Nick Martinelli Gets Honest About Northwestern's 4th Straight Loss

Northwestern's leading scorer Nick Martinelli has weighed in on the Wildcats' ongoing four-game slump.

Jan 14, 2026; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli (2) grabs a rebound against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

The Northwestern University men's basketball team staged a valiant effort to win its first Big Ten game of the season at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday night, but ultimately fell to the bigger, more talented University of Illinois Fighting Illini after a stellar second half, losing by double digits, 79-68.

Guards Jayden Reid and Keaton Wagler exchanged buckets in the second half. Each perimeter standout poured in 20 points during the period.

Northwestern lost its fourth straight bout, falling to an 8-9 record on the season and an 0-6 record in conference play.

Reid, shifted to a new bench role by Northwestern head coach Chris Collins in favor of Jake West (who's five inches taller), looked great as a sharpshooting reserve. The 5-foot-10 junior guard scored a career-high 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the hardwood (4-of-6 from deep) and 6-of-7 shooting from the foul line.

While being covered by senior Illini guard Kylan Boswell, senior Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli had to work for his 20 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor and 8-of-8 shooting from the charity stripe.

Northwestern did keep things close in the first half, ultimately trailing Illinois 38-33 at the break.

During his postgame remarks, Martinelli seemed fairly encouraged by what he saw out of Northwestern even despite the program's fourth straight loss, per Colleen Kane of The Chicago Tribune.

“We’re definitely battling,” Martinelli said. “We’re laying our hearts on the line every night but just can’t get it done... You can keep having stretches of being in the game and not being able to get it done. At one point, you just have to change.

The 6-foot-7 Glenview native is the second-most prolific scorer in college this year, averaging 23.8 points on 57.3 percent field goal shooting. The Wildcats' journey back to a third March Madness run during Martinelli's tenure could be permanently grounded if Northwestern keeps this skid going much longer.

“It’s just mental mistakes. It’s not coming from a bad place from anybody. We just can’t have those types of mental mistakes at the end of games if we want to win," Martinelli said. "I truly believe everybody wants to win. It’s obviously been a difficult stretch. But if you jump off the boat, we’re going to go with other guys. I’m going to stay on the boat as long as this thing goes.”

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