Northwestern leans on experience in thrilling overtime win over FAU
BROOKLYN-Northwestern stayed perfect in in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a 77-65 overtime win over Florida Atlantic on Friday at the Barclays Center.
Ryan Langborg erupted for 27 points, 12 in overtime, breaking Bryant McIntosh's record for most points and field goals made by a Wildcat in an NCAA Tournament game. Langborg was joined in his heroism by Boo Buie, with 22 points, and Brooks Barnhizer, with 13 points and 10 rebounds, including the game-tying layup to send it to overtime.
"I'm so fortunate to be sitting here with these guys," head coach Chris Collins said, his voice filled with emotion. "Our team, the toughness, the heart...it's like nothing I've ever been a part of."
FAU was led by big man Vlad Goldin with 19 points and 11 rebounds, with support from their star guard, Johnell Davis, who finished with 18 points.
Here are our takeaways from the win that leaves Northwestern 3-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament games:
Ryan Langborg is made for March: The brace was off Langborg's right ankle and, after a quiet two-point first half, the show was on. The grad transfer from Princeton poured in 13 points in the second half, then 12 in overtime, to put a determined FAU team to bed.
"He was balling, today." Buie said. "Man, he was balling."
Langborg set the program record in the NCAA's premier postseason event, breaking the 25-point mark set by McIntosh, an assistant coach, and bypassing Buie, who was in second with 22.
"I guess some words will come later to B Mac," Langborg said with a smile about potential trash talking. "But no, I don't think any of us on the team think about that stuff [during the game]."
Langborg is normally one of the most reserved players on the team, but he was a force, especially in the extra session, and he let FAU know it.
"I usually don't celebrate a lot when I make shots, but I know I had my tongue out and things like that," he said.
Langborg has scored 20+ points in his last three March Madness games and has proven again and again to be a vital addition and foundational player to this team.
Wildcats were unfazed as referees hung the game in the balance: Buie was streaking down the court at the helm of a rare Northwestern fast break when referees blew the game dead to review a flagrant foul by Nick Martinelli on Goldin. They called a Flagrant 1, a debatable but reasonable call on review, but drew the ire of fans for blowing the whistle long after the infraction occurred, with Goldin on the ground clutching his face.
Goldin hit both free throws, spurring a 6-0 run that saw the Owls retake the lead, 58-56, with a little more than a minute remaining.
Then, a more controversial call came when the refs inadvertently whistled a loose ball that went out of bounds off of Florida Atlantic with 27 seconds left, giving the Wildcats a valuable possession. But upon review, the referees ruled it a jump ball because of the inadvertent whistle. The Owls retained possession.
Langborg could have potentially recovered the ball when it was live, but pulled up at the whistle. Suddenly the Wildcats were intentionally fouling to preserve the game, down two with the shot clock turned off. Goldin's heroics dried up, though, and he missed the front end of a 1-and-1.
Enter Barnhizer.
With the Owls throwing the kitchen sink at Buie and Langborg, Barnhizer got Goldin in the air on a shot fake, then deftly drove to the basket to tie it up with a layup through traffic with nine seconds left.
FAU couldn't get anything to go on the next possession. When the game went to overtime, Langborg went supernova and the rest is history.
"The flagrant foul occurs, we are up four there, under four [minutes]," Collins said. "We think we have the ball but now they get two [free throws] and the ball. The momentum shifted there for those couple minutes.
"They got the lead, 58-56. Fortunately we got a missed one-and-one...we came down and showed tremendous poise."
Barnhizer delivers after rocky Big Ten Tournament: Barnhizer posted 13 points and 14 rebounds against Wisconsin in the conference tourney but struggled from the field, shooting 3-for-15. He condensed his performance into one word: horrible.
"Everyone knows I played horrible against Wisconsin," Barnhizer said in the locker room postgame. "The thing I try to do after games like that, and I've had a couple this season, but it's about being confident in my craft.
"I spend hours every day playing ball, getting a lot of reps up, and I've come a long way. There's still a long way to go. It's really about shaking it off and all my teammates have the utmost confidence me.
"My coaches tell me to be aggressive, I'm an all-league player, all-defensive team in our league for a reason. Go show people."
Barnhizer showed FAU. While Langborg and Buie led the way with 27 and 22 points, respectively, Barnhizer did the dirty work with 13 points and 10 boards on 6-for-12 shooting. He played all 45 minutes and didn't miss a beat when the ball was in his hands on the final possession of regulation.
He wanted the shot.
"Stay ready, stay confident," he said on his mentality. "When you have two guys who are killing like that, you have to always understand that defenses will throw guys at those two and you might have a really good opportunity to get a shot.
"Staying confident and then when you get the ball, be eager not to settle. Don't hoist one up from deep; be aggressive, get to the basket. I was able to have confidence and make the last layup."
The legs feed the wolf: Barnhizer, Buie and Langborg once again all posted 40+ minutes against the Owls. In that group of three, it's the 18th time one of them has played 40+ minutes. It's the 33rd time one of them has played 39+ minutes.
The Wildcats had played four overtime games in their regular season. When the clock hit zeroes in the second half with the score knotted at 58, they had FAU right where they wanted them.
"Everyone in the huddle was saying, 'We're winning,'" Buie said. "Like there's no other option but winning.
"We just had so much confidence coming out into the OT period, and I'm just proud of everybody who was here today and played a role."
Northwestern blew the Owls' doors off, 19-7, in extra time to win the third straight first-round game in program history.
It also marked the fifth time that Barnhizer played every available minute in the game.
"A part of me enjoys that because I love ball so much, I love playing basketball," he said. "A lot of teams and people ask me, do I think the amount of minutes I play affects my play?
"I'm always going to say no. I love ball. If there was 46 minutes, I'd strive to play 46. I think it's awesome that the coaches trust the older guys to play that much. It's a real blessing at the end of the day."
The Wildcats have advanced, again: Draw Northwestern in the opening round of March Madness at your peril. The Wildcats are 3-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Gratification and vindication are the words of the day. Last season, the Wildcats lost four of their last five heading into the tournament, but put it all together. History repeated itself on Friday. Barnhizer was on the heels of a 3-for-15 game. Langborg dropped 17 against Minnesota, but was battling an ankle injury against Wisconsin and Michigan State, and struggled both times.
They, and Buie, put it all together when it mattered most. The trio came just three points shy of outscoring FAU by themselves, answering in emphatic fashion what this team can do through injury.
Luke Hunger, a redshirt freshman, played his second-most minutes of the season and battled Goldin the whole way through. This team steadfastly bet on itself.
Collins said on Selection Sunday this team deserved an NCAA Tournament berth, and they proved it in spades. So many teams would have broken after the flagrant foul flipped the game on its head in the final minutes, when the refs ruled a jump ball that forced Northwestern to foul, down two, with less than 30 seconds left.
This team didn't.
"To get to this point, I feel like we've earned respect," Collins said. "You only do that by your winning and your play. You can't talk about it. You have to go out there and produce results."
The result is a second-round game against No. 1 UConn, the top overall seed in the tournament and the defending national champion.
"I want to enjoy this game before I start talking about that juggernaut," Collins said.
It'll take all the Wildcats have to give the Huskies a run for their money. But history repeated itself today when the Wildcats won their third-straight opener. History has proven the Wildcats are no team to be overlooked in the second round, either. Ask Gonzaga or UCLA how comfortable their paths to Sweet 16 were after having to face the Wildcats.
There was exultation in Northwestern's locker room after the win, but no satisfaction.
"It's cool but at the end of the day -- we are focused on the next game," Langborg said. "Celebrate this one, and we've got a long way to go hopefully."