'Nick's a warrior': Northwestern upsets No. 19 Illinois behind Nick Martinelli's superb performance

Northwestern forward Nick Martinelli remembers his first high-major game against Pittsburgh during the 2022-23 season. The stands were empty, and the energy was low.

“I could hear my mom yelling," Martinelli said.

The students showed up in force in Northwestern’s 70-66 upset win over No. 19 Illinois (6-2, 0-1 Big Ten) — though there was still a large contingent of Illinois fans at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Coach Chris Collins said the fans came through in the second half when Northwestern (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten) needed the lift. And Martinelli, in particular, definitely needed an energy boost after a rough first half that saw him score four points on 2-for-9 shooting.

“I can see our fans have taken pride in cheering for our team," Martinelli said.

At halftime, Collins didn’t have a message to Martinelli. He didn’t scold nor deride his star player. Instead, he said, “Don’t judge yourself by missed shots.” It’s good that Martinelli took that advice because his aggressiveness in the second half was a key reason the Wildcats could steal a game against the Illini. That ethos comes from how Collins, a 1992 McDonald’s All-American, thought about the game as a player. Collins was a self-described “gunslinger.”

“You can't let you can't let missed shots dictate as long as you're playing right, as long as you're battling, especially when you're a guy like Nick or [guard Brooks Barnhizer],” Collins said. “They're going to take a lot of shots, and there's going to be stretches where they miss, but we need them to stay aggressive.”

Martinelli finished with 27 points and six rebounds in 42 minutes. His development into an impactful player has coincided with Northwestern’s rise as a program. After two NCAA Tournament appearances over the past two years, the Wildcats are becoming a team known for their resiliency. And no player better personifies that resiliency than Martinelli.

After halftime, something clicked for Martinelli. The rim didn’t have a lid on it. His flip shots started dropping through the net. Martinelli showed up for his team in the second half, scoring on some timely cuts to the basket and post-ups. He was feeling himself after scoring 16 second-half points and that flow continued in the overtime period. Heck, he started the overtime scoring with a left-handed flip shot in the lane over Illinois’ talented freshman Kasparas Jakuconis.

The Wildcats routinely attacked that matchup in overtime, Jakuconis, a 6-5 guard, matched up on the 6-7 Nick Martinelli, and the junior delivered over and over. Fifth-year guard Jalen Leach and Barnhizer got Northwestern to overtime, but Martinelli closed it out.

If Illinois was going to continue to switch its undersized guards onto Martinelli, Collins said his plan was to continue seeking out that matchup.

“I just had a little bit more size on the guy that was guarding me,” Martinelli said. “We did a good job spacing. It helps when you have Jalen, [guard Ty Berry] and Brooks on the perimeter. They're great shooters. If I spit one out, they're going to make it."

It’s almost unfathomable to imagine Martinelli making tough flip shots at another program. But Martinelli committed to Elon during his junior year at Glenbrook South. But when Jon Scheyer became the next Duke coach after Mike Krzyzewski retired, he plucked Mike Schrage from Elon, making Schrage a special assistant.

In a roundabout way, Scheyer — a Glenbrook North alum — had a hand in Martinelli landing at Northwestern. Collins missed out on landing Martinelli once, and he wasn’t going to a second time.

“As soon as I saw him available I wasn't not going to have that kid in our program,” Collins said. I just love his mentality. I'm happy all those things happened because he's turned out to be one heck of a player.”