Northwestern Gives No. 2 Michigan a Scare Before Falling Short

Wildcats' 16-point lead evaporates as Wolverines rally for 87-75 victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

The Northwestern Wildcats held a 16-point lead over the second-ranked Michigan Wolverines with 14 minutes remaining, but the Wolverines stormed back, outscoring the Wildcats 28-0 the rest of the way to post an 87-75 victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Northwestern played well for much of the game, but Michigan's depth and shooting prowess proved too much in the end.

Why it matters

This game highlighted the gap between Northwestern, a struggling Big Ten team, and Michigan, a national title contender. While the Wildcats showed fight and nearly pulled off a major upset, the Wolverines' ability to rally and pull away demonstrated the difference in talent and experience between the two programs.

The details

Northwestern jumped out to an 11-10 lead on a Jayden Reid 3-pointer and held that edge until the 7:14 mark of the second half. The Wildcats were led by Reid's 20 points, while Nick Martinelli added 18. But Michigan's superior depth and shooting touch wore down Northwestern, as the Wolverines hit 14 of their final 18 shots to erase the deficit. Michigan coach Dusty May said his strategy was to use the team's depth to tire out the smaller Wildcats.

  • Northwestern took an 11-10 lead with 15:55 left in the first half.
  • The Wildcats led by 16 points with 14:22 remaining in the game.

The players

Jayden Reid

A transfer point guard from South Florida who carried the Wildcats in the first half, scoring 20 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including two 3-pointers.

Nick Martinelli

A Northwestern forward who scored 18 points but struggled, shooting just 5-of-22 from the floor.

L.J. Cason

A Michigan player who came off the bench to score 18 points, 13 of them in the second half, to lead the Wolverines' comeback.

Trey McKenney

A Michigan player who scored 12 points and hit a couple of big 3-pointers to help fuel the Wolverines' rally.

Dusty May

The head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, who said his strategy was to use the team's superior depth to wear down the smaller Wildcats.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“We hoped over the last 8 or 10 minutes that we would be able to get to their legs a little bit.”

— Dusty May, Michigan Head Coach

“I thought we competed, I thought we battled, I thought we fought. Our play and effort were good enough to beat a lot of teams tonight. We were just playing the best team in the country.”

— Chris Collins, Northwestern Head Coach

What’s next

Northwestern will look to rebound on Saturday when they travel to take on the 7th-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers, who previously beat the Wildcats by 19 points in January.

The takeaway

This game showed the gap between a struggling Big Ten team like Northwestern and a national title contender like Michigan, but it also highlighted the Wildcats' fight and competitiveness, which could serve them well as they look to finish the season strong.