By Maria Heim 

For the first time in program history, the Wildcats advanced in consecutive years in the NCAA Tournament. After defeating 8-seed Florida Atlantic, a team that reached the Final Four last year, Northwestern will face No. 1 seed UConn on Sunday. 

In a push-and-pull matchup with underperforming offensive efforts, Northwestern found themselves in uncomfortably close margins until a second half tie thanks to Big Ten All-Defensive Team selection Brooks Barnhizer. Facing the Huskies, Northwestern will need to capitalize on its moments that earned them the victory over FAU. 

Here’s some keys to the game: 

1. Take control of the ball 

After a series of missed jumpers in the end of the first half, FAU took full advantage with a steal from Johnell Davis who leads the Owls with an average of 18 points per game. This momentum caused the ‘Cats to give up the ball in trying moments. Offensively struggling, Northwestern played for over five minutes without scoring at the end of the first half.

When the ‘Cats had possession, finding open gaps and space for passing proved instrumental in gaining ground over FAU. Those were gaps that Ryan Langborg so successfully filled, leading the ‘Cats with 27 points, four rebounds and three assists. 

“In every situation I feel like you just got to stay calm,” Langborg said. “We stayed composed the whole time and made it easy.”

2. Continue slow brand of basketball 

As the Owls sped up play in the first half, Northwestern often gave the ball away. This season, 11 percent of Northwestern possessions resulted in turnovers, which was the seventh lowest in Division I. With the team struggling to get the ball back, Nick Martinelli got a rebound, but missed the layup. Series like this continued as there were several missed opportunities at the rim where the ‘Cats could not convert. 

“I was just trying to figure out what they were doing in the first half,” Boo Buie said. “Once we got to the second half and overtime period we were pretty much able to run what we wanted to.” 

A faster pace of play is not how the ‘Cats are wired. Northwestern, namely Buie, surely demonstrated the team’s defensive transitioning strength in the second half controlling the tempo, trapping it in the post with a lead of 56 to 50. Buie’s touch to cool down the offense rattled the Owls and helped leverage a lead. 

3. Performing in late shot clocks

Northwestern excels in this environment. With the seconds counting down, Martinelli snuck in to secure some points on the board with seconds ticking down on the shot clock. Capitalizing off of communication will help slow down the game and valuing their possession. Barnhizer also showed up to take the team to overtime, finishing a quick layup before the buzzer. 

“It was a testament to the whole team on that play,” Barnhizer reflected. 

Buie’s performance surged, propelling Northwestern to extend their lead by a significant margin by taking what the defense gave him. He put up 22 points, three rebounds and four assists. 

4. “Calm down offensively”

Coach Chris Collins said that their offensive cooldown in the second half helped secure the win in a postgame interview. Energy from Barnhizer and Buie radiated from big attacks and open hands, but also slowed pace. This prevents the team from strings of missed offensive opportunities and maintains control of the ball and pace.

“Even though we really struggled offensively being at half time at 20 to 19 I actually felt really good because I knew we would settle in,” Collins said.  

Northwestern looks to claim the turnovers and steals for their own when facing No. 1 UConn. The Huskies make 49.7% of their shots this season, which is 4.9 percentage points higher than Northwestern allows to previous opponents. 

Perri Kitei and Raghav Khosla will have the call as the ‘Cats take the court at 7:45 p.m. EST/ 6:45 p.m. CT.