Martinelli refuses to quit, sends Northwestern past Indiana

The first time Nick Martinelli touched the ball Wednesday against Indiana, he was quickly doubled by two defenders, pushed toward the sideline and forced to give up the basketball.

It felt like the Hoosiers, floating on the bubble of NCAA Tournament selection, were sending a message — “Not tonight, Mr. Bucket.”

But this game meant plenty to Martinelli, too. The Glenbrook South High School product, owner of the two highest-scoring seasons in Northwestern history, refused to let his college career end in Round 2 of the Big Ten Tournament.

Martinelli pushed his scoring record even higher with 28 points. The Wildcats, after trailing by 10 early, came back to dominate the Hoosiers 74-61 at the United Center. Northwestern advances to Round 3 and a game against No. 6 seed Purdue on Thursday.

“Every single game is a blessing,” Martinelli said. “This is the most games I've won in the Big Ten Tournament. It's super motivating to have guys that are sticking by your side after all the struggles we've been through.”

Not only did Martinelli survive to play another day, he finished his college career undefeated against the Hoosiers. Sure, Indiana's a football school now, but that's still impressive.

“They really cared,” Martinelli said of the Hoosiers. “They came in this game and wanted to win and fight. But when you come in the locker room (at halftime) and this could be your last 20 minutes with this jersey on, (after) all the work you've put in with these coaches and players — you just can't let that slip.”

Martinelli scored in the usual ways — inside, outside, drawing fouls, flipping his signature half-hook over taller defenders. This game also showed why Northwestern has finished the season winning five of seven games. The younger players, particularly point guard Jake West, are starting to thrive.

West, a fast-moving freshman from Philadelphia, added 18 points. The Cats were without injured center Arrinten Page, and he's not expected to play against Purdue, either.

“A lot of teams would have shut down,” NU coach Chris Collins said. “We were 2-13 (in the Big Ten) with a lot of just gut-wrenching losses, games that we had leads, games that we just let slip away. That wore on our team.”

The Wildcats (15-18) just lost a close one to Purdue last week. To keep advancing, they'll have to tap into energy reserves, since they'll be playing their third game in three days, while the Boilers will take the court for the first time this week.

“I said to the guys, come on, when you were little kids, when you were shooting in your driveway, you would dream of playing in these kind of games,” Collins said. “If you can't get juiced up and (energized), then you should turn your jersey in, really.”

The loss by Indiana (18-14) may have been the end of a unique college hoops friendship. Mundelein native Conor Enright and guard Tucker DeVries, son of IU head coach Darian; were teammates and good friends at Drake for three years and went to the NCAA Tournament twice.

Last season, Darian DeVries became head coach at West Virginia and Tucker followed him, while Enright transferred to DePaul. When DeVries got the Indiana job, they brought the gang back together. Enright led the Hoosiers in assists this season.