Northwestern’s NCAA Tournament Run Ends in Second Round Loss to UCLA

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Northwestern’s record-breaking season came to a close at Golden 1 Center on Saturday night with a 68-63 loss to No. 2-seed UCLA.

Boo Buie, Matthew Nicholson, and Chase Audige combined to score 51 of Northwestern’s 63 total points.Buie paced the Wildcats with 18 points and four assists. Nicholson added a career-high 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds and Audige chipped in 16 points and a game-high seven assists.

Nicholson pulled down five offensive rebounds to lead Northwestern, which grabbed 14 offensive boards and turned them into eight second chance points.

How It Happened

A slow shooting start for Northwestern gave UCLA a 35-25 heading into halftime. The Wildcats scored 16 of their 25 first half points in the paint.

UCLA extended its lead to 41-28 early in the second half, before the ‘Cats ripped off a 17-4 run over 5:46 to even the score at 45 all with 11:26 to go in the contest. The 17-4 spurt was powered by Chase Audige, who tallied 11 of NU’s 17 points during the run. UCLA scored the game’s next six points to take a 51-45 lead that it did not relinquish for the remainder of the contest. 

NU notched 34 rebounds, compared to just 28 for UCLA. For the first time this season, Northwestern lost while out-rebounding its opponent. 

Game Notes

» Northwestern falls to 2-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

» Northwestern falls to 0-2 all-time in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.

» Northwestern falls to 12-1 when out-rebounding its opponent.

» Matthew Nicholson posted a career-high 17 points on 7-for-7 shooting from the field.

    » It is Nicholson’s fifth game this season shooting 100% from the field.

    » Nicholson is the first ‘Cat to shoot 100% from the field on at least seven shots since Ryan Young vs. High Point on Nov. 12, 2021 (8-for-8).

    » Nicholson paced the ‘Cats with 10 points in the first half.

» Boo Buie scored a team-high 18 points 

    » Buie finishes the season with 31 games in double figures.

    » Buie’s 31 games in double figures ties John Shurna for the most double digit scoring games in a Northwestern single-season since at least 2010-11.

    » Buie finishes the 2022-23 season with 588 points, the third-most in a single-season in…