Three Takeaways from Northwestern's Season-Ending Big Ten Tournament Loss to Purdue

The Wildcats fell to the Boilermakers on Thursday at the United Center.

Mar 12, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Chris Collins hugs forward Nick Martinelli (2) as he leaves the game against Purdue Boilermakers during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Northwestern Wildcats' uneven 2025-26 season — and the club's charmed Big Ten Tournament run — ended in an underwhelming 81-68 blowout third-round loss to the superior Purdue Boilermakers.

The Northwestern Wildcats didn't seem to have a prayer from the virtual jump, falling behind 45-21 to Purdue in the first half. The Wildcats did outscore the Boilermakers by double digits, 47-36, in the second half, but the game was well out-of-hand already.

Braden Smith Sets Tournament Passing Record vs Wildcats

Senior Purdue guard Braden Smith demolished the Big Ten Tournament's all-time assists record in the contest, passing for a whopping 16 dimes (tying his own career-best). He chipped in a light five points on 2-of-8 shooting from the floor.

Braden Smith's historic night:

🏀 Now 2nd all-time in D-I assists
🏀 Tied his career-high with 16 assists
🏀 Set a Big Ten tournament record with 16 assists pic.twitter.com/q4op8OxRk8

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) March 13, 2026

Yikes.

Jayden Reid Finally Had a Productive Night... But Couldn't Affect Winning

Undersized junior guard Jayden Reid, who had been relatively quiet in each of Northwestern's prior two Big Ten Tournament victories (he did notch 14 points against Penn State in the first round), finally put together a prolific scoring night.

The 5-foot-10 transfer scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor (3-of-4 from deep) and dished out nine dimes. His size has made him a defensive issue for Collins. It will be interesting to see how he's used next year.

Nick Martinelli Wrapped Up An Historic Northwestern Career in Style

Martinelli wraps up his collegiate career as one of the Wildcats' all-time best scorers. He finished with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 shooting from the foul line, four rebounds, three assists and one steal in 39 minutes.

The 6-foot-7 Glenbrook South product averaged just 2.6 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.1 minutes a night for Northwestern as a true freshman in 2022-23. As a senior, he averaged (prior to the Purdue game) a remarkable 22.9 points on .506/.411/.809 shooting splits, 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.8 steals, earning his second straight All-Big Ten Team honor as a result.

Martinelli amassed an astounding 25 games with 20 or more points scored. After the game, he embraced teammate Phoenix Gill and then embraced head coach Chris Collins for a good long while.

Nick Martinelli. Wildcat Forever 💜 pic.twitter.com/DdB9lXXarJ

— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) March 13, 2026

After the game, Martinelli reflected on the massive impact Collins has had on his evolution as a player and a person, per Matt Fortuna of The Inside Zone.

“He’s given me everything. It's the way that he's kept it real with me this whole way. He’s always honest with me. He pushes me to my limit. But at the same time, when I'm doing too much, he keeps it real and tells me to relax, rest," Martinelli said of Collins. “Everything he's provided for me, I just can't thank him enough.”

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