Big Ten) overpowered the 18-seed Nittany Lions (12-20, 3-17 Big Ten). Martinelli, the two-time conference scoring champion, posted his 24th game of at least 20 points in the win.
"Nick's going to do what he does," Collins said. "This was a really good team win. We knew we were going to have a battle tonight. Excited about the opportunity to continue to play."
Junior guard Jayden Reid recorded 14 points, nine assists and two steals. Reid tied the program's record for assists in a Big Ten Tournament game, equaling the previous mark set by Steve Lepore in against Michigan State on March 5, 1999.
Northwestern dished out 21 assists, a program-high in Big Ten Tournament play.
"All of us have confidence to make the shots and take the right shots," Reid said. "Coach preached before the game, we're going to be open, take the right ones, move the ball."
First-year forward Tre Singleton chipped in nine points, all of which came in the second half, three rebounds and a steal. First-year guard Jake West tallied eight points and five assists in his first-career conference tournament action.
Senior forward Justin Mullins canned a pair of 3-pointers en route to a seven-point, three-rebound display.
First-year forward Tyler Kropp turned in six points, six rebounds and three steals. Kropp's defensive display marked the most steals by an NU first-year in Big Ten Tournament play since at least 2004-05.
Defensively, the 'Cats forced Penn State into 17 turnovers. They caused 10 in the second half alone.
"In the second half, I really challenged these guys to be more active on the defensive end of the floor," Collins said. "We had to be more active with our hand activity. We had to do a better job of sealing angles on their drives. They were really trying to drive and spread us. And, we got some turnovers, which got us out to the open floor."
After an end-to-end opening 20 minutes, NU held a 34-32 halftime lead. Martinelli led all scorers in the opening frame with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. West and Reid each chipped in six first-half points.
The Wildcats never trailed in the second half and surged late to secure a decisive win. Northwestern outscored Penn State 42-34 in the latter 20 minutes.
"We always tell guys in tournament situations that if you start thinking ahead to another game, you get beat," Collins said. "It was more about what we had to do to win tonight… It was more about living to see another day."
The 'Cats will face 10-seed Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament's second round on Wednesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network and WGN Radio 720.
Team Stats
PSU
NU
FG%
.511
.509
3FG%
.438
.286
FT%
.786
.727
RB
22
28
TO
17
8
STL
2
9
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
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