Langborg lights up Owls, Northwestern advances to face UConn in NCAA 2nd Round
BROOKLYN, NY — A year after shining for Princeton in the big dance, Ryan Langborg put on another show while rocking Wildcat purple, as Northwestern knocked off Florida Atlantic University in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon.
Langborg shot 11/19 from the field, notching 27 points — 12 of them in overtime — to go with four rebounds, three assists and two steals to help the Wildcats overcome the Owls in OT, 77-65.
“That’s how I roll as a coach. If somebody’s going, I’m going to ride that player,” said Northwestern men’s head basketball coach Chris Collins postgame. “That’s what I wanted when I was a player and when people coached me so, when you see a guy get it going, you’re going to ride that hot hand, especially when you’ve got to win and your season’s on the line.
“Don’t know what it is about the NCAA Tournament with Ryan Langborg, but I’m sure glad he’s on my team this go around.”
Langborg’s 27 points is a program record for Northwestern in a NCAA Tournament game.
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The Wildcats led by as many as nine points in the second half, but needed a Brooks Barnhizer driving layup with eight seconds left to tie the game and send it into overtime.
“Once Brooks laid the ball in at the end of regulation and we went into overtime,” said Northwestern guard Boo Buie. “Everyone in the huddle was saying, ‘We’re winning.’ There’s no other option but winning and we just had so much confidence coming out into OT.”
From there, the Wildcats caught fire on the offensive end, shooting a perfect 5-5 from the field and 7-8 from the free throw stripe during overtime, where Langborg accounted for four of the Wildcats’ five field goals.
“I usually don’t celebrate a lot when I make shots, but I know I had my tongue out and things like that,” Langborg said.
Next up for Northwestern (22-11) is No. 1 overall seed UConn in the second round of the East Region on Sunday in Brooklyn. The Big Ten program has won a game in each of its three trips to the NCAA Tournament (all since 2017), but has never reached the Sweet 16.
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“The toughness level and the heart of this team is like nothing I’ve ever been a part of,” Collins said.
Boo Buie, the Wildcats all-time leading scorer, had 19 of his 22 points in the second half. Barnhizer added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Northwestern, which advanced in the NCAAs for the second consecutive year despite playing without injured starters Ty Berry (knee) and 7-footer Matthew Nicholson (leg), who are both out for the rest of the season.
“They played really well in overtime,” FAU coach Dusty May said. “We just looked like we were a little bit out of gas, I guess.”
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