Northwestern's Nick Martinelli Sets School Record Against Maryland
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Despite the loss, Nick Martinelli continued his historic season.
Against Maryland on Saturday, Martinelli scored 28 points and grabbed seven boards, accounting for 46% of Northwestern's points. Ty Berry, who had 10, was Martinelli's only teammate to break into double digits as the Wildcats fell, 74-61.
The junior's big afternoon set a major milestone in program history. In the first half, Martinelli passed Northwestern legend John Shurna for the most made field goals in a single Wildcat season.
The fact that Martinelli has made more shots in a season than players that decorate Northwestern's record books, such as Shurna, Boo Buie and Evan Eschmeyer, speaks wonders to the year he is having. With 626 total points, the forward is also just 35 away from Shurna's single-season scoring record.
Martinelli is looking to become just the fourth Northwestern men's player ever to lead the Big Ten in scoring, joining Shurna (2011-12), Joe Ruklick (1958-59) and Ray Ragelis (1950-51). The junior's average of 20.2 currently ranks second in the conference, trailing Brice Williams' 20.4.
No. 2's improvement over three years in Evanston is nothing short of remarkable. Martinelli averaged just 2.6 points in 11 games as a freshman, then became a key contributor as a sophomore after Berry and Matthew Nicholson went down with injuries.
Martinelli's sophomore campaign of 8.8 points per game more than doubled in 2024-25 as he gained a significantly larger workload. His efficiency from deep also increased greatly, rising from 27.1% to 35.2%.
After the Maryland loss on Saturday, Martinelli was faced with the reality that Northwestern's 2024-25 season could be over and emphasized how hard the team had battled throughout the year. Fortunately for him, the Wildcats are not done yet and will be heading to the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis next week.
Northwestern's season will continue for now, and the Wildcats will need everything from their leading scorer to keep it alive.
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Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.
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