Northwestern Dominates Illinois State in Final Exhibition Game Before Season

Ryan Cole

Oct 30, 2025, 19:51

Ryan Cole

Oct 30, 2025, 19:51

Updated at: Oct 30, 2025, 19:51

Northwestern dropped 100 against the Redbirds last night.

Last night, the 'Cats played their final tune-up game against Illinois State before the regular season starts on Monday against Mercyhurst. It didn't count for anything, but Northwestern racked up a 100-burger against the Redbirds, winning 100-65.

To be clear, Illinois State is not an awful team -- it sits at No. 121 in the preseason Kenpom rankings. This was a dominant win behind outpouring of offense before this Wildcat team has fully gelled. That's notable, even in exhibition.

Northwestern was led in scoring by Nick Martinelli, unsurprisingly, who finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. It was a typical Martinelli game, one in which many of his points came in the paint on what appeared to be broken plays. That's just how he rolls, and it isn't worth questioning it anymore.

Another standout was transfer point guard Jayden Reid, who missed the previous exhibition contest against Iowa State with an injury. Much has been made this offseason about Reid's short stature -- he's listed at 5-foot-10 but may be even shorter than that.

It didn't seem to matter against Illinois State. The junior posted a double-double, finishing with 11 assists and 11 points. In his postgame presser, head coach Chris Collins lauded the facilitator for his assist total and his lack of turnovers (he finished with just two).

Watching the game, it was obvious that Reid was integral to the flow of the offense. Everything just seemed smoother when he was on the floor.

Sophomore K.J. Windham could see minutes at the one, as he did last year, but Reid is a more traditional option to take that spot. It's something the Wildcats didn't really have last season after Jalen Leach went down with an injury.

Windham, though, was also impressive. He finished with 12 points on four three-balls, an aspect of his game he needed to improve after his freshman campaign. Windham is certainly a breakout candidate for this year's team, regardless of what position he's playing.

He was not, however, in the starting lineup. Instead, Collins went with Reid, Angelo Ciaravino, Tre Singleton, Martinelli and Arrinten Page. He said after the game that those would likely be the starters on Monday, but things could change.

Northwestern will have a deeper rotation than past seasons, so Collins has more playing time decisions to make, and it wouldn't be surprising to see players like Windham or Max Green get starter minutes later in the season.

Assuming the lineup on Monday is the same, though, the biggest surprise here is probably Ciaravino. The sophomore looks bigger on the television screen this year, and he's been productive, scoring 11 points last night with four rebounds.

Ciaravino has always looked athletic on the court, but it looks like he's unlocked a different level heading into his sophomore campaign. He's really jumped off the screen in exhibition, and it seems he may have earned himself a starting spot.

Singleton, the four-star freshman forward, was always in contention to start games. He was better in the first exhibition against Iowa State, but expectations are still high.

Page was also a factor against Illinois State, proving he's just fine after a scary looking ankle injury in the previous game. The center dominated the second half, pouring in 13 points to finish with 16, the team's second highest total behind Martinelli.

Overall, this was an incredibly encouraging performance from the 'Cats headed into games that count. But we'll learn much more when they start playing against higher level competition.

Northwestern Dominates Illinois State in Final Exhibition Game Before Season