Northwestern to play in first NCAA Tournament since 2017
CHICAGO (CBS) – Northwestern men's basketball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 as a No. 7 seed. The team will play No. 10 Boise State on Thursday.
It will be Northwestern's second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in the program's history.
The Wildcats (21-11, 12-8 in conference) bowed out early in the Big Ten Tournament against Penn State in overtime on Saturday despite being the second seed.
The team got to celebrate the occasion with fans at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday.
"There's no feeling like seeing your name come up in the selection show," said head coach Chris Collins. "It's what you work hard for. That's the dream. You want to be a part of March Madness."
Senior guar Boo Buie said, "Seeing our name actually called, I felt like that was a bit of a different feeling. I knew we were a tournament team. Today, seeing everyone being and support us, it's been amazing."
Still, Northwestern holds an impressive resume as it appears in its first NCAA Tournament since 2017 with the second-most wins in a single season in program history. The team even beat Purdue, a projected No. 1 seed, last month in Evanston.
Collins was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year. Chris Lowery was honored with the inaugural Assistant Coach of the Year award.
Senior guard Chase Audige was named co-Defensive Player of the Year in the conference after averaging 2.4 steals per game.
Buie, the Wildcats' leading scorer was named First Team All-Big Ten in the media voting.
Northwestern won a game in its previous NCAA Tournament appearance, but didn't win much in the years following. Those struggles the past few seasons made this accomplishment mean a little more to Collins.
"It meant a little bit extra to me personally," he said. "No one was more disappointed to not be able to sustain what we built in 2017 than I was. I think you always look at yourself in the mirror and say, 'How did we not continue on this track?'""
Collins said he'll dive into the film right away on its next opponent, Boise State, adding he knows they're a tough-minded team from an underrated conference, the Mountain West. Like the Cats, the Broncos are good defensively, with both teams in the top 35 nationally in scoring defense.
Northwestern and Boise State are set to tipoff at 6:35 p.m. on Thursday on truTV in Sacramento, California.
Chris Collins opens by calling it “a special day for our program.” Just the second time Northwestern has heard their name called in the NCAA Tournament selection show. @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/av0IphlKpK
— Matt Zahn (@mattzahnsports) March 12, 2023