Wildcats prepare for rematch with No. 2 Purdue
EVANSTON-Northwestern took Round 1 over Purdue in December at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Now the Wildcats will try to back it up in Wednesday night's rematch at Mackey Arena.
The Wildcats trumped the then-No. 1 Boilermakers back in December, with a 92-88 win. It was the second time in the 2023 calendar year that the Wildcats beat the top-ranked Boilers.
It figures to be a different game this time around at Mackey Arena.
"Mackey is an amazing place to be and the atmosphere is going to be awesome," Collins said. "They have a little more juice at home. The shots go in a little bit more, though they go in everywhere for them. But they have a mojo at home that has been tough to crack."
Collins has a chance to win at the Boilermakers' storied home floor for the first time since a 74-65 win in 2014, his rookie season as head coach. That's also the last time the Wildcats swept Purdue, home and away, in the same season.
The Wildcats know the Boilermakers, who are undefeated at Mackey and are 19-2 overall (8-2 Big Ten), will be out for blood in the rematch. But they were out for blood in December, too, after being upset, 64-58, this time last year.
Reigning National Player of the Year Zach Edey scored 35 points and hauled in 14 rebounds, fouling out two of Northwestern's bigs in the process, in the December game. But he wasn't able to avenge last February's Welsh-Ryan defeat, which was Norhtwestern's first win over a No. 1 team in school history.
"You go into every game confident you'll win," Collins said. "We know it'll be a tough challenge and we have the utmost respect for who they are."
Guards Ryan Langborg and Boo Buie broke down what they have to do to beat the Boilermakers.
"I think it comes down to getting great shots as a team," Langborg said. "Don't force anything, don't have live-ball turnovers, because if they can get in transition and our matchups get mixed up, it can be more difficult. But so long as we stick together and keep our unity, we'll be good."
Buie agreed.
"We pride ourselves on taking care of the ball every game," he said. "That's something we'll do, get extra possessions."
Buie's journey up the record books continues: Buie passed Northwestern legend and current radio analyst Billy McKinney for third place in all-time leading scoring in the program during Saturday night's win over Ohio State.
Collins said he's been impressed with Buie, who garnered two big awards this week, has been.
"To see someone who has invested into this program so much be rewarded with those type of accolades is awesome," he said. "Hopefully, it's the first of many.
"The great thing about Boo is he's not chasing those things, he's chasing team success.,.. He's worked incredibly hard to become one of the best players in the country and it's been just a fun journey to be a part of."
Buie was named one of the top 10 finalists for the Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard. He was also honored as the Big Ten Player of the Week after scoring 48 points and dishing out 12 assists as Northwestern beat No. 10 Illinois and Ohio State.
Welsh-Ryan environment has become the crown jewel of Northwestern athletics: When Northwestern's football program hosted a cadre of key recruiting prospects last Saturday for visits, they made sure to bring them to the Northwestern-Ohio State men's basketball game that night.
The move reaped immediate rewards as every visitor WildcatReport has spoken to listed the raucous atmosphere at Welsh-Ryan during the Wildcats' 83-58 blowout of the Buckeyes as one of the highlights of their experience. Four of the visitors have already committed to the program.
Collins said that he hoped to one day get their home-court advantage to this point, even at a school once completely dominated by football.
"I hoped that would be the case," Collins said. "Coach [David] Braun, I'm a big fan of what he's doing and he's trying to build. I want to work hand-in-hand with those guys.
"We know that football and basketball kind of lead the way from an exposure standpoint at this school. If we have both in a healthy place, it trickles down to the whole athletic department."
Collins also talked about the far-ranging effects of his team's success and the culture they've built.
"It's been fun to build up the atmosphere and see the students get to the point where now, all the sports, not just football, can bring their recruits in on a big home game on a Saturday and have that be an asset, not a detriment," he said. "Just like I want to bring [visitors to football games] in the fall, once we get our new [football] stadium [built]."