Thrill ride: A look back at the Cats' miracle season

The 2022-23 Northwestern Wildcats began their season with an inauspicious win over Chicago State in front of just 2,676 fans at Welsh-Ryan Arena. No one would have predicted it would end with a loss to UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, with more NU fans than that who made the trip all the way out to Sacramento, Calif. to see them play.

It was an unfathomable finish for a team picked second-to-last in the Big Ten with a coach on the hot seat. Yet the Wildcats came together to beat the No. 1 team in the nation, finish second in the league for the first time since 1958-59, win 12 Big Ten games for the first time in history, become the second-ever Northwestern team to make the Big Dance, and turn Welsh-Ryan into a snake pit for opposing teams.

How did they do it? Let's look back at their miracle season one more time.

After a 2-0 home start to the regular season, Northwestern left the safe haven of Welsh-Ryan Arena and made its way out east to the U.S. Capitol to face a power conference team for the first time. There, Georgetown lay waiting, Patrick Ewing and Co. ready to give the Cats a challenge in the Gavitt Tipoff Games.

The Cats took a while to get going, trailing 35-33 at the half, with only four points from the backcourt of Chase Audige and Boo Buie. But they turned it on in the second half, dominating the Hoyas from deep, and on the glass. In total, the Wildcats hit 14 threes and grabbed 48 boards (20 offensive), showing some offensive prowess early in the season.

Northwestern 60, Purdue Fort Wayne 52, Nov. 18

The first game of the Cancun Challenge actually came in the beach town of Evanston, Ill., against the Mastodons. Buie led the charge for the Cats, putting up 28 points with seven threes. This output gave Buie his 1,00th career point, making him the 39th Wildcat to hit that mark. Defensively, Northwestern began to show its mettle, holding Purdue Fort Wayne to 32.7% shooting and 22.9% from deep.

Northwestern 66, Liberty 52, Nov. 22

Now in Cancun, Mex., Northwestern took down Liberty behind Audige's 20 points. Ty Berry also was a contributor, dropping 19 points and seven rebounds. As a team, the Cats totaled 13 steals, their defense growing stronger by the game. This win pushed Northwestern to 5-0 and earned them a place in the Cancun Challenge Championship game.

No. 13 Auburn, 43, Northwestern 42, Nov. 23

This is where the Cats provided a glimpse of what they could become. Auburn was Northwestern's first real test of the season, and even though the Tigers came out on top, the Wildcats displayed the defensive grit that would become their calling card all season. If you couldn't tell by the score, it was a rock fight, with both teams shooting under 26%. The Cats' lack of three-point shooting hurt them, going 2-for-24 from beyond the arc. But Northwestern fought all the way to the end, nearly winning it on one of the final possessions.

Sitting at 5-1, Northwestern hoped to get back on an upward trajectory at home in a Big Ten-ACC Challenge matchup against Pitt. The Panthers must've wanted to visit Chicago instead of Evanston, because they were on fire from downtown.

The Panthers hit 14 threes while shooting 63.6% from beyond the arc, running the Cats out of the gym in the process. There wasn't much Northwestern could do offensively, only shooting 34.4% from the field and an ugly 46.2% from the charity stripe.

It was an ugly loss that shook off any good feelings fans might have had after the narrow loss to Auburn.

Following that Pitt loss, no one was sure what to expect from Northwestern, especially at the Breslin Center, one of the toughest places to play in the Big Ten. The Cats took this doubt as an opportunity to prove it, taking down Michigan State behind 20 points from Buie, 15 from Audige and 11 from Berry.

This win showed the power of Northwestern when they had a third scorer, something that would become a point of emphasis over the rest of the season. Defensively, Northwestern tallied 10 steals and five blocks, disrupting the Spartan offense in the process.

Back home after an impressive upset, the Cats were ready to put their self-proclaimed status as "Chicago's Big Ten Team" to the test against two local rivals.

Northwestern 83, DePaul 45, Dec. 17

First up were their Lincoln Park neighbors. Northwestern debuted its senior-designed uniform: sky blue, red and white, adorned with the stars of the Chicago flag. While these jerseys sparked discourse online, there was no question about who was on top on the court. The Cats filled up the box score, with five players scoring eight or more points. Audige came out on top, scoring 28 with six three-pointers as the Cats cruised.

Northwestern 92, UIC 54, Dec. 20

After taking down the North side, Northwestern set its sights on the West Side, too. They one-upped themselves in the process, dropping a season-high 92 points while dousing the Flames. The Wildcats took it up another notch offensively, with five players in double figures, including 18 from the emerging Brooks Barnhizer. This win also marked the first time that the Cats shot 50% or better from the field.

These two wins showed that the Wildcats could take care of business and beat the teams they should, setting them up for a strong finish to non-conference play with a win over Brown nine days later.

Northwestern came into Jan.1 hot. They sat at 10-2, riding a five-game win streak and were looking to start conference play 2-0. Ohio State wasn't quite on the same page.

The Buckeyes came into Welsh-Ryan and dominated, especially in the first half. They outscored the Cats 35-17 in the first 20 minutes, and Northwestern's 40-point second half was too little, too late. Poor shooting plagued the Wildcats once again, as they went 19-of-67 from the field and 9-of-31 from deep.

The defense wasn't much better, allowing four Buckeyes to hit double figures and letting up 46 total boards. At this point, no one could say what the Cats were going to be.

Coming into this game, Illinois had won eight straight games in this in-state rivalry. Little brother talk was prolific, but these Cats weren't having it.

In front of a sold out WRA, the triumvirate of Audige, Buie and Berry combined for 49 points, shutting up the foes in the process. The defense also caused 15 turnovers, scoring 22 points off of the Illini blunders. Northwestern was up four at the half and continued to push it in the second half, a marked difference from years prior.

This game was also the first one of the new year with students in attendance, setting the foundation for what would become one of the loudest student sections in the Big Ten.

Following that win over Illinois, Northwestern had to travel to Bloomington, Ind., and face its third ranked opponent of the season. The Cats weren't intimidated by the supposed basketball school, charging out to a 41-34 halftime lead. Indiana tried to mount a comeback in the second half, pouring in 49 points, but Northwestern stood tall and withstood the charge.

Buie scored an efficient 26 points, followed by Audige with 19 and Berry and Robbie Beran with 13 apiece. Additionally, the defense topped themselves, forcing 16 turnovers and scoring 25 points off of them. The Cats were for real.

Talk around Northwestern was starting to heat up at this point, with the Cats sitting at 12-3 and 3-1 in the Big Ten. The buzz was palpable in Evanston when Rutgers came to town, both teams sitting near the top of the conference standings.

Rutgers’ Cam Spencer came and played spoiler for the WIldcats' hopes, hitting a dagger three to silence the raucous crowd and effectively end the game. That he was the younger brother of former Wildcat Pat Spencer only rubbed salt in the wound.

Overall, the Cats played well in the defensive battle. They shot 41.2%, but struggled in the paint and on second-chance points, ultimately contributing to their downfall.

In the middle of January, following a first road loss at Michigan, Northwestern announced that the program was in COVID-19 health and safety protocol. This forced the postponement and rescheduling of two games (at Iowa, vs. Wisconsin), setting up a gauntlet that would see the Wildcats play six games in 13 days.

Thanks to those COVID issues, Northwestern had to face the fire over a two-week stretch. Luckily, four of the six games were against teams near the bottom of the Big Ten in Wisconsin, Nebraska and Minnesota. The Cats went 4-0 against those teams, which was, for the first time in a long time, expected.

They did not fare so well against Iowa or Michigan however, losing both of those games by double digits. Sitting at 7-5 in the conference, the Wildcats had to prepare for another big stretch that would define where they stood going forward.

First up in the prove-it stretch was Ohio State. The Buckeyes had embarrassed the Cats at home earlier in the season, but now it was Northwestern's turn.

The Wildcats shot 46.2% and hit 12 threes en route to the victory in Columbus, a place that they had one just one other time since 1977. Barnhizer and Buie led the way with 19 points each, preventing the season sweep. This win also gave the Wildcats a morale boost heading into their biggest game of the season.

This game was marked early in the season as Purdue established itself as one of the best teams in the nation. Anticipation only grew as the Super Bowl Sunday matchup drew closer, especially when the Boilermakers got that little number one next to their name in the AP poll. The student section was packed 90 minutes before the game.

No one really expected the Cats to win, except for the players themselves. But that's all that was needed as they took down the No. 1 team for the first time in program history.

Northwestern trailed by eight with four minutes to go, but Audige got hot, scoring 10 points down the stretch, including a breakaway dunk that sent the student section into a frenzy. Buie led with 26 points as Northwestern overcame 18.2% shooting from three by outscoring Zach Edey in the paint 32-24.

Fans stormed the court to take part in one of the, if not the, greatest wins in all of Northwestern basketball history.

After that Purdue win, Northwestern was riding the highest of highs, but it was not time to coast. Indiana was coming into town, and the Hoosiers were starving to avenge that January loss.

The Wildcats were having none of it, jumping out to a commanding 19-point lead. But the Hoosiers came back to tie the game behind a monster effort from Trayce Jackson-Davis.

With the ball in his hands and the game on the line, Buie dribbled down the clock, drove to the right and hit a tough jumper over Trey Galloway for the victory and unleash a roar from the Wildcat faithful that shook the building.

This win completed a season sweep of Indiana for the first since 2010-11.

The Cats capped one of their best weeks with more revenge, securing a 20-point victory over the Hawkeyes. For the third game in a row, Buie dropped over 20 points, with 23 this time out. Berry also found his form again, contributing 16.

This win was the first time the Wildcats had really cruised to victory since Minnesota. It also secured a spot in the AP Top 25 for Northwestern for the first time since December of 2020. They came in at No. 21 in the poll on Feb. 20, the latest point in a season that Northwestern has ever been ranked.

On fire, Northwestern made its way down into Champaign, looking for a season sweep of Illinois for the first time since 1965-66.

Their quest looked promising at the half, with the Cats up 37-19 and Buie outscoring the Illini all by himself. Unfortunately for Northwestern, Illinois wasn't done yet. They flew out of halftime, scoring 47 points to the Cats' 25.

Buie had the chance to tie it back up with a late layup, but he was rejected in the paint with two seconds left, effectively ending the game. This loss hurt the Wildcats' chances of getting the double-bye, but there were three games left and Northwestern couldn't afford to give up now.

Northwestern failed to bounce back on the road in Maryland, but the Terps were undefeated at home in Big Ten play, and the Cats weren't going to be the ones to end that. Instead, they switched their focus to Senior Night against Penn State.

In front of another sold-out crowd, the Cats struggled, shooting 35.8%. Buie and Barnhizer kept them in the game, scoring 20 and 19 points, respectively, but it wasn't enough to stave off Penn State's 13 threes, including a buzzer beater in overtime by Camren Wynter. It was not the night that the seniors wanted to go out on, but luckily, they would have one more chance at Rutgers.

Out of all the payback Northwestern earned over the course of the season, this victory may have been the sweetest. It secured second place in the Big Ten, giving the Cats their record-breaking 12th conference win and a double-bye in the conference tourney in the process.

The Wildcats came into the game completely in control of their own destiny, with a win locking up the two-seed, or a loss knocking them all the way down to ninth. After a shaky start, they took the lead with 11:57 left in the first half and never looked back.

Barnhizer ended up as the leading scorer with 16, continuing his impressive run as a scoring option. This win was the cherry on top for 12-8 regular season record.

But the real games, in two tournaments, were up next.

After the conclusion of the regular season, the Big Ten announced its awards, and Northwestern cleaned up.

Chris Collins led the way by winning Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. This was not the coaching staff's only award, as assistant Chris Lowery, largely credited with Northwestern's defensive resurgence, won the first-ever Howard Moore Assistant Coach of the Year award.

On the player side, Audige was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the year and an All-Big Ten second-teamer, while Buie was named to the All-Big Ten First Team by the media, the first Wildcat player to achieve that feat since John Shurna in 2012.

Additionally, Collins was named a Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalist, Audige was named a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalist, and Buie was named a finalist for the Bob Cousy award as the nation's the top point guard.

Thanks to that win over Rutgers, Northwestern got to wait until Friday to open their Big Ten Tournament. They got a rematch with Penn State, which had beaten Illinois.

It was almost a carbon copy of the first game, going down to overtime once again. The Cats struggled to shoot in the cavernous United Center, taking 66 shots but only making 21. Despite winning the turnover battle 15-4 and scoring more in the paint, off turnovers, on second chances and from the bench, Northwestern just could not hold on, falling once again in OT.

Audige had a chance for a three-point buzzer-beater, but he had the same luck as the rest of the team from deep.

Following this loss, there was nothing to do but wait to see where they would be dancing.

Six years to the day since Northwestern was selected for its first NCAA Tournament, the Cats heard their name called by CBS Sports Greg Gumbel again, setting off a celebration at a watch party at Welsh-Ryan.

This time, they were a No. 7 seed, slated to face off against No. 10 Boise State in a first-round game in the West Region, at Sacramento, Calif. It was the program's highest seed, surpassing the No. 8 seed that the 2017 team earned.

The Cats' third-ever NCAA Tournament game was finally here, and they seized the moment.

Northwestern jumped out to an early lead and were up six at the half. Boise State made several runs at the Wildcats in the second half and tied the game at 40. But they answered the call each time and build their lead back. They never trailed and had an eight-point victory when the final buzzer sounded.

Just like in 2017, Northwestern won in the Round of 64. And just like in Salt Lake City six years before, Northwestern fans won the battle in the stands, too.

Buie, like so many other times this season, was the leading scorer, this time with 22. Audige also snapped back into form, contributing 20 points.

Overall, the Cats shot well, finishing at 49.1% from the field, their best performance since January, and connecting on 8-of-21 three-point attempts.

There was no time to gloat, though, because a matchup with No. 2 UCLA was next with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.

UCLA was one of the best teams in the nation, but the Cats weren't intimidated. Northwestern attacked the Bruins from the start, giving them a taste of that Big Ten conference that UCLA is about to join.

The Wildcats were down 10 at the half, with the Bruin defense successfully taking the ball out of the hands of Buie and Audige, so big man Matt Nicholson took over, with 10 points, including four dunks, in the first half.

The Cats came back out of the locker room flying, going toe-to-toe with the big, bad Bruins. Northwestern tied the game at 45, as "Go U! NU!" chants rang out in the arena. The Cats cut UCLA's lead to one possession several times down the stretch, but were unable to complete the comeback despite a few chances late.

Buie scored 18 to lead the way, Nicholson had a career-high 17 on 7-for-7 shooting, and nine rebounds, while Audige scored all 16 of his points during the Wildcats' second-half run.

Their season over, the Wildcats got one last standing ovation on their way off the floor for the valiant fight they showed in this game -- and all season.

No one expected this team to do anything. Two of their most talented players transferred out. Their coach's job was thought to be in jeopardy. They were picked 13th out of 14 teams in the Big Ten. But they believed in themselves, powering their way to a 22-12 overall record, 12-8 in the Big Ten.

They brought basketball fever back to Evanston, where it hadn't been felt since 2017. Fans packed Welsh-Ryan Arena, with a total of 88,023 people coming out to watch the Cats. Now it's time to keep pounding the rock and, this time, build on a tournament run to establish a winning tradition.

But no matter what happens from this point forward, the 2022-23 season will be remembered as one of the greatest in Northwestern history.