Nick Martinelli scored a game-high 28 points and Ty Berry added 14 to lift Northwestern to a 72-64 victory against Minnesota on Wednesday in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis. Thirteenth-seeded Northwestern (17-15) advances to face fifth-seeded Wisconsin on Thursday afternoon. The Wildcats shot 48.2 percent compared to 37.7 percent for the 12th-seeded Golden Gophers. Minnesota (15-17) lost its third straight game while struggling to support leading scorer Dawson Garcia. Garcia paced Minnesota with 22 points while shooting 7-for-13. The rest of the Golden Gophers went 13-for-40 from the floor, with Mike Mitchell Jr. (11 points) and Isaac Asuma (eight) following Garcia.
Northwestern downs Minnesota behind Nick Martinelli's 28
