FAUs season ends with heartbreak, Owls lose 77 – 65 to Northwestern in NCAA Tournament

The agony of final defeat is one of the worst feelings in sports, and for FAU that feeling came today as they fell 77-65 to Northwestern in overtime. The Owls battled through poor shooting and a really physical effort from the Wildcats to come back from down 9 with 7 minutes left in the second half and force overtime, but it was too little too late, as Northwestern caught fire in the second half and overtime and proved too much for The Beach Boys.

Vlad Goldin scored 19 and had 9 rebounds, and Johnell Davis had 18 and 6 rebounds but as the problem has been for FAU this season, they were unable to get consistent offense as a whole and against the Stifling defense of Northwestern that was killer.

The Wildcats got 27 from Ryan Langborg, 22 from Boo Buie, 13 from Brooks Barnhizer and although their offense wasn’t consistent as a unit, those 3 provided more than enough offense.

FAU finished 22/57 from the field, and 5/27 from deep, but where Northwestern was really able to succeed was forcing FAU to turn the ball over 21 times. The Owls offense looked discombobulated at times, and that was credited to the ‘Cats swarming defense that made it tough for them to get in rhythm. After the game, FAU Coach Dusty May credited Northwestern for making the plays they needed to.

“Like to express gratitude for taking so many people on a great ride and we had great moments today. Credit Northwestern. They are statistically better in almost every facet of the game, and we just were not at our best and they made enough plays to win. But credit them. They made them when they needed to,” Coach May said.

Northwestern was looking to lull FAU into a defensive battle early on, and as both teams started 1 of 5 from the field it was 4-4 at the first media break with 15:56 to play, and the ‘Cats game plan was working.

The Owls were unable to snap the cold streak from deep that plagued them against Temple, and it carried over to the first half in this one.

Early on it was a physical, low scoring battle, which played right into Northwestern’s favor, as they were 1 of 8 from deep to start this one, but they were shutting the Owls down on the other end, and 10 minutes into the game there was a lid on the basket for both sides as the game was tied at 8 a piece.

The Owls finally broke the cold streak from deep nearly 14 minutes into the game, as Johnell Davis hit a triple to put the Owls up 14-12. Alijah Martin threw down a ferocious jam on the next possession and for the first time all game FAU was rolling with momentum, up 16-12 with 5:39 to play.

Slow offense took place throughout the final 5 minutes of the half, as only 11 points were scored. Northwestern took a 19-18 lead with 1:12 left on a Barnhizer triple off a turnover, and the momentum was back in favor of the ‘Cats. Johnell Davis hit a floater near the lane at the buzzer however, and FAU ended up taking a 20-19 lead into the half.

The first stanza was a tough watch from an offensive standpoint, as Northwestern was 7/33 from the field at the break, and FAU was 7/21.

The depleted Wildcats were getting what they wanted in lulling FAU into a defensive battle, and the Owls were really struggling. FAU had 12 turnovers at the break to the ‘Cats 6 and FAU only had 2 assists, which was a result of the stifling defense being played. Coach Chris Collins said after the game, the struggles from the field were excitement from his team and that the defense kept them in it.

“I mean, for us to have the first half we did, we shoot 7 for 33 and it was all — we were excited. We’re excited to be here.We’re excited to compete, and we couldn’t throw it in the ocean. Our defense, though, was just so on point in the first half,” Coach Collins said.

The second half did not start much better for FAU, as Boo Buie quickly hit a triple off a turnover to give the ‘Cats a 22-20 lead and shift momentum.

FAU had 4 turnovers in the first 4 minutes of the 2nd half, and Northwestern came out Guns Blazing. The ‘Cats got 4 points from Barnhizer and Langborg and a 3 from Boo Bouie and at the first media timeout of the half, FAU was trailing 30-27 and were struggling to find consistent offense.

The ‘Cats came out of that media timeout with a burst of energy, as Buie hit another triple and Langborg added 2 more to give Northwestern their largest lead of the game to that point,35-27 with 14:51 to play.

Senior Bryan Greenlee got going after that for FAU, as he wasn’t willing to go down without a fight in what could have been his last game. Greenlee scored 7 on his own for FAU in a little over a minute and brought the deficit down to 38-34 with 12:52 to play. After the game, Greenlee said he had no thoughts about this being his final game during that run and was just focused on creating an opportunity.

“I Wasn’t really thinking about trying to put the team on my back or it being my last game potentially. I was just in the moment, to be honest, and trying to create when I saw an opportunity,” Greenlee said.

Northwestern kept throwing punches over the next couple of minutes, not letting their lead get below 4 and even extending it up to 9 a few times. The Owls were battling right alongside them, finally getting consistent offense and with 6:03 to play the Owls made a run.

Vlad hit a layup to make it 54-47, and on the next possession Brandon Weatherspoon hit a triple to make it 54-40 and forced the ‘Cats into a timeout with 5:19 to play.

FAU finally broke through with 4:06 to play, as Spoon and Vlad went to work again. Spoon scored in transition and Vlad hit 2 sets of free throws and the game was tied at 56 with 2:44 to play.

Nelly Davis gave FAU a 2 point lead, 58-56 with 1:04 to play on a tough layup in traffic with defenders draped all over him, and for the first time since the first half, FAU led.

Vlad Goldin had a chance to make it a 2-possession game with 26 seconds left on a 1 and 1 opportunity, but missed on the first, and Northwestern got the rebound and Brooks Barnhizer tied the game at 58 with 9 seconds left on a drive to the rim.

The Owls, as they typically do in a last second situation, did not call timeout and instead let Johnell Davis take it the length of the court. Davis drove down and took a contested 3 at the buzzer that did not hit the rim and sent the game to overtime.

The ‘Cats came out on fire in the overtime period and left the Owls in the dust. Ryan Langborg outscored FAU 7-1 in the first 2 minutes of the period. Following a Boo Bouie triple with 2:29 to play, Northwestern had a 67-59 lead and were looking to shut the door.

After the game, Coach May explained how the Wildcats were so successful to start overtime.

“They played really well in overtime. They got a couple loose basketballs early and got off to a great start, and then obviously Langborg made some big, big plays. We’ve had that fight in us pretty consistently for the last couple years. This is the first time we’ve lost consecutive games in two years. It’s the first time we’ve lost by double-digits in a long, long time.

They did that over the final period, outscoring FAU 19-7 overall during the final stanza, and finishing off the Owls by a score of 77-65.

For FAU, their season ends with a tough postseason loss and heading into the offseason there has been flying rumors about Coach Dusty May leaving for a potentially bigger job. After the game he was asked what his message to the world about next season is, and he said although not sure yet because the focus has been on this team, he made sure to express that he loves FAU.

“No idea. All intentions now have been with this team, with this group. As we see, though, college basketball is very fluid. Just click on Twitter to see. No idea what’s next for anybody in our locker room. I love it at FAU. I love coaching these guys, and that’s it,” Coach May said.

For Northwestern, they will play on Sunday in the round of 32 against UConn in a game that will be quite the battle. Coach Collins was asked about UConn in the post game and said that he wants to enjoy this one and he’s really proud of what has been accomplished.

“I want to enjoy this game before I start talking about that juggernaut. It means a lot for our program. When I came to Northwestern 11 years ago, we were one of the only Power Six schools that had never been in the NCAA Tournament. You know, for us, that was what everybody wanted. Can we get there once. You know, it’s never happened in the history. And that was awesome and to be a part of that history was great,” Collins said.