It wasn’t Super Bowl Sunday this time.
More like Forget About It Friday.
You think No. 1 Purdue was just going to waltz into Welsh-Ryan Arena and win a basketball game against Northwestern? Not last season, when the Wildcats toppled the Boilers and national player of the year Zach Edey 64-58 for their first-ever win over an AP No. 1. Most of the country — the world — was waiting for the Chiefs and Eagles and missed that afternoon of court-storming magic.
Well, they missed it again as sports fans undoubtedly were watching Washington and Oregon — soon-to-be Big Ten schools — in the final Pac-12 football title game. But Northwestern won 92-88 this time in a game that, incredibly, was even better than last year’s version. The court was stormed again. Respect was demanded again.
Lose to Purdue? Please. That’s just not what these Wildcats do.
In February’s game, Edey and magnificent Wildcats guard Boo Buie combined for 50 points. This time, with Edey pouring in 35 and Buie 31, they went off for 66.
Purdue fell to 7-1. Northwestern is 6-1 and — no doubt about it — getting ready to crash the next Top 25 poll.
“AP votes and all that are cool,” Buie told the Sun-Times earlier in the week, “but, honestly, you have to go out and be a good team and win games in order to do that. Either way, we’re used to being underdogs and take that with pride. We’re not caught up in it, but we know we can play with anybody.”
Northwestern finished tied for second place in the Big Ten, won six league road games and made the NCAA Tournament last season, then brought the lion’s share of the team back. But no matter: There were no votes for the Purple Giant Killers in the preseason poll or any of the ones after that leading into this week.
It’s almost as if all the good Northwestern did last season never happened. But let others try to ignore this team now.
“I’m in the gym,” Buie said. “I see how good we are. We just have a lot of confidence in each other, support each other and pick each other up.”
After the first win against Purdue, Wildcats coach Chris Collins said he’d come to Evanston to do “historic things.” Now, his program is only the seventh in all of college basketball since 2010-11 to win games against No. 1 teams in successive seasons. And there is no reason to dismiss the strong possibility that the Wildcats can make it back-to-back Big Dances for the first time ever.
In last season’s upset, Chase Audige scored 10 points in under two minutes as the Wildcats closed on a stirring 17-3 run. Audige is gone now, but Princeton transfer Ryan Longborg is in the lineup and crushing it. Against the Boilermakers, he scored 20 points, 12 of them after halftime. Welcome to the Big Ten, bub.
At times, Edey was just too big for the Wildcats. In a related development, the Wildcats at times were just too small. That’s the way it goes when tangling with the most unique player in the country. Purdue returned to Evanston intending to give the Wildcats a taste of their own medicine. Not to mention several unpleasant tastes of the underside of Edey’s size-20 shoe.
Edey was splendid, but the Wildcats withstood it. Again. Another special team? Another special season? As they danced on the court into the night, there’d be no convincing anyone otherwise.
