Boo Buie breaks scoring record in 76-62 win over Michigan
EVANSTON-Boo Buie broke Northwestern's all-time scoring record in fitting fashion, sending Welsh-Ryan Arena into raptures for the umpteenth time with a deep three with 9:59 left in the first half.
He'd go on to score 11 more points after that, 16 in the game, as Northwestern overcame an early 11-point deficit to cruise to a 76-62 win over Michigan on Thursday night.
Buie, who broke John Shurna's previous record of 2,038 points, was joined in his heroics by his partners in backcourt crime, Ryan Langborg and Brooks Barnhizer. Langborg continued his eagle-eyed season by knocking down 5-of-9 threes on his way to a game high 20 points. Barnhizer posted his sixth double-double of the campaign with 19 points and 12 boards.
"Just special for Boo, man," Collins said. "As a coach, you're so locked in to win the game and for us to get our 10th [Big Ten] win tonight that's huge. I think that's the third time ever a Northwestern team has gotten 10 wins in the league."
Here are our takeaways from Buie's record-setting night and Northwestern's win over Michigan:
Buie has changed Northwestern forever: Debates will carry on forever but it's hard to make a case for a better Wildcat basketball player than Buie after Thursday night. It's surreal to watch a player reach 2,050 points and it not yet the capstone of his accomplishments, with a conference and likely NCAA tournament berth still ahead.
"I'd be hard pressed, and it's no knock on Billy McKinney and Evan Eschmeyer, and even way back when, we've had great players in this program," said Collins, who donned a commemorative Boo Buie Under Armour headband after the game. "And John Shurna, whose record he broke tonight.
"Boo stands alone because of what he's done with winning, as well. That's what's really awesome about being a part of this journey the last five years."
Indeed. The win gave Northwestern 10 wins in Big Ten play in back-to-back seasons for the first time ever. The Wildcats also have a good shot at becoming the first Northwestern team to make the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive year.
When Buie broke the record, Northwestern still trailed in the first half so there was no time to celebrate. But later, with the Wildcats up 14 in the game's final seconds, Buie was taken out of the game to bask in the moment, embracing Collins, the staff and his teammates one by one.
"It was just pride," Collins said about his emotions in that moment. "At that point I knew we were going to win...Boo is like family to me."
"Forget about the records, he's given us a cool factor," Collins said. "In basketball, that's a big thing when you try to change the perception of your program. Now young players are watching us play and when I talk to prospects, it's Boo Buie, Boo Buie, Boo Buie. His impact is going to be longstanding."
Testament to the team: Northwestern has often been criticized as Boo or Bust, so it was telling on Buie's biggest night that he was the team's third-leading scorer. The constant the past two seasons has been Buie, a frist-team All-Big Ten star who has entrenched himself in school and league history. But so many other players have come in and thrived in their roles.
Buie and Barnhizer are normally professional and polite with the media, marked by consistent and measured answers. But both spoke proactively about the team's bond, made manifest by the headbands.
"We had two guys get double-doubles at [Indiana] that hadn't gotten one all season," Barnhizer said, referring to Nick Martinelli and Matt Nicholson. "That stuff is awesome to us. That's why I love being part of this team and this program. We celebrate all of our little wins and that makes the big wins like Boo's even more special."
"One thing I do want to say about the record to attest to what Brooks said, you saw Coach come in here with the headband on, Brooks came in here with the headband on," Buie said. "Honestly, that might be the coolest thing that happened with the record being broken. When i went in the locker room they all had the headbands on and the coaches had the headbands on.
"It just really made me feel loved and that was special."
Barnhizer and Langborg recommit to the joy of the game: The grad transfer and junior guards are roommates and didn't seem to click at the same time over the last few games. That changed against Michigan when they combined for 39 points as Northwestern's two leading scorers.
"Ryan is my roommate, so we talk about it all the time," Barnhizer said. "Ryan struggled a little bit earlier in the season, I struggled the last few games and I kind of put too much pressure on myself.
"Me and Ryan today were just like 'Bro, we have to go have fun.' Because when we do that, we're a really good team when everybody's doing that. Today, it was funny because we always go back before the game and talk about what we're going to do. We just looked at each other like, let's just have fun tonight, man."
And fun they had. Langborg couldn't seem to miss, Barnhizer made plays all over the floor, and the Wildcats played to the best of their abilities down the stretch. It's rare to see a team so clearly take control of a game after falling behind, but Northwestern flipping an early 16-5 deficit into a 76-62 win was a sight to behold.
A key play there was a dominant block by Barnhizer late in the first half when Northwestern was cobbling together a late run to take a 37-34 halftime lead.
"I think the main thing was we played horrible defense in the first half, especially me," he said with startling candor. "I think probably the worst half of my season. [The block] was something to get me out of that fog defensively.
"I came over, made a play on the ball and then it was Boo giving me energy like 'Good stuff, now let's go.' It was really just a play to try and give us that energy."
Blake Smith sacrificed redshirt to shore up rotation: Collins revealed after the game that Blake Smith agreed to burn his redshirt this season in order to assist Northwestern's rotation after the injury of Ty Berry.
"He was going to redshirt," Collins said of the sophomore. "He's been a walkon for us, the reason he was going to redshirt for us was we thought he'd be good...
"When Ty went down, I met with him and said 'Listen man, it's your call. I know you've sat the first 20 games, I would never do that to someone but we need you and you can really help us.' He said 'Coach, I want to play.'"
Smith played a career-high 14 minutes against Michigan, finishing with one point, a rebound and an assist. He notably fouled only once while playing end-to-end defense against Michigan's ball handlers.
"He brings great quickness and length," Collins said. "Ty was really good at extending the floor, he was the one who'd pick up a little bit because there's so much on Boo.
"We can't ask [Buie] to pick up the other team's point guard and zig zag him. What Blake brings is quickness and athleticism on the perimeter."
Northwestern continues to pick up steam: The Wildcats are now winners of four of their last five heading into their 'bye week'/ their next opponent is Maryland on Feb. 28. They are tied for third in the Big Ten with Wisconsin at 10-6, a half-game back from Illinois in second.
The Wildcats are 19-8 overall with four games left and can improve on last year's mark by going 3-1, or they can match it at 2-2. They are once again in line for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament, and it looks more and more like a return to the NCAA Tournament is in the cards.
"You come into the year saying we want to be a tournament team," Collins said. "You have to take the steps along the way. You want to be in that position to go to the tournament and be competitive in your league.
"For us, we're now in third place with four games to go. Lot of work to do, four tough games, but to have 10 [Big Ten] wins back-to-back years...I don't think people realize, to have 22 wins in the last two years is an unbelieveable testament to these guys. We still have a lot to play for."