Sixteen-Point Edge Slips Away as Northwestern Wildcats Battle No. 2 Wolverines
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For 28 electric minutes on Wednesday night, Welsh-Ryan Arena felt like the center of the college basketball universe!
Northwestern had the nation’s No. 2 team on the ropes. The Wildcats built a 16-point lead over Michigan, and the crowd in Evanston could sense it. The biggest upset of the 2025-26 Big Ten season was right there, within reach.
Northwestern Wildcats Comeback Engine Roars to Life
No. 2 Michigan, now 23-1 overall and 13-1 in Big Ten play, arrived riding an eight-game winning streak. With 12:12 remaining in the second half, Dusty May’s team flipped a switch. What followed was a stunning 40-15 run to close the game. The Wolverines walked out with an 87-75 victory and their ninth straight win.
FINAL | #2 Michigan 87, Northwestern 75
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) February 12, 2026
The unraveling did not happen all at once for the Wildcats. It crept in slowly before turning into a tidal wave. When Angelo Ciaravino finished a layup with 14:22 left in the second half, Northwestern held its largest lead of the night at 16. The building was buzzing.
Roddy Gayle Jr. tried to ignite Michigan with a powerful slam. Morez Johnson Jr. added a layup. Five quick points trimmed the deficit, and Northwestern head coach Chris Collins called timeout to regroup.
Just like that, an 11-0 run had chopped the Wildcats’ lead down to two. Northwestern briefly steadied itself. Mara’s hard foul on Nick Martinelli was upgraded to a flagrant one. Martinelli calmly hit both free throws. Arrinten Page followed with a hook shot.
L.J. Cason and Martinelli traded three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. Yaxel Lendeborg stepped to the line in the double bonus and split a pair to tie the game at 69.
Northwestern never got closer than eight points after the 2:24 mark. However, Michigan closed, 87-75. For most of the night, Northwestern dictated the tempo.
Michigan struck first behind an Eliot Cadeau three-pointer, but the Wildcats quickly found their rhythm. Nick Martinelli converted a three-point play and then found Jayden Reid in the corner for a triple. Reid caught fire, hitting his first three shots and stretching the defense from deep.
The Wildcats took a 44-35 lead into halftime and dominated the so-called big three categories. They led in field-goal percentage, three-point percentage, and free-throw percentage. Their perimeter defense was A1, holding Michigan to just 23.5 percent from beyond the arc in the first half.
Jayden Reid finished with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting and closed the first half a perfect 5-for-5. Arrinten Page added 11 points and made his presence felt around the rim.
Everything pointed toward a statement win. Northwestern captain Nick Martinelli never stopped competing. However, the shots would not fall when the Wildcats needed them most.
He finished 5-for-22 from the field, good for 22.7 percent, his second-lowest shooting percentage of the season. Martinelli still totaled 18 points and drew key fouls. That includes during the flagrant sequence that temporarily slowed Michigan’s surge.
The Turning Point in Evanston
The moment the game shifted was clear. Northwestern extended its lead to 15 on a Page putback and then to 16 on Ciaravino’s layup early in the second half. From there, Michigan’s full-court pressure began to wear down the Wildcats.
Missed three-pointers turned into long rebounds. Turnovers led to transition points. Second-chance opportunities fueled belief on the Michigan bench.
When McKenney’s go-ahead three dropped, the energy in the building flipped. Michigan played faster, stronger, and more confidently. Northwestern, meanwhile, could not quite recapture its earlier rhythm. Over the final five minutes, the Wolverines’ depth somehow overwhelmed the Wildcats in a very heartbreaking loss.
Big Picture for Michigan and Northwestern
For Michigan, this was more than just another win. It was proof of identity. Coming back from a 16-point deficit on the road reinforces its status as a national title contender. In March, resilience wins games. The Wolverines showed they have plenty of it.
For Northwestern, now 10-15 overall and 2-12 in Big Ten play, it is another tough lesson. The Wildcats demonstrated they can compete with elite teams for long stretches. They executed, defended, and shot the ball well for nearly 30 minutes.
Closing out games remains the missing piece. Northwestern does not get much time to dwell on this one. The Wildcats travel southwest to Lincoln on Saturday for a noon matchup against No. 7 Nebraska, which sits at 21-3 overall and 10-3 in Big Ten play.
If Wednesday night proved anything, it is that Northwestern fights. Now the challenge is turning stretches of brilliance into complete performances.
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Shayni Maitra is a sports girl through and through writing about everything from locker room drama to game-day legends in the NFL and NBA. She’s covered the action for outlets like College Sports Network, Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, NB Media, and PinkVilla, blending sharp takes with a deep love for storytelling. Whether it’s college football rivalries, Olympic gold-chasers, or the off-field chaos that keeps Twitter alive, Shayni brings the heat with heart—and just the right amount of humor.