Purdue Rallies Past Northwestern
No. 15 Purdue rallied to defeat Northwestern 70-66 on Wednesday night, with C.J. Cox leading the charge in the closing minutes. Nick Martinelli kept Northwestern competitive until the final possessions, but the Boilermakers' late-game execution keeps them strong in NCAA tournament seeding discussions as March Madness approaches.
The victory for Purdue was a much-needed course correction after a period of struggle. The Boilermakers had dropped their previous two games and three of their last four overall. This win at Welsh-Ryan Arena was their first since February 2022 and improved their conference record to 13-6. The victory was Purdue's ninth quad-1 win of the season, the fifth-most in the country. C.J. Cox was the undisputed hero for Purdue, delivering a career-high 27 points. The sophomore guard was particularly dominant in the second half, scoring 21 of his points and shooting an efficient 10-for-13 from the floor, including 5-for-8 from three-point range. His clutch three-pointer with 48 seconds remaining ultimately gave Purdue the lead for good. For Northwestern, the loss snapped a three-game winning streak and was a tough home defeat in their final game at Welsh-Ryan Arena for the season. Senior Nick Martinelli, the Big Ten's leading scorer, was outstanding in the loss, pouring in 28 points. With this performance, Martinelli moved into seventh place on the school's all-time scoring list. The game was a tale of two halves, with Northwestern controlling the first half and taking a 34-25 lead into halftime, fueled in part by a 13-0 scoring run. However, Purdue surged in the second half, shooting 62.5% from the field to erase the deficit. The final six minutes of the game saw a flurry of action with nine lead changes. Purdue's recent defensive struggles have been a point of concern for head coach Matt Painter, who has lamented the team's inconsistency. Before the win against Northwestern, Purdue had a 5-6 record over their previous 11 games, with uncharacteristic losses at home. After his game-winning shot, C.J. Cox revealed the play was drawn up in the huddle. He said, "I told Trey in the huddle, when you get the ball in the short roll, look to see if my guy is helping up...I'll be wide open in the corner. And he did just that." Despite the victory, Purdue's recent slump has impacted their NCAA tournament seeding projections, with some analysts dropping them to a No. 3 or even a No. 4 seed. This win helps solidify their standing as they head into the final games of the regular season. The loss was a blow to Northwestern's late-season momentum. The Wildcats were also playing shorthanded, as guard Jake West was sidelined with an ankle injury. The team will look to rebound in their final regular-season game against Minnesota.
