The Wildcats will be without one of their top first-years.
Northwestern was already projected to face an uphill battle in order to upset No. 15 Purdue on Wednesday night. That quest will be a lot more difficult without the Wildcats' primary ball-handler.
Freshman point guard Jake West was shockingly ruled out with an ankle injury, just half an hour before the 'Cats' 7:30 p.m. CT tip-off against the Boilermakers. The team announced West would be inactive with a social media post.
The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, native has been a revelation for the Wildcats during his first collegiate season. West has started the last 13 games for Northwestern, providing a steady presence at point guard with flashy upside.
Across his first 16 appearances, West averaged 2.8 points per game off the bench and dished out 28 assists to just seven turnovers. Jayden Reid's issues with giving the ball away led to Chris Collins inserting West into the starting lineup and the Wildcats haven't looked back.
Since then, West has played a significantly larger role for NU. The three-star freshman's scoring has climbed to 6.8 points per game on better efficiency (40.8% overall, 38.5% from three) than he shot before. West has similarly logged 52 assists to 19 turnovers in that time.
He has also experienced several breakout performances that provide a glimpse into the rookie's potential. West totaled 11 points and five assists in a win over USC, tallied a career-high 13 assists to help defeat Penn State and scored 18 points against Iowa. In the closing seconds of the Wildcats' upset win at Indiana, West knocked down all four of his free throws to put away the Hoosiers.
West is averaging 4.6 points and 2.8 assists per game on the season. He has played at least 30 minutes in eight of Northwestern's last 11 games.
With West out of the lineup for the first time in the regular season, Justin Mullins has been tabbed to enter the starting five on Senior Night. The 6-foot-6 wing started for Northwestern against Michigan State and Rutgers in January, but has not played since Illinois on Feb. 4.
Mullins joins Reid, Nick Martinelli, Tre Singleton and Arrinten Page in Northwestern's starting lineup.
The Wildcats are riding a three-game winning streak, but have dropped their last two matchups against Purdue. However, both of those contests came on the road in West Lafayette, Indiana. Northwestern upset Purdue in its most recent games at Welsh-Ryan Arena during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. The Boilermakers were ranked the No. 1 team in the nation both times.