Jordan Clayton's Surprise Breakout Powers Northwestern Over Maryland

Desperately needing a basket, Northwestern's offense was ice-cold mid-way through the second half. The Wildcats trailed Maryland by six — their largest deficit of the game — with 13:21 remaining at home.

Then, Jordan Clayton hit a three-pointer from the right corner. Jake West made a triple to tie it, and Clayton knocked down another three. Then another. And another.

The eruption was a part of a 22-4 run that turned Northwestern's six-point deficit into a 12-point advantage. Clayton's contributions helped the Wildcats snap their five-game losing streak with a 78-74 win over Maryland on Wednesday.

Clayton finished with a career-high 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Fourteen of those points came in the second half alone, led by four triples and a pair of free throws in the final minute.

Calling Clayton's performance anything short of stunning would be an understatement. The junior is a career 27.5% three-point shooter, has logged DNPs thrice this season and did not score a single point in 10 different games.

"It's definitely been up and down over my three years here," Clayton said after the win. "I think it's really good to just get a night where you're hitting a lot of shots. You come in each and every day and work hard. It's good to see your hard work pay off."

On the season, Clayton was averaging 2.7 points per game on 30.8% shooting and 31.5% from three entering the game against Maryland.

Chris Collins has been a firm believer that Clayton is a capable shooter at his core, even though the numbers haven't matched it. That made Wednesday night's breakout performance — an anomaly by any outside standards — so rewarding.

"Jordan is a really good shooter, that's what's been frustrating — like a lot of our guys," Collins said. "The main thing with Jordan, we've just said, is take your open looks. "You're a good shooter. You work on it." He spends a lot of time, he gets a lot of shots up. The way teams are playing Nick [Martinelli], especially tonight, they were just leaving the corners [open], I think, because of playing the percentages... Once he saw those first two go in, I think he was like, "This could be a good night." It's just good that we were able to get a win on top of it because we really needed it."

Shooting woes have haunted Northwestern the entire 2025-26 season. The Wildcats had shot a Big Ten-worst 31.1% from deep entering Wednesday night, but thanks to Clayton's hot hand, Northwestern beat Maryland by shooting 12-of-21 from beyond the arc.

Collins believes in the "Basketball Gods," and the game served as karmic justice, of sorts, for a player who has battled through many highs and lows during his time at Northwestern. Clayton came to Evanston as a three-star recruit from Medford, Massachusetts, but initially struggled to make a consistent impact among a veteran Wildcats team. He then sat out the first 23 games of his sophomore season with the intention to redshirt, but when injuries to Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach threw the 'Cats' lineup into disarray, Clayton stepped up in a critical moment.

In what Collins described as a "selfless" move, Clayton decided to burn his redshirt and start Northwestern's final 10 games at point guard. He ended up scoring a then-career-high 11 points in the Wildcats' Big Ten Tournament win over Minnesota.

The Basketball Gods have now come full circle to Clayton, who Collins said did "right by the game" on Wednesday. No. 11 was hustling for rebounds, competing on defense and playing hard, which evidently culminated in his hot shooting night.

Clayton's hard work is no secret at Northwestern. Martinelli embraced Clayton at mid-court after his sixth three-pointer of the game and raved about his fellow captain following the win.

"Today's just a testament — he's a program guy," Martinelli said. "This is a guy that puts his head down every day and goes to work. Doesn't say anything, just goes to work every single day. He's such an amazing kid. You could just tell by the way everyone was reacting every time he made a shot how much impact he's had on other people's lives, just the way he carries himself. I was very happy for him."

Just four games remain in Northwestern's turbulent 2025-26 regular season. The Wildcats don't celebrate moral victories, but thankfully for Collins and his crew, Clayton's big night led to an actual victory as well.

And according to Martinelli, Clayton is just getting started.