Northwestern Closes Los Angeles Trip on Saturday at UCLA

Saturday, January 24

Los Angeles, Calif.

5 p.m. CT

Northwestern

UCLA

Northwestern Closes Los Angeles Trip on Saturday at UCLA

1/23/2026 3:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Charlie Spungin, NUSports.com

LOS ANGELES — Northwestern men's basketball closes out its Los Angeles trip on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 5 p.m. CT, when it visits UCLA for the first time since 1948. The game will air on FS1 with Carlo Jimenez (play-by-play) and Don MacLean (analyst) on the call and can be heard on WGN Radio 720 and SiriusXM Channel 390 with Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Billy McKinney (analyst).

Last time out (Jan. 21), the Wildcats (9-10, 1-7 Big Ten) opened their West Coast trip with a 74-68 victory over USC, improving to 2-0 against the Trojans since they joined the Big Ten Conference. Senior forward Nick Martinelli recorded 22 points — 17 of which came in the second-half, five rebounds, and a career-high five assists. Playing a career-high 34 minutes, first-year guard Jake West notched career-bests across the board with 11 points, three rebounds, and five assists. First-year forward Tyler Kropp made his first career start and also posted career-highs across the board with 11 points, nine rebounds, and one assist in 28 minutes. He was a team-best +12.

West is the first Wildcat first-year to post 10+ points, 3+ rebounds, and 5+ assists in a Big Ten game since Boo Buie against Nebraska on March 1, 2020.
Kropp is the first Wildcat first-year to record 11+ points and 9+ rebounds in a Big Ten game since Dererk Pardon against Nebraska on Dec. 30, 2015.
West and Kropp became the first rookies to each have 10+ points for the 'Cats since Boo Buie and Ryan Young on March 1, 2020 against Nebraska.
Northwestern started three true first-years (Kropp, West, forward Tre Singleton) for the first time since at least 2004-05.

B1G impacts ??@tylerkropp_ X @Maxgreen_10 pic.twitter.com/ywGkNK3Aqp
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) January 22, 2026

This season, Martinelli leads the nation in scoring with 23.6 points per game, while converting 55.1% of his field goal attempts (6th in Big Ten). The Glenview, Ill. native, is pulling down 6.7 rebounds per game (16th). He is shooting 52.1% from 3-point distance, the 9th-best mark nationally, per KenPom. Martinelli has scored 20+ points in 10 straight games, tied for the third-longest streak by a Big Ten player since 1996-97 with Minnesota's Quincy Lewis (1999), and trailing only Iowa's Luka Garza (2020, 19) and Purdue's Zach Edey (2024, 16). It is also the longest active streak in the nation. This season, Martinelli has 15 games with 20 or more points, which leads the Big Ten and high-major players nationwide. Dating back to last season, he has 33 such games, which leads all high-major players. Over the last two seasons, Martinelli has scored 1,101 points, which ranks second nationally and is the most by a forward.

Martinelli's 23.6 points per game would rank third in program history, trailing 1969-70 Dave Kelly (24.3) and 1954-55 Frank Ehman (23.9).
Martinelli would be the first Northwestern player to average 20+ points per game in back-to-back campaigns since Jim Burns (1965-66, 1966-67).
Martinelli has scored in double-figures 61 times in his career and 20+ points 35 times, which ranks third at Northwestern since 2004, trailing only John Shurna (2008-12, 45) and Boo Buie (2019-2024, 41).
Over his last 10 games, Martinelli is averaging 26.7 points per game.
Martinelli has 1,453 career points, which ranks 14th in Northwestern program history.
Last season, Martinelli set program records in single-season points (676) and single-season field goals made (251).

"We played all 40 minutes and closed the game out."

??? @N_Martinelli1 pic.twitter.com/pWJC3XKGdz
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) January 22, 2026

The Wildcats have continued to share the ball without turning it over, as their 2.16 assist-to-turnover ratio leads the nation and would be the highest mark in Division I history. Northwestern is averaging the nation's fewest turnovers (8.4), while ranking 21st in the country with 18.1 assists per game.

Northwestern's +2.6 turnover margin ranks fifth in the Big Ten and 54th nationally.
The Wildcats are forcing opponents to shoot 30.0% from beyond the arc, the fourth-best three-point defense in the Big Ten and the 40th-best in the nation.
Northwestern has upped its pace this season, averaging 13.1 fast break points per game — ranking third in the Big Ten.
The Wildcats are averaging 3.9 blocks per game, which ranks seventh in the Big Ten. It is tied for the fourth most blocks in a single-season in program history, trailing 2016-17 (4.9), 2017-18 (4.3), and 2018-19 (4.2).
Northwestern has played seven games decided by five points or fewer, which leads the Big Ten. Over the past four seasons, the Wildcats have played 42 such games, which also leads the conference and ranks tied for 13th nationally.

Northwestern's offense has been prolific through the first half of the 2025-26 campaign, averaging 77.2 points per game, its most since 1989-90 (78.2). The team's 18.1 assists per game are the most in program history, surpassing the mark set in 1993-94 (17.8).

Junior guard Jayden Reid has averaged 11.4 points and 5.4 assists per game (4th in Big Ten). His 5.4 assists per game would rank tied for second in program history, along with Pat Baldwin (1992-93) and trailing only Bryant McIntosh (6.7) in 2015-16. Junior forward Arrinten Page is averaging 12.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game (13th in Big Ten) while shooting 57.0% from the floor.

First-year forward Tre Singleton has 16 starts this season (T-2nd on team) and is averaging 7.3 points (12th among Big Ten first-years), 4.6 rebounds (T-5th), and 1.5 assists (T-10th) per game. His 7.3 points per game are the most by a Wildcat first-year since the 2019-20 season (Boo Buie: 10.3, Ryan Young: 9.0). His 16 starts are the most by a Northwestern first-year since Ryan Young (31) and Robbie Beran (18) in 2019-20.
Sophomore guard Angelo Ciaravino has posted career-highs across the board with 6.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game on 53.5% shooting. He has started 14 games.
West has started the last three games for the Wildcats. Over his last four games, he is averaging 6.5 points and 3.5 assists per game. His 2.0 assists per game on the season ranked tied for sixth among Big Ten first-years, and he is one of two first-years in the conference who is shooting at least 40% from beyond the arc.

Northwestern's clash with the Bruins (13-6, 5-3 Big Ten) will be the team's seventh all-time meeting and third in the last four years. The Wildcats are looking for their second win against UCLA, with their only previous victory coming on Dec. 29, 1949, in Evanston (64-58).

When the teams faced off in their first-ever Big Ten matchup last season (March 4, 2025), Northwestern went on a 13-0 run in the final minutes of the game to cut the lead to one, but ultimately fell 73-69 inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. Playing in his final home game, Ty Berry posted game-highs of 22 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Martinelli added 20 points, six rebounds, and three assists.

Last time out for UCLA, they downed No. 4 Purdue, 69-67, at home. The Bruins have five players averaging double-figure points per game, led by Tyler Bilodeau (18.2) and Skyy Clark (13.5). UCLA is shooting 37.3% from beyond the arc (3rd in Big Ten, 31st nationally), while forcing 13.4 turnovers per game (2nd in Big Ten, 94th nationally).

Bilodeau's 18.2 points per game rank ninth in the conference.
Donovan Dent's 6.8 assists per game rank third in the Big Ten and 11th nationally, and his 1.5 steals per game place him fourth in the conference.
The Bruins' +3.3 turnover margin ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 38th in the country.
UCLA is shooting 47.9% from the floor, which is the fifth-best mark in the Big Ten and 55th in America.

The Wildcats return home to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Thursday, Jan. 29, to face Penn State. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT on Peacock and ESPN 1000 WMVP.