Northwestern University Athletics
Thursday, January 8
East Lansing, Mich.
5:30 p.m. CT
Northwestern
8-7,0-4Big Ten
66
at
76
#12 Michigan State
14-2,4-1Big Ten
1
2
F
Northwestern
35
31
66
Michigan St.
28
48
76
’Cats Start Strong, Come Up Short At No. 12 Michigan State, 76-66
1/8/2026 8:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Northwestern fell 76-66 at No. 12 Michigan State on Thursday night in the Breslin Center.
The Wildcats (8-7, 0-4 Big Ten) built an eight-point lead early in the second half, but the Spartans (14-2, 4-1 Big Ten) surged to secure the result.
"We played incredibly hard," Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins said. "We battled, we fought and we matched their physicality. We had good poise whenever they made runs."
Senior forward Nick Martinelli, the nation's leading scorer with 23.4 points per game, tallied a game-high 28 points and five rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting. Martinelli canned 2-of-3 attempts from beyond the arc.
"He's playing great basketball," Collins said. "He's a senior playing with a sense of urgency. He had his guys ready to play tonight. I'm disappointed in the loss, but the thing I'm really proud of is we played like a Northwestern basketball team in terms of our effort."
First-year forward Tyler Kropp tallied a career-high nine points, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the field. Junior guard Jayden Reid ran the floor with eight points, eight assists and zero turnovers.
Northwestern committed just six turnovers on Thursday night and forced MSU into 15 turnovers.
Behind an 11-0 run to close out the first half, Northwestern entered the break with a 35-28 lead. The seven-point margin marked Michigan State's largest halftime deficit this year. The 'Cats forced the Spartans into eight first-half turnovers and held them to their lowest scoring first half of the season.
Less than nine minutes into the second half, Michigan State retook the lead for the first time since the 4:51 mark in the first half. The Spartans stretched their advantage to 62-52 with 4:27 to play, but the Wildcats launched a 10-2 run to cut the deficit down to two points with just over two minutes remaining.
Ultimately, Michigan State closed out the victory on its home floor.
"I thought our effort was worthy of winning," Collins said. "We just had some key breakdowns when it mattered most."
"Give them credit. They're a good team, they're a tough team, and we were still right there. We had an opportunity. It was right in the mix in the last couple minutes."
The Wildcats will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 11, at Rutgers. Tipoff from Piscataway, N.J., is slated for 4 p.m. CT on Peacock and WGN Radio 720.
The Wildcats (8-7, 0-4 Big Ten) built an eight-point lead early in the second half, but the Spartans (14-2, 4-1 Big Ten) surged to secure the result.
"We played incredibly hard," Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins said. "We battled, we fought and we matched their physicality. We had good poise whenever they made runs."
Senior forward Nick Martinelli, the nation's leading scorer with 23.4 points per game, tallied a game-high 28 points and five rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting. Martinelli canned 2-of-3 attempts from beyond the arc.
"He's playing great basketball," Collins said. "He's a senior playing with a sense of urgency. He had his guys ready to play tonight. I'm disappointed in the loss, but the thing I'm really proud of is we played like a Northwestern basketball team in terms of our effort."
First-year forward Tyler Kropp tallied a career-high nine points, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the field. Junior guard Jayden Reid ran the floor with eight points, eight assists and zero turnovers.
Northwestern committed just six turnovers on Thursday night and forced MSU into 15 turnovers.
Behind an 11-0 run to close out the first half, Northwestern entered the break with a 35-28 lead. The seven-point margin marked Michigan State's largest halftime deficit this year. The 'Cats forced the Spartans into eight first-half turnovers and held them to their lowest scoring first half of the season.
Less than nine minutes into the second half, Michigan State retook the lead for the first time since the 4:51 mark in the first half. The Spartans stretched their advantage to 62-52 with 4:27 to play, but the Wildcats launched a 10-2 run to cut the deficit down to two points with just over two minutes remaining.
Ultimately, Michigan State closed out the victory on its home floor.
"I thought our effort was worthy of winning," Collins said. "We just had some key breakdowns when it mattered most."
"Give them credit. They're a good team, they're a tough team, and we were still right there. We had an opportunity. It was right in the mix in the last couple minutes."
The Wildcats will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 11, at Rutgers. Tipoff from Piscataway, N.J., is slated for 4 p.m. CT on Peacock and WGN Radio 720.
Team Stats
NU
MSU
FG%
.379
.490
3FG%
.231
.278
FT%
.800
.697
RB
25
42
TO
6
15
STL
9
3
Game Leaders
Pts
28
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
10
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Men's Basketball - Michigan State Postgame Press Conference (1/8/26)
Friday, January 09
Men's Basketball - Wildcats Come up Short at No. 12 Spartans (1/8/26)
Friday, January 09
Men's Basketball - Collins, Martinelli Preview Michigan State (1/7/26)
Wednesday, January 07
Men's Basketball - Minnesota Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, January 04
