SACRAMENTO — At Northwestern’s Selection Sunday party at Welsh-Ryan Arena, Chris Collins said that a one-song dance wasn’t fun. Much to his enjoyment, these ‘Cats will keep on dancing.
No. 7-seed Northwestern (22-11, 12-8 B1G) defeated the No. 10-seed Boise State Broncos (24-10, 13-5 Mountain West) 75-67 to advance to the Round of 32 and secure its first NCAA Men’s Tournament victory in almost six years. It was a contest marked by its constant scoring, almost the total opposite of the defensive slugfest that many expected from both teams.
Leading Northwestern’s most balanced scoring attack in over a month, Boo Buie scored 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, becoming the second Northwestern player after Bryant McIntosh to score over 20 points in an NCAA Tournament game.