Wildcats Host No. 2 Michigan at Welsh-Ryan Arena Wednesday Night

Wednesday, February 11

Evanston, Ill.

7:30 p.m. CT

Northwestern

#2 Michigan

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Photo by: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics

Wildcats Host No. 2 Michigan at Welsh-Ryan Arena Wednesday Night

2/10/2026 5:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern men's basketball begins a stretch in which it will play four home contests over a six-game span when it hosts No. 2 Michigan on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will air on Big Ten Network with Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), Jordan Taylor (analyst) and Andy Katz (sideline) on the call, and it can be heard on WGN Radio 720 and SiriusXM Channel 380 with Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Billy McKinney (analyst).

Last time out (Feb. 8), the Wildcats (10-14, 2-11 Big Ten) were narrowly defeated by Iowa, 76-70. Senior forward Nick Martinelli scored 21 points, while first-year guard Jake West tabbed a career-high 18 points while shooting 7-of-8 from the floor and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in a career-high 35 minutes. Northwestern converted a season-high 57.1% (8-of-14) of its three-point attempts, its best percentage from three-point range in a game since Jan. 24, 2024, against Illinois (61.1%).

This season, Martinelli leads the Big Ten and ranks sixth nationally in scoring, averaging 22.7 points per game, while converting 52.3% of his field goal attempts (7th in Big Ten). The Glenview., Ill. native is pulling down 6.4 rebounds per game (16th). He is shooting 47.1% from 3-point distance, the 18th-best mark nationally, per KenPom. Martinelli has 18 games with 20+ points this season, which leads high-major players nationally. Martinelli's 22.7 points per game would rank fifth in program history, trailing Dale Kelley in 1969-70 (24.3), Frank Ehmann in 1954-55 (23.9), Rich Falk in 1963-64 (23.3), and Joe Ruklick in 1958-59 (23.0). 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). Over the last two seasons, Martinelli has scored 1,199 points, which ranks second nationally and is the most by a forward.

Martinelli joins Zach Edey (2022-23, 2023-24), Keegan Murray (2020-21), and Luka Garza (2019-20, 2020-21) as the only Big Ten players in the past 30 years to average 22+ points per game and 6+ rebounds per game.
Martinelli had a 12-game streak of 20+ points from Dec. 6, 2025-Jan. 29, 2026. It was the third-longest streak by a Big Ten player since 1996-97, behind Iowa's Luka Garza (2020, 19) and Purdue's Zach Edey (2024, 16). It was also tied for the eighth-longest streak by a high-major player since 1996-97.
Martinelli has scored in double-figures 65 times in his career and posted 20+ points 38 times, which ranks third at Northwestern since 2004, trailing only John Shurna (2008-12, 45) and Boo Buie (2019-2024, 41).
Martinelli has five career 30+ point games, tied for the most among active Big Ten players.
Martinelli has 1,551 career points, which ranks 11th in Northwestern program history. He needs 25 points to pass Kevin Rankin (1990-94) to move into 10th place, 31 points to pass Vedran Vukusic (2001-06) to move into ninth place, and 33 points to pass Jim Stack (1978-83) to move into eighth place.
Last season, Martinelli set program records in single-season points (676) and field goals made (251).

The Wildcats have continued to share the ball without turning it over, as their 2.10 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second in the nation and would be the second-highest mark in Division I history. Northwestern is averaging the nation's second-fewest turnovers (8.3), while ranking 33rd in the country with 17.4 assists per game. The Wildcats' offense is producing 75.0 points per game, its most since 1993-94 (75.0).

Northwestern's 8.3 turnovers per game is a program record.
Northwestern's 17.4 assists rank second in program history, trailing only 1993-94 (17.8).
The Wildcats' +2.5 turnover margin ranks fifth in the Big Ten and 54th nationally.
The Wildcats have upped their pace this season, averaging 11.8 fast break points per game — ranking third in the Big Ten.
Northwestern has played seven games decided by five points or fewer, which is tied for the third most in the Big Ten. Over the past four seasons, the Wildcats have played 42 such games, which is also tied for the conference's most and ranks tied for 29th nationally.

Junior guard Jayden Reid has averaged 10.2 points and 5.1 assists per game (5th in Big Ten). His 5.1 assists per game would rank tied for fifth in program history, trailing only Bryant McIntosh in 2015-16 (6.7) in 2016-17 (5.2), and Pat Baldwin in 1992-93 (5.4) and 1993-94 (5.3).

First-year forward Tre Singleton has 21 starts this season, the most by a Northwestern first-year since 2019-20 when Ryan Young tallied 31, and is averaging 8.2 points (12th among Big Ten first-years), 5.1 rebounds (T-4th), and 1.5 assists (T-8th) per game. His 8.2 points per game are the most by a Wildcat first-year since the 2019-20 season (Boo Buie: 10.3, Ryan Young: 9.0). Singleton has scored 10+ points in four of his last five games.
West has started the last eight games for the Wildcats. Over his last nine games, he is averaging 6.9 points and 4.2 assists per game. His 2.6 assists per game on the season rank tied for fifth among Big Ten first-years. With just 0.7 turnovers per game, he has the highest assist-to-turnover ratio in a single season in program history (3.65).
Sophomore guard Angelo Ciaravino is averaging career-highs across the board with 6.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game on 52.2% shooting.

Northwestern last hosted the Wolverines (22-1, 12-1 Big Ten) inside Welsh-Ryan Arena on Feb. 22, 2024, a 76-62 Wildcat victory. Northwestern is aiming for consecutive home wins over Michigan for the first time since 2010-11. The Wildcats are also looking for their first win over an AP Top 5 team since Dec. 1, 2023, a 92-88 win over No. 1 Purdue. Northwestern last defeated a ranked Michigan team on Dec. 6, 2018 (61-52), and is seeking its first win over a top 10 ranked Michigan team since March 12, 1994 (No. 8, 97-93). The Wildcats have defeated an AP Top 20 opponent in the last six seasons.

Last time out against the Wolverines (Jan. 19, 2025), Northwestern took the contest to overtime but fell 80-76. Michigan, which was ranked No. 20 at the time, was limited to a 36.1 field goal percentage. Brooks Barnhizer posted 21 points and eight rebounds, while Martinelli logged 20 points and six rebounds. Jalen Leach had 19 points and five assists, and Ty Berry added 12 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Matthew Nicholson pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds.

The Wolverines enter Welsh-Ryan Arena on an eight-game winning streak, with their lone loss coming to Wisconsin on Jan. 10 (91-88). Michigan's 22-1 record is the best start in program history. Yaxel Lendeborg (14.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg), Morez Johnson Jr. (13.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg), and Aday Mara (11.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg) combine for roughly 40 percent of the Wolverines' offense and more than half of the team's rebounding.

The Wolverines' average scoring margin is +22.4, the second-highest mark in the country.
Michigan averages 91.0 points per game, ranking sixth nationally.
The Wolverines' 51.4 field goal percentage is sixth-best nationally, while holding opponents to a 36.9 percent shooting clip — the second-best mark in the country.
Michigan's 19.3 assists per game rank fifth in the country.
The Wolverines average 6.0 blocks per game, the fifth-most in America. Mara posts 2.7 blocks per game, which leads the Big Ten.
Michigan pulls down 41.8 rebounds per game, which ranks eighth nationally. The Wolverines outrebound their opponents by 9.9 rebounds per game, ranking seventh in the country.
Elliot Cadeau averages 9.9 points and 5.4 assists per game. His 5.4 assists per game rank fourth in the Big Ten.
Trey McKenney also averages in double figures, notching 10.1 points per game.

The Wildcats travel to Lincoln, Neb., to face No. 7 Nebraska on Saturday, Feb. 14, at noon CT. The game will air on Big Ten Network and WGN Radio 720.