Wildcats Journey to Iowa State for Exhibition Tilt

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern males’s basketball returns to the hardwood for the 2025-26 season with this system’s first exhibition in opposition to a Division I opponent because it travels to face Iowa State on Sunday, Oct. 26, at Noon CT. The sport will air on ESPN+ with Alex Cohen (play-by-play) and Derrin Hansen (analyst) on the decision.
 
The Wildcats have reached the NCAA Tournament in two of the previous three seasons and have posted a profitable report in every of the final three seasons. Sullivan-Ubben Head Men’s Basketball Coach Chris Collins, the second-winningest coach in program historical past, inked a multi-year contract extension by 2030 in April.
 
Senior Nick Martinelli, who was named to the 2025-26 Preseason All-Big Ten Team earlier this month, returns to Northwestern after main the Big Ten in scoring averaging 20.5 factors per sport. That marked the very best scoring common by a Wildcat since Evan Eschmeyer posted 21.7 factors per sport in 1997-98. Martinelli broke the varsity’s single-season scoring report, which was beforehand held by John Shurna (661, 2011-12), by logging 676 factors.
 
The Glenview, Ill., product scored 15+ factors in 18 straight video games to shut the marketing campaign, the longest lively streak by a high-major participant within the nation. He scored 10+ factors in 26 straight video games, the longest streak by a Northwestern participant since not less than 2000. He performed a league-high 37.7 minutes per sport final season and was the primary high-major participant to publish not less than 20+ factors, 5+ rebounds and 37.5+ minutes per sport since Kemba Walker at UConn in 2010-11.
 
The Wildcats return seven gamers, together with a number of key contributors from final 12 months’s squad, in Martinelli and senior Justin Mullins and sophomores Ok.J. Windham and Angelo Ciaravino. Mullins began the ultimate 10 video games of the season for Northwestern. Ciaravino posted a 17-point efficiency in early January, whereas Windham notched two 20-point video games towards the tip of the season.

 

Familiar faces prepared ?????? pic.twitter.com/yCGNz8Ll2n

— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) October 23, 2025

 
Northwestern is bringing in a first-year class that ranks second within the Big Ten, in accordance with 247Sports, highlighted by the highest-ranked recruit in program historical past, first-year Tre Singleton. Cade Bennerman, Phoenix Gill, Tyler Kropp, and Jake West spherical out the category.
 
The Wildcats additionally acquired three transfers in sophomore Max Green and juniors Jayden Reid and Arrinten Page. Green, coming from Holy Cross, was final season’s Patriot League Rookie of the Year after posting workforce highs of 14.9 factors, 5.6 rebounds, and three.5 assists per sport. Reid logged 12.6 factors, 3.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per sport for USF final season after making the AAC All-Freshman Team within the 2023-24 season. Page, a former top-40 highschool recruit, involves Northwestern after stops at Cincinnati and USC.

The Wildcats have received 14 consecutive exhibition video games courting again to 2009. Under Collins, Northwestern is 10-0 in exhibitions, which have all come in opposition to Division II opponents. Last season, Northwestern defeated Lewis 89-62 inside Welsh-Ryan Arena in an exhibition.

 

The Cyclones have reached every of the final 4 NCAA Tournaments, together with making it to the Sweet 16 twice. Last 12 months, Iowa State went 25-10 (13-7 Big 12) and was a No. 3 seed within the NCAA Tournament. In 4 years beneath head coach T.J. Otzelberger, the Cyclones are 95-45.

 

Northwestern will play inside Welsh-Ryan Arena for the primary time within the 2025-26 season when it hosts Illinois State for an exhibition on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. CT. The sport will air on B1G+ and WGN Radio 720.