Northwestern punches its ticket
EVANSTON-With 1.7 seconds left, Nathan Taphorn stood under his own basket of a 65-65 game, 94 feet from the opposite basket.
He threw the ball the length of the court to Dererk Pardon, who gathered the ball over a leaping Derek Walton Jr., went up and calmly flicked the ball over DJ Wilson and off the glass. It found its way to the bottom of the net just as the buzzer sounded.
Then all hell broke loose at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Fans spilled onto the court and formed a mosh pit on the floor in a celebration befitting the death of a monkey the Wildcats have been carrying on their back for 78 years.
The basket gave Northwestern a 67-65 win over Michigan. But more importantly, it punched the Wildcats’ ticket to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.
One day the Taphorn-to-Pardon play will have a name – The Shot, The Prayer, The Clincher. But for now, Michigan coach John Bielein described it only as “the perfect play,” comparing it to Christian Laettner’s famous buzzer-beater over Kentucky in 1992.
The irony is that Northwestern doesn’t have a name for the play, either. The Wildcats had never practiced it before and assistant coach Brian James drew it up on the sideline during two consecutive timeouts, one called by each team. It called for Pardon to set two screens and then go to the basket. Taphorn aimed for the corner of the backboard and thought he might have thrown it long.
But on this night, there would be no disappointment as there was at Indiana on Sunday, or against Notre Dame or Butler earlier in the year. This time, the ball went through the basket and the Wildcats got the win.
Here are our three pointers on a magic night at Welsh-Ryan Arena that also enabled Northwestern (21-9, 10-7 Big Ten) to set a school record with 21 wins in a season and clinch a winning record in conference play for the first time since 1967-68:
Law got off the schneid: No one was happier to see the calendar flip to March than Law. The Wildcats’ shooting guard had a February to forget, shooting just 20 percent for the month and struggling to find any semblance of offense. But he came out hot against Michigan, hitting his first two shots from the floor in the opening minute and a half. Somehow, Northwestern seemed to lose him after that point as he went more than 16 minutes without a shot from the field. But he drilled a 3-pointer with 1:46 left in the first half and then catapulted him into the second half, when he scored 11 of his 18 points. Law finished 7 of 10 from the field, including 2 of 4 from 3-point range, for a game-high 18 points. He also had 5 rebounds and 3 assists. In short, No. 4 looked like his old self after a month of looking like an impostor.
There was a big-time atmosphere at Wesh-Ryan Arena: This wasn’t an NCAA tournament game – not even a Big Ten tournament game – but there was an unmistakable postseason-like intensity in Northwestern’s old barn. The stands were filled the ceiling and the atmosphere was electric. Both teams were fighting for their tournament lives and it showed in the first half as the teams combined for 17 turnovers against 21 baskets. But both teams ratcheted up their play in the second half, which produced an epic see-saw battle and as dramatic a finish as one will ever see. Derrick Walton Jr. poured in 12 of his 15 points in the second stanza, including a pair of deep 3s that silenced the roaring crowd, as he and Law dueled back and forth. Bryant McIntosh, who finished with 13 points and 5 assists, hit a couple of his patented floaters and found teammates for layups. There were some “Go Blue!” chants, there were “Go U! NU!” chants, and, of course, there were some “Bull****!” chants. As Law said after the game, “We have a great home-court advantage...I love playing at Welsh-Ryan Arena. I think our fans and the noise they create in here rival anybody.”
It was a total team effort: Law and McIntosh may have led the way, but it seemed like the entire Northwestern roster had a hand in this one. Gavin Skelly came off the bench to provide 6 big points. Taphorn drilled a 3-pointer. Scottie Lindsey finished with 9 points, including a balletic baseline reverse. Sanjay Lumpkin scored just 2 points, but it was a big, double-clutch layup in traffic down the stretch. Jordan Ash even contributed some defense. Collins commended his team’s effort and attitude. “I loved the way the guys were talking tonight (on the sidelines), ‘We're not going to lose the game tonight.’”