Northwestern ready to take on underdog role vs. No. 1 UConn

BROOKLYN-The Wildcats opened as 14.5-point underdogs to UConn, the No. 1 overall seed in the bracket, the widest point spread in the second round.

Northwestern knows the deck is stacked against them as they take on the reigning champion Huskies, but they're ready for the challenge.

"What's beautiful about the NCAA Tournament is: it's one game. If we played them in a best-of-seven, we're not going to win a series," head coach Chris Collins said, evoking Herb Brooks' famous speech in the movie Miracle. "That's reality, they're a better team across the board. That doesn't mean on one night we can't put it all together.

"That's what's great about basketball. One night we can put 40 minutes together where we are dialed in and we can execute and where we can make some shots and where we can somewhat slow down their juggernaut offensively. That's the challenge. One game."

Star guard Boo Buie has been doubted his whole career.

"You could just call us the underdogs," Buie said. "I've been here five years. I don't remember a time when we weren't the underdogs. It's nothing new."

Northwestern's players and coaches have turned their backs on their triumphant win in overtime over Florida Atlantic and have set forth on preparation for UConn, widely regarded as the nation's best team.

It's a Champagne problem that comes from Northwestern's seeding, and the fact that they've never lost an NCAA Tournament first-round game. It's also an issue that Collins and the Wildcats know well after taking on No. 1-seed Gonzaga in 2017 and No. 2 seed UCLA in 2023 in second-round games.

Three of Northwestern's five starters -- Buie, Brooks Barnhizer and Nick Martinelli -- played in last year's season-ending loss to the Bruins.

"A lot of our key guys went through last year, where we won a tough game against Boise State and had to turn around and play UCLA 48 hours later," Collins said. "So they are kind of familiar with how the timing works. Playing in the evening hopefully will help; it's a little bit more prep time."

The Wildcats will close down the Brooklyn Regional with a 6:45 pm CT tip-off against the Huskies. Collins is grateful for the handful of extra hours to pore over film on UConn and his own squad. He said that he trusts in the work he, his staff and his players have already put in. Steady preparation beats cramming almost every time.

"At the end of the day, though, at this time of year, I think you've got to be careful about overcoaching and overpreparing," he said. "You have to stay true to who you are, your principles, what you do well.

"I think if you overload your guys with too much information, it can paralyze them a little bit, and it can get them on their heels and a step slower."

Collins and Northwestern know that a step slower against UConn means game over.

Barnhizer enjoys quickly-arranged NIL deal: Barnhizer's money shot against FAU made him a little bit of NIL money.

Barnhizer's driving layup with nine seconds left sent the game against FAU to overtime, and the Wildcats wound up winning, 77-65.

Buffalo Wild Wings reached out to him for a promotion tied to their overtime ad campaign.

"We actually have a really good program, TrueNU, that helps us navigate all the NIL stuff within our team and for Northwestern," Barnhizer said. "And really it was just our guy that works for our team put me in a group chat with a guy from Buffalo Wild Wings, and he said there's an opportunity if you want it. I thought it was kind of cool and funny."

Barnhizer said that the spot was put together very quickly, so "the pictures were not great quality."

For the record, Barnhizer said he likes his wings rather plain.

"I'm kind of a dry-rub guy, not really into a lot of sauces, kind of a basic guy," he said.

Collins celebrated, joked about the Spencer brothers: Pat Spencer etched his name in Northwestern lore after transferring in from Loyola Maryland's lacrosse team for the 2019-20 season. It was a tough season, the Wildcats finished just 8-23, but Spencer was the team's second-leading scorer and left a mark on a freshman Boo Buie.

"He was with us for one year, but his impact was huge, especially on Boo," Collins said. "Boo was a freshman when Pat was with us, and I thought Pat did a great job showing Boo the ropes of what it takes to be a great athlete at the college level and the mentality and the mindset you have to have."

Just as impressively improbable as his success in Evanston, Spencer has caught on with the Golden State Warriors and recorded his first points two days ago on a breakaway dunk.

"I thought his dunk was kind of weak," Collins said with a smile. "[I told him] you're more athletic than that, you should have windmilled. He told me he'd been sitting on the floor for two and a half hours, so he was stiff."

Spencer is doubly relevant as his younger brother, Cam, has started every game for UConn this season after transferring in from Rutgers.

"I love the Spencer family," Collins said. "We gave Pat an opportunity right off the lacrosse field when no one else would. I just love how both of those guys are wired.

"Cam has become a terrific player. Starting out at Loyola, going to Rutgers, what he did there, now coming here to the big stage at UConn and what he's done, he gives them an edge."

Spencer is UConn's best three-point shooter at 44.4% on 5.9 attempts per game, and their second leading scorer with 14.5 points per game. He is one of five Huskies to average double figures this season.

Collins was heavily influenced by his father and Coach K: Collins took some time to answer questions about two of the key mentors in his coaching carer: Mike Krzyzewski and his father, Doug Collins.

"There's probably not a day that goes by that something I do doesn't relate to something he did," Collins said on his 13 years as an assistant to Coach K at Duke. "I'm always drawing on those experiences."

He was even more complimentary on the role of the senior Collins, who has long served as an elder statesman around practice, imparting his wisdom to the coaches and players from his legendary career on the court, on the sidelines and at the broadcast mike.

"I think the one thing my dad has done a great job for me is he doesn't really focus on X's and O's stuff. He focuses on the big picture," Collins said. "How do you build a winning culture? How do you build a winning mindset?"

Having the elder Collins, an Olympian and a four-time NBA head coach, around the program has been a blessing, he said.

"He's been such a great resource with that, and he's like the grandfatherly figure to my team," Collins said. "My dad's been in the game for almost 50 years. He was in the NBA, in the Olympics as a player. He coached Jordan...

"One of my favorite times is when he comes to practice and watches and lets it all settle. And after practice is over, our guys huddle around him and he just is holding court with his basketball experiences. That's really cool for me to be able to share that with him."

Wildcats hope previous experience beating No. 1 helps vs. UConn: The crown jewel of Northwestern's regular season was a 92-88 overtime win over then-No. 1 Purdue at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

The Wildcats now find themselves across far away from the friendly confines of Evanston. But they hope their experience as giant killers against Purdue, in boith 2023 and 2024, helps them against their latest No. 1 foe.

"I think it's just great preparation," Buie said. "We played against great teams all year long. It's kind of a been-there, done-that mentality.

"Obviously [UConn is] a great team, so we are just going to have to be dialed in and locked in from the jump for all 40 minutes. But it gives us great confidence because we've done it before."

Collins has set the standard all season for what he believes Northwestern can be, no matter the opponent, no matter the adversity.

"I think it's the culture of what our program has become," he said. "It's something I'm really proud about. We have a belief now that, whoever puts the jersey on, we are going to win. We are going to figure it out."