Northwestern fans and media members were outraged on Tuesday afternoon when the team's star forward, Nick Martinelli, was selected to the All-Big Ten Second Team.

For the second consecutive year, Martinelli did not receive First Team honors despite winning the conference's scoring title. The senior Wildcat is one of six players in the history of the Big Ten to lead the league in scoring in back-to-back years, but is the only one of them to not land on the First Team.

The six-man group contains Purdue's Zach Edey and Glenn Robinson, Iowa's Luka Garza, Ohio State's Evan Turner and Michigan State's Steve Smith. Of those players, four were named the National Player of the Year and four went on to become first-round NBA Draft picks.

Many of the first impressions have been that Martinelli was snubbed from receiving the honor, but there's an important component that plays a factor in the decision-making: team success. None of the previous players led a team that finished outside the top five in the Big Ten standings, while Martinelli's Wildcats have tied for 12th and 15th place over the past two seasons, albeit in an expanded conference.

Still, should Martinelli have been given greater consideration for a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team? Let's take a look at how he stacked up against the competition:

Lendeborg Stats (31 games): 14.7 pts, 7.2 reb, 3.2 ast, 1.2 stl, 1.4 blk, 50.8% FG, 34.3% 3P
Martinelli Stats (30 games): 22.7 pts, 6.2 reb, 1.9 ast, 0.7 stl, 0.4 blk, 50.1% FG, 41.0% 3P

This is the classic case of statistics not telling the entire story. Lendeborg ranked 24th in the Big Ten in points per game, but he did so as the best player on arguably the best team in the nation.

The UAB transfer led the Wolverines to a 29-2 (19-1 B1G) record this season and was promptly named the Big Ten Player of the Year, due to his contributions on offense and defense. Michigan is outscoring opponents by almost 20 points per game — 15.1 points per game in conference play — and Lendeborg's diluted numbers are a byproduct of how dominant his team has been throughout the season.

Smith Stats (31 games): 14.9 pts, 3.6 reb, 8.7 ast, 1.8 stl, 0.2 blk, 46.2% FG, 38.8% 3P
Martinelli Stats (30 games): 22.7 pts, 6.2 reb, 1.9 ast, 0.7 stl, 0.4 blk, 50.1% FG, 41.0% 3P

Statistically speaking, this has been a down year for Smith, although the First Team All-American is rapidly approaching the NCAA's all-time assist record. But the Purdue point guard is still highly respected among Big Ten circles, and his Boilermakers were contending for a conference title until a late skid dropped them to seventh in the standings.

When Northwestern and Purdue faced off a week ago, Chris Collins made it an emphasis in his gameplan to stop Smith at all costs. That left his teammates open for good shots, which ultimately led to the Boilermakers' victory. An argument can be made that Martinelli's individual performance was better this season, but Smith's impact on opposing defenses cannot be understated.

Wagler Stats (31 games): 17.9 pts, 4.9 reb, 4.3 ast, 1.0 stl, 0.3 blk, 44.7% FG, 41.0% 3P
Martinelli Stats (30 games): 22.7 pts, 6.2 reb, 1.9 ast, 0.7 stl, 0.4 blk, 50.1% FG, 41.0% 3P

The Big Ten Freshman of the Year got better as the season went on, finishing fifth in the conference in scoring during conference play. Wagler diced up the Wildcats in his two games against them with a combined 35 points (on 6-of-12 from deep), 12 rebounds and eight assists.

Illinois tied for the second-best record in the Big Ten and is currently the No. 9 team in the nation. The Fighting Illini are a well-balanced team, of course, but Wagler is the engine of the Illinois offense. His place on the All-Big Ten First Team was likely always cemented.

Fears Jr. Stats (31 games): 15.5 pts, 2.4 reb, 9.1 ast, 1.3 stl, 0.0 blk, 44.3% FG, 30.9% 3P
Martinelli Stats (30 games): 22.7 pts, 6.2 reb, 1.9 ast, 0.7 stl, 0.4 blk, 50.1% FG, 41.0% 3P

Fears led the nation in assists this season amid a massive overall improvement, in which he more than doubled his scoring average from 2024-25. His contributions are a big part of the reason why Michigan State finished second in the Big Ten despite losing its top three scorers from a year ago.

Although Fears has gotten a reputation as a dirty player from some fans and members of the media, that didn't seem to impact the way voters viewed him as an All-Conference player. The trend here has become increasingly evident: team success matters far more to coaches and the media than individual achievements.

Sandfort Stats (31 games): 17.9 pts, 4.9 reb, 2.0 ast, 1.0 stl, 0.3 blk, 47.3% FG, 40.1% 3P
Martinelli Stats (30 games): 22.7 pts, 6.2 reb, 1.9 ast, 0.7 stl, 0.4 blk, 50.1% FG, 41.0% 3P

The first disagreement between the Big Ten coaches and the media is Sandfort, whom the coaches picked as a First Team player. Sandfort has led the Cornhuskers to a program-record-tying 26 wins with only five losses, helping Nebraska to the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and the No. 11 national ranking.

Martinelli and Sandfort have very similar stats, but Nebraska finished a whopping 10 games better than Northwestern in the conference standings and beat the 'Cats twice in head-to-head matchups. In the coaches' eyes, this was likely not a difficult decision.

Stirtz Stats (31 games): 20.2 pts, 2.5 reb, 4.4 ast, 1.5 stl, 0.3 blk, 49.8% FG, 38.2% 3P
Martinelli Stats (30 games): 22.7 pts, 6.2 reb, 1.9 ast, 0.7 stl, 0.4 blk, 50.1% FG, 41.0% 3P

The Big Ten coaches' rationale was simple. They chose the best players from the Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 teams in the conference, and Purdue would've been fifth if it hadn't lost its regular-season finale to Wisconsin.  The media's choice to select Stirtz over Martinelli is a little more puzzling.

Iowa finished 20-11 overall, 10-10 in conference play and the No. 9 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Even with three consecutive losses to end the season, the Hawkeyes are seemingly still a lock to reach the NCAA Tournament due to how weak the bubble is.

Stirtz is a great story, having gone from Division II to a mid-major to Iowa to an expected first-round NBA Draft pick. But his selection to the All-Big Ten First Team may be a case of a recognition bias. Martinelli's season is more impressive, yet Stirtz has received more national coverage for being a March Madness standout a year ago and projecting as a future professional player.

I don't fault the voters for selecting Lendeborg, Smith, Fears and Wagler as four of the five best players in the Big Ten this season. I even understand the coaches deciding to go with Sandfort, who has led a remarkable campaign for the Huskers.

Regardless of whether you believe it's right or wrong for team success to be considered in the evaluation for team awards, this has become the standard across the sport of basketball. The NBA MVP is almost always given to a player whose team is competing for a championship, and the same goes for college basketball's Naismith Player of the Year and the Big Ten Player of the Year.

The bottom line is that Martinelli wasn't able to lead his team into the same stratosphere as those other players. It doesn't matter that his teammates didn't give him much help because the standings say what they say. Coaches and the media don't have time to watch all 378 basketball games played by Big Ten teams in a season.

As unfortunate as it is that Martinelli was not honored as many Wildcat fans think he should be, the No. 1 factor that voters consider across sports is whether or not you can lead your team to success at the highest level. If Northwestern had finished 10th in the Big Ten standings — maybe even 11th — I could've seen Martinelli as a member of the All-Big Ten First Team, but the gap in wins was always going to be too much for voters to bridge.