NCAA BASKETBALL: Northwestern rallies to pound bubble-bound Indiana in Big Ten second round

Nick Martinelli scored a game-high 28 points, while freshman Jake West added 18 to match a career high as Northwestern moved on to the third round of the Big Ten tournament with a 74-61 victory over Indiana on Wednesday night in Chicago.

Tre Singleton contributed eight points, and Jayden Reid dished out six assists for the 15th-seeded Wildcats (15-18), who recorded their seventh consecutive win over the Hoosiers and their second in 16 days.

Martinelli, the Big Ten's leading scorer during the regular season at 22.8 points per game, went 10 of 18 from the floor and reached the 20-point mark for the 25th time this season.

With the win, Northwestern earned its second tournament victory in two days and will face seventh-seeded, No. 18-ranked Purdue (23-8) on Thursday. The Boilermakers narrowly defeated the Wildcats 70-66 on March 4 in Evanston, Illinois.

For Indiana, Lamar Wilkerson scored 17 points, and Tayton Conerway added 14 off the bench as the No. 10-seed Hoosiers (18-14) suffered their sixth loss in seven games. Wilkerson, the Big Ten's second-leading scorer at 21.0 points per game, led Indiana’s attack.

Indiana shot 44.4% from the field compared with 48.1% for Northwestern and committed 11 turnovers to Northwestern’s six. The Hoosiers lost their tournament opener after receiving a bye into the second round.

Northwestern opened its first double-digit lead at 57-47 with 10:11 remaining after two free throws from Martinelli. Reid added a 3-pointer to push the Wildcats up 60-47 with 9:33 left, completing a 15-3 run. Indiana then went more than four minutes without a field goal until Wilkerson’s turnaround jumper cut the deficit to 60-49 with 9:15 remaining.

The Wildcats maintained multiple 18-point leads down the stretch, including 70-52 with 5:22 remaining following a free throw from Jordan Clayton. Indiana shot just 25.0% (5 of 20) in the second half.

In the first half, Indiana hit nine of its first 12 shots to take a 22-13 lead, but Northwestern responded with a run to grab a 33-32 advantage. The Hoosiers shot 60.0% in the first half and led 37-36 at halftime, with Wilkerson scoring 10 points. West contributed 14 points for the Wildcats before the break.

-Field Level Media/Reuters