Northwestern's backcourt comes up big in the biggest game of the year
TAKEAWAYS: Northwestern 75, Boise State 67
SACRAMENTO-When the backcourt of Boo Buie and Chase Audige are both making plays on the offensive end, Northwestern is a good basketball team. Add Ty Berry to the mix, and the Wildcats can become a great one.
Just ask Boise State. Buie, Audige and Berry combined for 55 points as the No. 7-seed Wildcats beat the No. 10 Broncos, 75-67, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Northwestern has struggled to score for swaths of this season, but when the stakes were highest, all three came through with flying colors.
The Wildcats scored more points than they had in a month, since an 80-60 win over Iowa on Feb. 19. They shot 49.1% from the floor, the team's best performance since shooting above 50% in a win over Minnesota on Jan. 28.
Head coach Chris Collins said that Northwestern needed all three guards to come up big. That's what it takes to "survive and advance" in the tournament.
"Your best players have to be there for you...," said Collins, who is now 2-0 in first-round games in the Big Dance. "They’ve gotta lead the way, they’ve gotta have the command... If you’re gonna win, these guys are gonna lead the way."
Buie's performance didn't come as much of a surprise. He's been carrying the Wildcats all season, especially over the last few weeks as Audige struggled to find his shot.
Northwestern's first-team All-Big Ten point guard had a game-high 22 points, and added five rebounds and a game-high five assists, against just one turnover.
Audige wound up with 20 points, the first time he's hit that mark since late January. He added six rebounds, two assists and four steals.
Berry was the biggest surprise, scoring 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, after going 1-for-10 in the Wildcats' last game, a loss to Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal last Friday. He also came up with six rebounds.
Add it all up, and it's 55 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists. That's a lot for an opponent to overcome.
Boise State's Max Rice said that Northwestern's guards were the difference in the game.
"Credit those dudes," said Rice, who led the Broncos with 17 points. "They've been doing it all year. We tried everything we could and they just kept making buckets."
It wasn't just the number of buckets, either. They all hit some big ones.
Boise State never led in the game, but they seized momentum in the second half when a wide-open Rice hit a three-pointer in transition to tie the game at 40. But on the following possession, Berry pulled down an offensive rebound and Buie found Audige in the corner, and he drained a three-pointer to restore the lead.
When the Broncos answered again to cut the lead to 43-42, Buie drove baseline, drew defenders to him, and then kicked it out to Berry, who drilled a triple from the wing.
Just a few minutes later, after a Rice jumper narrowed Northwestern's lead to 48-46, Buie took matters into his own hands and drove for a layup that went high off the glass and through.
Collins said that the key to the game was Northwestern's responses every time Boise State "put game pressure on us."
"These two guys [Buie and Audige] down the stretch led the way."
Every time it looked like the Broncos were about to put a glass slipper on their feet, Northwestern's backcourt rose up to meet the challenge. They hit clutch three after clutch three, went toe-to-toe with Boise State on the glass, and knocked down their free throws to lock in the win.
Northwestern's defense gave up five more points than their season average, but if the Wildcats' backcourt can play like they did against Boise State, this team could have a deeper run in the tournament than anyone expected.