Northwestern University Athletics
Wednesday, December 3
Madison, Wis.
8 p.m. CT
Northwestern
5-3,0-1Big Ten
73
at
85
Wisconsin
6-2,1-0Big Ten
1
2
F
Northwestern
32
41
73
Wisconsin
55
30
85
Photo by: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics
Northwestern Drops Big Ten Opener at Wisconsin, 85-73
12/3/2025 11:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MADISON, Wis. — Northwestern fell 85-73 in its Big Ten opener against Wisconsin on Wednesday night in the Kohl Center.
"Give Wisconsin credit, they were really ready to play, and I knew they would be," said Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins. "We just didn't really have any answers in the first half."
The Wildcats (5-3, 0-1 Big Ten) launched a late surge but couldn't overcome John Blackwell and Nick Boyd's 46 combined points for the Badgers (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten).
Junior forward Arrinten Page tallied a team-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting and snared six rebounds. Page added three blocks and two steals. Joining Page in double figures, senior forward Nick Martinelli scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
In his first-ever conference game, first-year forward Tre Singleton posted eight points, 10 rebounds and a steal. Junior guard Jordan Clayton turned in season highs in both scoring and assists, registering nine points on 3-of-6 shooting and dishing out four assists. Clayton buoyed a 21-point outing from the Wildcat bench.
"We fought a lot harder in the second half," said Clayton, who logged a team-best +9 plus-minus in 23 minutes. "There were a couple plays where there's like three, four guys diving on the floor. We did a lot better with the ball pressure."
NU won the rebounding battle 37-33, including a 22-15 edge in the latter 20 minutes.
Junior guard Jayden Reid, Page and Singleton scored Northwestern's opening baskets to give the visitors an early 6-5 lead, but Wisconsin struck a torrid stretch following the under-16 timeout and maintained a first-half stronghold.
By halftime, the Badgers led 55-32.
Martinelli paced the Wildcat offense in the initial 20 minutes, recording nine points, four rebounds and two assists.
Midway through the second half, Northwestern cut the deficit to 16 points and later trimmed the margin to 12, but the comeback effort ultimately fell short. The 'Cats outscored the Badgers 41-30 in the second half.
"In the second half, I really challenged our guys, regardless of what the score was, to find some fight and to find some competitive spirit," Collins said. "We played a lot better in the second half. We forced them into seven turnovers. They only had four assists. We held them to 30, but it was too little, too late."
The Wildcats will return to action at home on Saturday, Dec. 6 against Ohio State. Tip-off from Welsh-Ryan Arena is slated for 1 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network and WGN Radio 720.
"Give Wisconsin credit, they were really ready to play, and I knew they would be," said Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins. "We just didn't really have any answers in the first half."
The Wildcats (5-3, 0-1 Big Ten) launched a late surge but couldn't overcome John Blackwell and Nick Boyd's 46 combined points for the Badgers (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten).
Junior forward Arrinten Page tallied a team-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting and snared six rebounds. Page added three blocks and two steals. Joining Page in double figures, senior forward Nick Martinelli scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
In his first-ever conference game, first-year forward Tre Singleton posted eight points, 10 rebounds and a steal. Junior guard Jordan Clayton turned in season highs in both scoring and assists, registering nine points on 3-of-6 shooting and dishing out four assists. Clayton buoyed a 21-point outing from the Wildcat bench.
"We fought a lot harder in the second half," said Clayton, who logged a team-best +9 plus-minus in 23 minutes. "There were a couple plays where there's like three, four guys diving on the floor. We did a lot better with the ball pressure."
NU won the rebounding battle 37-33, including a 22-15 edge in the latter 20 minutes.
Junior guard Jayden Reid, Page and Singleton scored Northwestern's opening baskets to give the visitors an early 6-5 lead, but Wisconsin struck a torrid stretch following the under-16 timeout and maintained a first-half stronghold.
By halftime, the Badgers led 55-32.
Martinelli paced the Wildcat offense in the initial 20 minutes, recording nine points, four rebounds and two assists.
Midway through the second half, Northwestern cut the deficit to 16 points and later trimmed the margin to 12, but the comeback effort ultimately fell short. The 'Cats outscored the Badgers 41-30 in the second half.
"In the second half, I really challenged our guys, regardless of what the score was, to find some fight and to find some competitive spirit," Collins said. "We played a lot better in the second half. We forced them into seven turnovers. They only had four assists. We held them to 30, but it was too little, too late."
The Wildcats will return to action at home on Saturday, Dec. 6 against Ohio State. Tip-off from Welsh-Ryan Arena is slated for 1 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network and WGN Radio 720.
Team Stats
NU
Wisc
FG%
.424
.438
3FG%
.211
.355
FT%
.826
.857
RB
37
33
TO
12
7
STL
3
7
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF
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Tuesday, December 02
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