For the first time since 2017, and for the second time ever, Northwestern won an NCAA Tournament game.
Their reward for this impressive feat? A matchup against the second-seed UCLA Bruins, an elite team that finished the regular season ranked second in the AP poll. The soon-to-be Big Ten rivals face off at 7:40 p.m. CT on Saturday at Sacramento's Golden1 Arena (TNT).
To earn a spot in the round of 32, the No. 7-seed Wildcats defeated No. 10 Boise State 75-67 in a first-round game on Thursday night. The offense cooked, scoring 75 points on 49% shooting from the field and 38% from three. That 75-point mark is the highest for the Cats since Feb. 19, when they scored 80 in a 20-point win over Iowa.
Northwestern's All-Big Ten backcourt set the pace. Boo Buie led the way with 22 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Chase Audige found his stroke again and contributed 20 points, six boards and four steals. Ty Berry also chimed in after a bit of a cold streak with 13 points (3-for-4 from three) and six rebounds. Brooks Barnhizer joined in on the action, as well, dropping 10 points and five rebounds, marking his seventh game in a row in double figures.
Defensively, the Wildcats held fast, holding BSU to 40% from the field and 26.1% from beyond the line. While the shooting defense was impressive, Northwestern's work in the glass was not as striking. The Cats were outrebounded 41-33, giving up 20 offensive rebound to the Broncos in the process. As a result, Boise State scored 20 second chance points, compared to Northwestern's nine.
Head coach Chris Collins said that the Wildcats need to improve in that area when facing the Bruins.
"[UCLA is] really good on the boards, which is something we're going to have to do a better job of," said Northwestern head coach Chris Collins. "We didn't do a great job [Thursday] night rebounding. That's going to be a big focus of our attention, is making sure we match their physicality."
Despite these rebounding struggles, it was still a wire-to-wire victory, save for one tie early in the second half. The Cats repelled every Bronco run and didn't feel much pressure down the stretch.
UCLA, however, provides a much different challenge for the Wildcats. Hailing from the Pac-12, the Bruins finished their regular season at 27-4, 18-2 in conference. Unlike Northwestern, the Pac-12 regular season champs are also riding a hot streak, going 13-1 in their last 14 games.
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MORE FROM THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: Northwestern will need to be a quick study to prepare for UCLA l Northwestern backcourt comes up big in biggest game of the year l Takeaways: Northwestern 75, Boise State 67
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The Bruins bring a lot more NCAA tournament experience to the table. Last season, they were knocked out in the Sweet 16 by eventual runner-up North Carolina, a somewhat disappointing follow-up to their Final Four appearance as an 11-seed in 2021. Much of the production from those tournament teams is still around, namely Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell.
"[UCLA has] two, in my opinion, of the better players in the country in Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell, two guys that have played in a national championship, Final Four," said Collins. "Just tough, competitive, really smart players. They're athletic. They defend well. I think one of the best defenses in the country."
Jaquez leads the Bruins in scoring with 17.3 points per game, and Campbell is right behind him with 13.4. Jaylen Clark was the third leading scorer for UCLA this season, but he is done for the season with an Achilles injury. In his absence, freshmen Amari Bailey has stepped up, averaging 17.8 points in the four games without Clark.
"I think the big thing we need to do is match their physicality," said senior forward Robbie Beran, who had a quiet three-point, three-rebound performance against Boise State. "Good ball team, well-coached."
As a whole, UCLA is a juggernaut on both ends of the court. They average 74.3 points per game while only allowing 60.1 points to opponents. KenPom.com ranks them as the No. 2 overall team in the country, with the 21st best offense and best defense.
The Northwestern defense will need to lock down and keep the game close, because they won't get many chances on offense to run away with it.
The Wildcats, who are 7.5-point underdogs, have the advantage of playing nine teams during the season that eventually made the Big Dance. UCLA head coach Mick Cronin appreciates the fact that the Cats are battle-tested.
"Northwestern has a great team," said Cronin. "Whenever you win at Michigan State, at Ohio State, at Indiana, at Wisconsin in the same year, you must be pretty good.
"Obviously I'm from the Midwest. It's hard to do one of those things. They're a veteran team. Great defensive team."
Collins doesn't know if his team has the talent to beat UCLA in a seven-game series.
"Could we beat them four out of seven? I don't know. Maybe not," he said.
But that doesn't matter. March Madness is a single-game elimination tournament. You just never know what may happen. Just ask No. 1-seed Purdue, which lost to 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday.
"I think what our guys realize, I think what everybody realizes, is there's a lot of really good teams. UCLA is certainly one of them," said Collins. "On one given night, if you play great, you can have a chance. That's the beauty of the NCAA tournament."
