Traditionally, power conference teams that finish above .500, but not strong enough to make the NCAA Tournament, go to the NIT. Northwestern basketball is now 15-15, overall, on the season with a chance to get a signature win tomorrow afternoon when they take on the #20 Iowa Hawkeyes in the first full round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Yes, they just recently lost 82-61 to Iowa, with NBA prospect Keegan Murray going off for 26 and 18, but anything can happen in the B1G Tourney. #12 seeded Northwestern, down by as many as 15 (15:28 into the first half, 35-20) came roaring back to win a nail-biter over #13 seeded Nebraska, 71-69, in the conference tournament’s opening game.
Boo Buie taking that charge might have sealed the game for Northwestern. His immediately sprinting over to his own bench right after doing so was the best moment of this one.
Baba Booey Baba booey @HowardStern #B1GTourney #b1gmbball— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) March 10, 2022
It was the Cats’ third win over Nebrasketball this season.
Northwestern came within 1, with the ball and thus a chance to take the lead, twice, late in the second half before finally taking the lead with 6:24 left. The dagger in this one wasn’t a big shot, but junior point guard Boo Buie taking a huge charge on Nebraska’s final possession.
Said Northwestern basketball coach Chris Collins in the postgame presser: “probably the first charge that he took in his life.”
Immediately after the charging call, Buie sprint over to his own bench with a lot of emotion. Asked to explain, he responded during the postgame presser:
“It’s early March and guys are trying to continue their season, so it gets chippy out there and the refs were telling us to keep our mouths shut. I was just trying to celebrate without getting in trouble. So I knew that if I went over by my guys, they would make sure that I wouldn’t do anything out of character.”
Makes sense, as this is a very taxing game, emotionally, as well as physically. Emotions run very high this time of year. Asked about the Northwestern basketball season resume, postseason hopes and where they stand (all of which we just previously analyzed here), Collins gave a very long, all-encompassing answer.
It included the phrase “we’re better than our record,” which is obviously very un Bill Parcellsian.
Collins brought up the two (DePaul, Prairie View A&M) non-conference games that were canceled due to covid-19. He also said nothing is guaranteed, but it probably would have helped, in adding two more wins. He also mentioned all the close games that got away, early on in the B1G season, as well as the team’s not being able to have fans at home for some of those early league games due to university protocols relating to covid.
“Unfortunately, we lost two non-conference home games to Covid,” Collins said.
“And we thought we were playing well then and could have gotten two more wins, but I think we’re a good team and we’ve completed hard all year long.”
He also went on to say that he’s “not smart enough” to give an answer on the season resume profile part of the question, adding that the team is just “living in the moment” right now.
Collins has been in control since 2013-14, and he’s had only two winning seasons and just one postseason appearance.
Upsetting Iowa would be big, it would give them a chance to then upset #4 seed Rutgers in the quarterfinals. Reaching the Big Ten semifinals would definitely put them in the NIT conversation/bubble.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.