Wildcats plan to send Buie out with a win on Senior Night
EVANSTON-Nothing gold can stay, and Boo Buie's Senior Night has arrived.
Northwestern's all-time leading scorer is suiting up in the purple and white for the last time in Evanston tomorrow night, and it was an emotional moment as he and head coach Chris Collins reflected on how far they've come.
"It'll be really special for it to be the last time I play in this building," Buie said. "Feels like yesterday I was playing my first game, now I'll be playing my last.
"I'm just looking forward to the atmosphere and having a really good night."
Buie has been a fundamentally transformative player for the program. Since he ascended to a first-team All-Big Team level in 2022, the new Welsh-Ryan Arena has gone from a ghost town to one of the most formidable home-court advantages in the country.
"We're 8-1 in conference here," Collins said. "I think it's the best record at home since I've been here, and I feel like three or four of those wins our crowd really helped us through.
"When it was tight late in the game, or guys were maybe a little fatigued, this crowd, the energy of the building, I thought it gave us the life they needed to get over the hump. When we built this building, it's everything we've dreamed of."
Together, Buie and Collins have fulfilled that vision, leading Northwestern to the first back-to-back seasons of 10+ Big Ten wins in program history and potentially the first back-to-back NCAA Tournaments. It's a heartwarming story for Northwestern fans to have their program's greatest coach and greatest player have one more season together due to the extra year of COVID eligibility for Buie so they can put the finishing touches on their work.
"It's been such a great five-year journey," Collins said. "Last year was emotional, but in the back of your mind you knew there was a possibility where he might be back with COVID rules and this is it.
"He's been an incredible player, one of the greatest of all time in the history of this program. What he's done to help elevate us...the amount of games he's played, the way he's led, the excitement he's brought to this building... I hope we can put together an effort worthy of what he deserves and send him out on a great note."
To beat Minnesota tomorrow night would earn this team a Top 4 seed, and a double-bye, in the Big Ten Tournament and likely lock them in for that vaunted return to March Madness. Northwestern didn't have nearly the same level of doubt or concern that swirled ahead of the 2022-23 tourney, but the jury was certainly out on if the Wildcats could replicate their success this season after Chase Audige departed for the G League and Robbie Beran and Julian Roper transferred elsewhere.
But, thanks to Buie and a transfer like Ryan Langborg, Northwestern could win 21+ games in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history.
"Certainly last season was special with all the naysayers and defying the odds," Collins said. "But then there's always talk, 'Can you do it again? Was that a flash in the pan?'
"I think from Day 1, this group has had a toughness and resiliency to say this is who we are now. This is the culture of what Northwestern basketball is."
Collins is notoriously loathe to compare his teams throughout his coaching career but it's clear that, game after game, adversity after adversity, this squad is moving up his list of all-time favorites.
"It's been really fun," he said. "I told these guys, I don't know that I've ever coached a tougher team. Have I been part of teams with more talent, or done special things? Probably.
"But in terms of tough-minded guys that are resilient and play together and have a grit to them? Not sure I've had a team with more than this group. And because of that, it's been a really special team to coach and we hope to be playing for awhile. We still have some good basketball left in us."
March Madness, Matt Nicholson forecasts: Center Matt Nicholson had the same prognosis today as announced on the Big Ten Network broadcast of Northwestern vs. Michigan State: rest through the weekend with evaluation early next week in hopes of a return for the Big Ten or NCAA Tournaments.
Nicholson's injury has not been specified past hurting his foot, and Collins said with so little time left in the season they will consider using him in a limited role if it means he can come back.
"He's dealing with a little bit of a foot injury," Collins said about his starting big man. "We just want to let it calm down and see, we're late in the season...
"He's not going to play the two games this week, let's rehab, let's rest and recover and hopefully have some healing, and then we can see early part of next week if it's something he can play through."
The injury to Nicholson has cast a creeping shadow on what would be an otherwise tournament-bound resume, which raises the pressure for the Wildcats to lock in their chances tomorrow night without him.
"I think every team should view their games as must-win, we're in the middle of March," Collins said. "You have to start playing all these games as if they're postseason games so you get yourself ready for the Big Ten Tournament next week, and hopefully we get some games after that."
Langborg prepares to say farewell to Welsh-Ryan Arena: It's safe to say that Langborg has outperformed expectations, and it's true to say that Northwestern and its fans have outperformed his expectations in turn.
It's been special to see the transfer guard fit so seamlessly into the Wildcats this season, working off of Buie and Brooks Barnhizer, his roommate. Other than the two aforementioned stars, Langborg may have the strongest bond with the students and fans at Welsh-Ryan.
"They’ve welcomed me with open arms and it’s been better than I could ever imagined," he said. "Even as a post-grad, I hear them chanting my name. It’s a surreal experience."
This will be the second Senior Night of Langborg's career: he graduated from Princeton in 2023 after leading the Tigers to a Sweet Sixteen.
But he said Northwestern has taken his basketball experience to another level.
"Hate to say it, but definitely better than what I had at Princeton," Langborg admitted. "It’s been a lot of fun, very competitive and it’s been exactly what I was looking for."
Langborg is ready to go in his second game back from an ankle injury. Despite a rough shooting night, 2-for-12 from the floor against Michigan State, he said his return after missing two games went well.
"It's felt good," he said. "Didn't swell up at all, which is great. I'm ready to go against Minnesota."
Collins hopes Berry and Nicholson follow in Buie's footsteps: Shooting guard Ty Berry and Nicholson will be honored on Senior Night, though they will be playing in the game as they are both still sidelined with injury. As seniors, they are part of the last wave of players that can utilize a COVID waiver and come back for an extra year of eligibility.
Just like Buie did for a fifth season, Collins hopes he'll get both players back to be able to send them off the right way.
"Certainly, as a coach, I'd love for both of those guys to be back," he said. "I think, because of injury, one of the things I'm happy for is that they have the option [to come back]. Both of those guys aren't goin to play in their Senior Night, that stinks.
"So, them having the option because of COVID, we'll have those discussions more at the end of the year. Selfishly for our program, what those guys have meant and who they are, I would love for both of those guys to be back."
Collins said he'll sit down with the players and their families to formally discuss options once the season is over, but keep in mind their announcements may not be immediate. While Berry and Nicholson are not the caliber of Buie or Audige, they're good context for a timeline. Audige announced his intentions to turn pro on April 9 and Buie announced his return nearly a month later on May 8.
Buie's pro potential: Speaking of the pros, Buie had the chance to break down the work he's done this season to bolster his resume. Being selected in the NBA Draft is a long shot for a player of his size and age, but there's no doubt he's putting together a body of work to compete for a G League spot here, or for a contract in a competitive league overseas.
The main critique for Buie last season was efficiency. While he put together a phenomenal season as a franchise player, his shooting splits lagged behind the eye test of his game. Even as he led Northwestern to 22 wins, he shot just 40.8% from the floor and 31.3% from three.
This season, he's painting a very different picture.
"A lot of the feedback I got last year was about three-point percentage," he said. "Right now I've been shooting it the best I have in my entire career."
Buie has kept his attempts per game nearly identical, taking .2 fewer field goals per game and .1 fewer threes, while moving up to 43.8% from the floor and skyrocketing to 43.1% from three.