Men’s Basketball: Northwestern’s season ends in 79-73 loss to Gonzaga

“It’s only going to be winning these two games and advancing to the Sweet 16”.

And though few folks in Vivint Arena could probably name five players from Northwestern history (or its current roster, for that matter), as the Wildcats came out of halftime facing an 18-point deficit – refusing to play on their heels as they did in the first half – the entire arena decided that they, too, were Wildcats.

Nigel Williams-Goss scored 20 points while Jordan Mathews and Zach Collins added 14 apiece to help No. 1 seed Gonzaga survive a late rally and beat Northwestern 79-73 on Saturday in the second round of the West Region of the NCAA Tournament.

Wildcats coach Jay Wright was concerned about Wisconsin, calling them a “great number eight” seed.

The NCAA issued a statement after the game acknowledging that the officiating crew missed the call. And the story of the game was the first half.

A 9-3 run early in the half, capped by a steal and transition flush from Sanjay Lumpkin re-ignited the largely dormant Wildcats.

Gonzaga would hit the two free throws to extend the lead to seven points.

This season has been a new experience for fans used to never making the NCAA tournament, Kaplan said.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs didn’t look like a No. 1 seed for the entirety of their round of 64 win over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

In the end, Northwestern fell just short, but that should take nothing away from what was a season that will be remembered in Evanston forever. If the goaltending were correctly called, the score would have been 63-60 and a 3-point game instead of a 3-possession game. I covered Northwestern basketball throughout my four years at the school and often feel personally invested in their success.

Second: the official clinching of said tourney berth. “I don’t think any Northwestern fan can complain about the effort they put up this season, and we’re so proud of them”. “But that’s something we’ve faced and something I’ve faced all the time I’ve been at Northwestern, when everything has been overshadowed”.

As for the fight back into the game, that was reminiscent of the season, said center Dererk Pardon.

Northwestern’s Coach Collins picked up a much deserved technical foul, but he was right on his point.

Here are our three pointers on the loss that ended Northwestern’s magic run with a record of 24-12. As has been the case throughout the season, Northwestern tried to rely on its defense to get back into the game, almost forcing two turnovers before Lumpkin finally managed to get a clean steal and dunk to make it 44-29 with 16:05 remaining. Referees are human beings, they’re here for a reason, because they’re outstanding officials. “For him to walk up and make six in a row in the last [four minutes], I was really proud of him”.