IU basketball’s stay in the 2026 Big Ten tournament was brief as it fell 74-61 to Northwestern on Wednesday night.
Here are five takeaways from the loss to the Wildcats:
Indiana’s defense again leads to its demise
Indiana’s defensive struggles have been a broken record in five takeaways over the last month. The Hoosiers once again fell flat defensively in Wednesday’s loss to Northwestern.
Even when Indiana built an early lead, it never made Northwestern uncomfortable. The Hoosiers tried to take away Nick Martinelli early, but that led to freshman Jake West shooting layups and making 3-pointers.
West, a 6-foot-3 freshman from Philadelphia, entered the game averaging just over five points per game. He scored 18 against the Hoosiers on 7-for-14 shooting from the field.
Once Martinelli got comfortable offensively, the game was effectively over. The 6-foot-7 senior, who never lost to Indiana in his Northwestern career, scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the second half.
The final numbers on Northwestern’s performance: 74 points, 1.22 points per possession and only six turnovers.
One of the primary failures of Indiana’s defense this season was its inability to force turnovers. The Hoosiers weren’t nearly good enough on the ball, as opponents got into their offense comfortably with little resistance. That was certainly the case on Wednesday and it was a big reason Indiana made another quick exit from the Big Ten tournament.
Indiana’s offense had no plan B in the second half
After a relatively strong first half in which the Hoosiers scored 37 points and 1.25 points per possession, poor shooting and long scoring droughts defined the final 20 minutes.
Poor second-half performances were a theme in the first season of Darian DeVries’ tenure in Bloomington.
When opposing defenses cut off Indiana’s primary actions offensively, the Hoosiers had nothing to fall back on. No one could easily break down the defense to get a basket in the midst of a scoring drought outside of Lamar Wilkerson, who carried the load the best he could all season.
When Wilkerson wasn’t making shots, the Hoosiers quickly became a below-average offensive team with too many guys on the floor incapable of scoring.
Wednesday was a tough perimeter shooting night for Wilkerson – he went 1-for-6 on 3s – and as a result, the offense cratered in the second half.
Another Big Ten tournament failure for IU basketball
Another year, another quick exit for IU basketball in the Big Ten tournament.
Wednesday’s loss sank the program to 17-28 all-time in the event.
It doesn’t matter who the head coach has been – Bob Knight, Mike Davis, Kelvin Sampson, Dan Dakich, Tom Crean, Archie Miller, Mike Woodson or Darian DeVries – the Big Ten tournament ends in disappointment for Indiana.
Indiana has been to the event finals just once – in 2001 – and has regularly lost its opening game.
Wednesday was no different as the Hoosiers, desperate for a win and a chance to play Purdue on Thursday, collapsed in the second half, ending their stay in Chicago quickly.
Northwestern – not Indiana – played with desperation
One team played as though it was fighting for its NCAA tournament life on Wednesday evening at the United Center.
And it wasn’t Indiana.
The Hoosiers entered Wednesday’s game right near the cut line for March Madness and, with bubble teams stumbling across the country, had every reason to fight for a win and a potential spot in the First Four in Dayton next week.
But it was Northwestern, which finished with only five Big Ten wins in the regular season and has no chance at making the tournament unless it wins the Big Ten tournament, that showed more fight.
The Wildcats battled for a full 40 minutes and regularly played three freshmen in their rotation. The Hoosiers, meanwhile, started five seniors and played six, all of whom knew they were likely playing in their final game if they didn’t win.
Still, there was little urgency for Indiana in the second half as Northwestern played with more energy, poise and determination to advance.
Without Arrinten Page, Indiana’s frontcourt still couldn’t take advantage
Northwestern, without its best frontcourt scorer, rebounder and rim protector in Arrinten Page, who was out sick, still found a way to outplay Indiana in the post and in the paint.
The Wildcats started freshman Tre Singleton at the five and also played freshman Tyler Kropp for 10 minutes at the five.
Despite having no rim protection and no legitimate post scorer, Northwestern still outscored Indiana in the paint 34-24.
The Wildcats also won the second-chance points battle 10-9 and had more offensive rebounds than the Hoosiers.
Reed Bailey and Sam Alexis, who started together for the first time all season, combined to score 12 points and grab a total of two rebounds in 50 minutes.
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
See More: Five Takeaways, 2026 Big Ten tournament, Northwestern Wildcats