Northwestern’s first dance will last at least one more song.
The eighth-seeded Wildcats (24-11, 10-8 B1G) held on to beat ninth-seeded Vanderbilt (19-16, 10-8 SEC) in a 68-66 thriller to earn a second-round date with top-seeded Gonzaga Saturday.
Bryant McIntosh was the hero for Northwestern, scoring 25 huge points on 10-of-16 shooting. But Dererk Pardon was also huge for the Wildcats, scoring 14 points and hitting some clutch free throws late in the game.
Bryant McIntosh got things started for Wildcats, putting Northwestern up 2-0 after knifing through the lane for a layup. Pardon put the Wildcats up 4-0 with a layup of his own before Vanderbilt seven-footer Luke Kornet hit a deep three late in the shot clock.