Northwestern handles Penn State, 76-66, to advance in Big Ten Tournament

CHICAGO – Northwestern took care of business in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament with a 76-66 win over 18th-seeded Penn State on Tuesday night at Chicago’s United Center.

It wasn’t as emphatic as the Wildcats’ 94-73 win over the Nittany Lions in the regular season, but it got the job done.

Forward Nick Martinelli led the way with a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds, supported by guard Jayden Reid, who had 14 points and nine assists.

Reid wasn’t the only Wildcat dishing out dimes: Northwestern assisted on 21 of their 27 field goals.

“We knew we were going to have a battle tonight and we’re excited about the opportunity to continue to play,” head coach Chris Collins said.

The Wildcats were without center Arrinten Page, who missed his second game with an illness, and relied on a rotation of freshman forwards Tre Singleton and Tyler Kropp to get the job done in his stead. Collins said after the game that Page will also be out for tomorrow’s second-round matchup with Indiana, and then will be “day-to-day” if there are games after that.

“Obviously, we were a big guy down. … This is who we’ve got,” Collins said. “Guys have to figure things out by committee.”

Here are our takeaways from Northwestern’s debut win in the 2026 Big Ten Tournament.

No Page, eventually no problem

Penn State initially capitalized on the absence of a true center, getting Singleton in foul trouble and setting up Ivan Juric for 12 of Penn State’s first 16 points before the Wildcats got their bearings. He finished with a team-high 22 points and six rebounds.

Kropp kept Northwestern steady in the first half with four points and five rebounds, four of them offensive boards, in 14 minutes.

“I thought Tyler really stepped up,” Collins said. “He really stepped up and gave us good minutes tonight. It was exciting for me to see as a young player in his first Big Ten Tournament to come in and give those positive minutes for us.”

It looked like it was going to be another frustrating game mired in foul trouble when Singleton picked up his third with 4:26 left in the first half. But Collins rolled the dice not long thereafter, putting him back in with 17:10 left in the second frame.

Collins’ bet paid off and Singleton didn’t foul again. He played 14 minutes after the break, scoring nine key points and grabbing three rebounds while providing key defensive versatility. Kropp and Singleton combined for the committee that Northwestern needed in Page’s absence.

“As we say, it’s next man up,” Martinelli said. “I thought Kropp did a great job when he came
in. It doesn’t matter who you’re guarding and what space you’re in, you just have to do the job and get the job done.

“All these guys are moving around, guarding different guys, switching, talking. We have to all be connected as one to get a win like that. I thought we did that today.”

Tight rotations

Collins kept the rotations tight with the season on the line and missing Page, playing just eight players. Off the bench was Kropp, and guards Jordan Clayton and Justin Mullins. All three provided quality support.

Mullins hit two 3-pointers, his first triples since Dec. 30 against Howard, on his way to seven points and a +5 in 16 minutes.

Clayton added five points with a 3 of his own. He’s really found his shooting stroke in the final games of this season and is 5-for-8 from beyond the arc in the last three games.

“I just thought Justin [Mullins], Jordan [Clayton], Tyler [Kropp], all of them coming off the bench really gave big contributions in a lot of different areas,” Collins said. “Not just scoring, but energy. Justin hit a couple huge 3s in the second half. Tyler, I thought his offensive rebounding in the first half with Tre being in foul trouble [was huge]. …

“I thought Jordan Clayton was just steady. He’s been very solid for us here the last month of the season. Those guys were great off the bench.”

Both Clayton and Mullins had four fouls, but you can’t take them with you, and the Wildcats needed their physical defense.

It was an old-fashioned defensive performance for the Wildcats, who forced 17 turnovers and scored 24 points off of them, while turning it over just eight times themselves.

Indiana up next

The Wildcats advance to play the 10th-seeded Indiana Hoosiers tomorrow at 5:30 pm. The last time they squared off was just two weeks ago, on Feb. 24, when Northwestern pulled off a 72-68 upset at Assembly Hall.

The Hoosiers are reeling, having lost five of their last six games, but will have the rest advantage coming off of a first-round bye.

Collins was clear his focus has been one team at a time, and that they would try to cross the Hoosier bridge only after beating Penn State to get there.

“We always tell guys in tournament situations, if you start thinking ahead to another game, you’re going to get beat,” he said.

Ironically, Northwestern has been better in this tournament when they came in with a low seed and didn’t really have anything to play for. In 2022, 2025 and now 2026, with an NCAA bid off the table, they’ve won their opening game. Yet in 2023 and 2024, when they’ve had an NCAA Tournament bid sewn up, they lost their opening game.

Indiana’s season is on the brink: they need a conference tourney run of their own to get themselves back on the bubble. Even with an offseason of rebuilding ahead, the Hoosiers now have Collins’ sole focus. He struggled to answer a question about what he’s learned as a coach from this season.

“There are things I haven’t done that I’ve got to be better at moving forward,” Collins said. “Right now, I’m in the fight. This isn’t self-reflection time. …

“In my mind, right now, I’m thinking about how we can beat Indiana.”