Nick Martinelli shows up when it matters: Takeaways from Northwestern’s thrilling overtime win vs. Illinois

EVANSTON, Ill. – If there was a better game in college basketball than Northwestern hosting Illinois on Friday, we’d love to know where it was.

The Wildcats took no. 19 ranked the Illini to the wire as they needed two free basketballs to decide this game.

In overtime, Nick Martinelli went ballistic.

He scored seven points and put pressure on Illinois’ shooters to keep up. With 45 seconds left, it was a one-point Northwestern lead when Matt Nicholson followed up on the defensive end with a massive block on Kasparas Jakucionis.

Jalen Leach put the ‘Cats up three with 25.1 to go and made one more stop to upset No. 19 Illinois 70-66 in overtime.

Here are our takeaways from the first game of the season series between Northwestern and Illinois.

Northwestern needs Nick Martinelli in big games

It wasn’t a good start for one of NU’s two 20-point-per-game scorers.

Nick Martinelli was 0-4 from the field, missing his two free throw attempts to start the game. He finished the first half with four points.

But when it mattered most, Martinelli was there. He made two contested baskets plus a three in overtime to give the ‘Cats the lead.

That’s the moral of a short story: If NU wants to win big games, Martinelli must be consistent. That was the case on Friday.

There may not be anyone the Wildcats rely on more this season with the ball in their hands in the bottom post. Martinelli has earned that trust with his stable floater, which hits more often than not.

Martinelli proved it with a quick four-point spurt that cut Illinois’ 10-point lead.

Martinelli finished the game with 27 points, but the slow start to his play in the first half was one of the reasons why Northwestern fell behind. It wasn’t all Martinelli’s fault — Tomislav Ivisic was a massive problem in the post all night — but if Northwestern is going to lean on Martinelli’s offense, the team needs to find ways to get him to the ball with better looks.

Sometimes NOW just has to get him the ball. Martinelli had five quick points to give NU a small lead to start the second half.

However, Friday night was further proof. When Martinelli is in his groove, NU can rely on him in the biggest games of the season.

Illinois athletics is a double-edged sword

There are few teams in the nation that can turn it on like Illinois can.

In the early going of the second half, Northwestern took a slim 34-33 lead thanks to Martinelli’s quick start coming out of the gate.

That tide turned with an Illini 9-0 run that gave Illinois a 42-34 lead at the under-12 media timeout in the second half.

In a game defined by turnovers in the Illinois end and stagnant offense in the Northwestern end, the Illini turned to their strengths to grab a lead.

Still, playing too quickly can lead to turnovers and some inconsistency. That was the case for the Illini, who finished the game with 11 turnovers to NU’s four.

Illinois caught a timeout with about eight minutes left in the game, allowing Northwestern to strike back with an 8-0 run. Illinois kept settling for 3-point shots that never landed.

But a Ben Humrichous 3-pointer cut the lead back to six for Illinois and allowed Illinois momentum to build again.

Tomislav Ivisic will be a problem at the heart of Big Ten play

NU struggled to guard Illinois’ leading scorer and 7-foot-1 sophomore all night.

It wasn’t just him either.

If Ivisic was in the post, he would most likely be double-teamed. That meant someone was open. Illinois usually takes a high volume of 3-pointers, but it is encouraged when players are open on the perimeter.

Still, one of the most underrated skills that Ivisic has is his passing ability. It’s not something big men usually have.

Case in point: Ivisic finished the game with five assists to go with his double-double.

By March, maybe even February at this rate, Ivisic’s name will be well known in the college basketball world.