Chase Audige turns in a virtuoso performance in NU's rout of DePaul
EVANSTON-The Northwestern media staff passed out ballots for the Waldo Fisher/Frank McGrath MVP award early in the second half of the Northwestern-DePaul game on Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The ballot had spaces to vote for the MVP if Northwestern won, and if DePaul won.
They collected the ballots from the media at the final timeout, with under four minutes to go in the game, but they could have counted the votes right then and there because two things were already certain by that point: Northwestern was going to win, and Chase Audige was going to be the MVP.
Audige poured in a career-high 28 points with a virtuoso performance as the Wildcats dominated from start to finish in a 83-45 rout of the Blue Demons.
Audige did it all for the Wildcats, scoring 14 points in each half. He hit 11-of-19 from the floor and 6-of-10 from beyond the arc on his way to the best scoring output of his career. He also had three rebounds and three assists, against just one turnover. His plus/minus was a remarkable +39.
Head coach Chris Collins said that Audige was “great in every way,” for the surprising Wildcats, who won their third straight game to lift their record to 8-2 on the season. But it wasn’t his scoring that most impressed the coach the most.
“28 points is great, but the five steals,” said Collins, whose team is built on its defensive prowess this season. “He doesn’t get nearly enough credit for being one of the best defensive guards around. He’s an elite, elite defender.”
Audige showed off his entire arsenal on one play early in the second half. He tapped away and then picked off an errant Javan Johnson pass near half-court. He then drove all the way to the hoop and banked in a twisting, reverse layup to give the Cats a 17-point lead.
A little bit later he hit back-to-back 3s to push Northwestern’s advantage to 27.
A short while after that, a fast-break pass from Boo Buie was a little too far in front of him, so Audige calmly controlled it, got to the other side of the rim and flipped it up off the backboard for another reverse layup.
It was that kind of day for the 6-foot-4 guard, who never scored that many points during his three years at Northwestern or one at William & Mary.
But Audige, a quiet, soft-spoken sort, just kind of shrugged off his performance after the game. He wouldn’t even call it the best game of his career. He just credited his teammates for finding him for easy shots and enabling his remarkable scoring output.
“I just knocked down open shots,” he said.
He even downplayed his five steals.
“I think they gave me some of [Ty Berry]’s steals because there’s no way I had five steals,” he said.
Collins, though, had plenty of praise for his fifth-year senior guard. He thinks that the key to Audige’s play this season has been his discipline. He’s taking better shots and being smarter with the basketball. He handles the point at times so that Buie, a natural scorer, can play off the ball as the shooting guard.
The Wildcats' top two guards combined for 45 points on Saturday, equaling DePaul's entire roster.
"I think the one thing about Chase is that you're seeing he’s really playing under control this year," said Collins.
The coach pointed out that Audige has taken plenty of criticism for his streaky shooting and sometimes reckless play during his career. He added that Audige is now 100% healthy after a year of battling nagging injuries.
Audige's defense has always been his strength. Now, that defense-first mindset has permeated the entire team. The Wildcats held DePaul to 31% shooting and just 45 points on Saturday, as Johnson, the Blue Demons' leading scorer, finished with just three points.
It was the sixth time this season that a team made less than a third of its shots against the Wildcats, and the fourth time NU has held an opponent to fewer than 50 points.
Audige's shot may come and go this season, and he may not have another game like this one in his career. But just like his team, his defense will always be there.