BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — With 3:53 remaining on the jumbotron inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, a gaggle of red and white filtered out of the arena. They were soon followed by a horde of disgruntled Hoosier fans, who hit the exits after the fireworks ended and the dust had settled, with Northwestern staving off No. 15 Indiana, 84-83. 

The man who helped propel the Wildcats’ upset victory took stock of the moment. There senior guard Boo Buie stood, a speck of purple in a sea of red and white, cheering loudly and waving goodbye to the fans who had heckled and booed him for two straight hours. 

“Sometimes I get a little caught in the moment,” Buie said. “I’m just celebrating; winning feels good. I’ve lost a lot in my career — when I win, we gotta celebrate.”

Buie wasn’t without reason. NU got off to a blistering start on the road and withstood several Hoosier runs before securing another road upset — albeit not without some late drama. 

His efforts, combined with the playmaking and defensive blitzing of redshirt senior guard Chase Audige and junior guard Ty Berry’s double-double, propelled the Cats to victory on the road. 

“We know our guards are the ones that are the keys,” coach Chris Collins said. “They have the ball in their hands, they make the decisions.”

Buie poured in 26 points, 17 of which came in the second half, on an efficient 10-of-18 shooting from the field. Coming on the heels of two poor shooting performances — a 2-of-13 outing against Illinois and a 3-of-15 display versus Ohio State — the New York native’s response was desperately needed.

Facing a top-25 offensive unit in Indiana, according to KenPom, a high-scoring shootout was likely not what Collins or his squad had planned for. But following a scalding hot 25-13 start, it seemed destined.

The Cats’ backcourt trio of Buie, Audige and Berry answered the calls to the tune of 24 first-half points. Audige added seven assists, picking apart the Hoosiers’ man-to-man defense with ease and wreaking havoc defensively with three steals and loads of deflections. Berry, who canned 2-of-4 triples in the first 20 minutes, also snagged five boards — including two on the offensive glass.

The trio continued their form in the second half as Collins leaned on their veteran presence to counter several Indiana blows. But it was Buie who proved to be the major offensive catalyst in the second half.

“I was able to get downhill,” Buie said of his prolific scoring day. “Thankful for my big men and my teammates (for) playing off (the ball). I was able to get some angles at the basket and finish.”

Operating out of the pick-and-roll, Buie snaked through the Hoosier defense before nabbing bucket after bucket in the lane. With Audige sidelined for some of the second frame due to a “locked up back,” according to Collins, the 48-year-old coach put the ball in the hands of his battle-tested senior. 

After Indiana cut NU’s early second-half advantage to 53-41, Buie answered with six straight points. When the Hoosiers trimmed the deficit to eight points , he got a crucial driving layup to drop. 

“He made really good decisions,” Collins said of Buie’s performance. “He got downhill, he made some big-time floaters … He was fantastic. I mean, you come into (Assembly Hall) and get 26 points on the road against a talented team like that.”

One would be remiss for not mentioning Berry’s tenacity on the glass, which resulted in a team-high 11 rebounds. The Kansas native was seemingly first to corral every loose ball or board, saving multiple possessions on both ends of the floor. Collins heralded Berry’s play Sunday, calling his play “huge.” 

Equally important was Audige’s energy on both ends of the floor. Collins has long lauded the former William & Mary player as the best defender in the Big Ten — he lived up to the billing Sunday. Despite being hobbled, Audige was a bastion of chaos defensively, finishing with six steals in a game where the Cats forced 16 turnovers. 

Even though NU failed to hit a field goal in the final 4:24, the backcourt triumvirate combined for crucial free throws to close the game, hitting 15-of-18 from the charity stripe in the second half. Buie’s final make at the line was the point that iced the game.

In all, Buie, Audige and Berry’s efforts coalesced into a spectacular outing which resulted in another top-25 road victory for NU this season. Still, Collins said there is work to be done. 

“We’re not perfect by any stretch of the imagination,” Collins said. “We have a lot of limitations, but our guys really battled and they really fight. There’s power when you have a together group.”

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