Two days after bowing out of the Big Ten Tournament with a 70-61 loss to Wisconsin in the Target Center, Northwestern awaited its March Madness fate with the rest of the college basketball landscape during its Selection Sunday party at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Selection Sunday. pic.twitter.com/KDzcjSlO4G
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) March 17, 2024
The Wildcats (21-11, 12-8 Big Ten) breathed a sigh of relief, as they punched their ticket to a second consecutive NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid. NU received a nine seed and will play Florida Atlantic in Brooklyn Friday.
This marks the program’s first-ever back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids, and all three tournament trips in school history came with coach Chris Collins at the helm.
Although the ’Cats appeared a shoo-in for The Dance a mere 72 hours before Sunday’s bracket release, a slew of bid stealers emerged in several conference tournaments, raising eyebrows with an especially thin margin differentiating bids from snubs.
Senior guard Ty Berry will miss the tournament due to his season-ending meniscus tear, and senior center Matthew Nicholson’s status is up in the air with a foot injury — though Collins said his availability would likely come in small spurts if he could give it a go.
As it has all season, significant responsibility will fall on graduate student guard Boo Buie’s back. He’ll need contributions from junior guard Brooks Barnhizer, sophomore forward Nick Martinelli and graduate student guard Ryan Langborg for the team to make much of any March magic this year.
For Collins and company, the real season starts now in a test of how long NU can last among the nation’s heavyweights. With Buie’s collegiate swan song on the horizon, the ’Cats will look to pack an extra edge in each win-or-go-home contest
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