Northwestern Wildcats Fall to Purdue in Big Ten Tournament as Season Ends

The end of a college basketball season rarely feels dramatic in the moment. It often arrives quietly, in the hallways outside the locker room when the realization finally settles in. For the Northwestern Wildcats, that moment came Tuesday night inside the United Center.

Purdue’s Fast Start Pushes Northwestern Wildcats Into Early Deficit

As fans' cheers echoed through the arena tunnel, senior forward Nick Martinelli stood still beside head coach Chris Collins.

FINAL | #18 Purdue 81, Northwestern 68
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) March 13, 2026

The rest of the team had already jogged toward the locker room, but Martinelli remained in place. He rested his head on Collins’ shoulder while tears rolled down his face.

The Big Ten Tournament matchup between the No. 15 seed Northwestern Wildcats and the No. 7 seed Purdue Boilermakers quickly turned into an uphill climb for the Wildcats. Northwestern entered the game playing its third contest in three days. Meanwhile, Purdue had not taken the court since the previous Saturday.

Purdue jumped out to a commanding start, building a 31–13 lead during the opening stretch of the game. Northwestern struggled to keep pace as the Boilermakers continued to pile on points. By halftime, Purdue had stretched the lead to 45–21, leaving the Wildcats facing a massive deficit heading into the second half.

Despite a much stronger effort after the break, Northwestern ultimately fell 81–68. The loss brought the Wildcats’ season to a close with a 15–19 overall record and a 5–15 mark in Big Ten play.

Even with the game slipping away early, Nick Martinelli refused to let his final performance fade quietly. The senior forward delivered a remarkable effort, finishing with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting. He also added four rebounds and three assists. The performance marked his 20th 20-point game of the 2025–26 season.

Early in the game, Martinelli opened the contest, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. At the same time, the rest of the Wildcats struggled to find rhythm, beginning the game just 2-for-9 from the floor.

Center Oscar Cluff led the Boilermakers with 19 points. and forward Trey Kaufman-Renn also added 19 points. Purdue also controlled the rebounding battle, finishing with a 35–23 edge on the boards. Northwestern was playing without junior center Arrinten Page for the fourth consecutive game.

Wildcats Show Second-Half Fight in Final Push

Although the halftime deficit was daunting, Northwestern did not fold in the second half. Northwestern outscored Purdue 47–36 after halftime, producing a scoring burst that set a new program record for points in a half during Big Ten Tournament play.

The Wildcats shot an impressive 62.1 percent from the field in the second half and knocked down 75 percent of their attempts from beyond the three-point line. Their ball movement was also sharp, as Northwestern finished with 22 assists on 28 made field goals while committing just nine turnovers.

Junior guard Jayden Reid played a major role in that second-half surge. Reid finished with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting and also recorded a team-high nine assists. He connected on three of his four attempts from three-point range, helping spark Northwestern’s late push.

Junior guard Jordan Clayton also contributed with 10 points, three rebounds, and four assists. Clayton knocked down two three-pointers and extended his streak to six consecutive games with at least one made shot from beyond the arc.

Still, the grind of tournament play appeared to catch up with some of the Wildcats’ younger players. Freshman guard Jake West, who had scored 18 points in a breakout performance the previous day, finished with just two points on 1-for-4 shooting.

Freshman forward Tre Singleton also ran into foul trouble early in the second half. After picking up his fourth foul just minutes after halftime, Singleton attempted only one shot during the game.

Before the loss to Purdue, Northwestern had built real momentum in the tournament. The Wildcats earned victories over No. 18 seed Penn State and No. 10 seed Indiana. The 2025–26 season itself had been a challenging one for Northwestern. After reaching the NCAA Tournament in both 2023 and 2024, the Wildcats struggled to find consistency this year.

Conference play began with a difficult 0–7 start while the coaching staff experimented with deeper rotations. Several close losses early in the season also seemed to impact the team’s confidence, including a narrow defeat against Virginia, now ranked No. 10 nationally.

Later setbacks included a 40-point loss to Illinois and painful blown leads against Michigan and Purdue. Still, in the final weeks of the season, they closed the regular season with a 3–2 stretch, buoyed by improved performances from their younger players.

More from Northwestern On SI

Stay up to date on the Wildcats by bookmarking Northwestern On SI and follow us on Twitter.