Northwestern University Athletics
Tuesday, November 23
Newark, N.J.
4 pm
Northwestern
5-1,0-0Big Ten
78
vs
62
Georgia
2-4,0-0SEC
1
2
F
Georgia
23
39
62
Northwestern
43
35
78
Dominant First Half Fuels Northwestern in Legends Classic
11/23/2021 5:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NEWARK, N.J. — The Wildcats wrapped up their trip to New Jersey with a 78-62 win over Georgia in the Legends Classic third-place game on Tuesday.
Northwestern jumped out to a commanding 43-23 lead after the first half, with a Ryan Greer half-court buzzer-beater capping off the Wildcats' 18-5 run headed into the locker rooms. Chicago's Big Ten Team put together a dominant performance on both ends of the court in the first frame, the 20-point lead at half the largest for Northwestern against a Power 5 opponent since also leading by 20 at the break against Georgia Tech in 2018. The 'Cats made it rain from three-point range, shooting 8-of-17 (47.1%) from deep with four different players hitting on three-pointers, while holding Georgia to 6-of-26 (23.1%) from the field and a paltry 1-of-12 from behind the arc.
The Wildcats held steady in the second half, cruising to a 16-point victory, their largest over a Power 5 opponent since December 2019 against Boston College.
Boo Buie led the way with 22 points on 8-of-21 shooting with four 3-pointers. He also led the team with six assists, as the Wildcats finished with 20 assists on 28 made field goals as a team.
Northwestern's strong night shooting the ball extended to the free throw line where the 'Cats went a perfect 13-of-13, the first time Northwestern has 100% from the charity stripe since a March 2019 showdown against Purdue and their first time shooting 100% on over 13 attempts since 2014.
A staple in the starting five, first-year Casey Simmons made his sixth start and put together one of his strongest performances yet with a career-high 7 rebounds as well as career highs in steals, assists and minutes.
The Wildcats stay on the road for their match up with Wake Forest in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge next Tuesday with tip-off set for 8 p.m. CT. Live coverage of that game can be found on ESPNU and WGN Radio AM-720.
Northwestern jumped out to a commanding 43-23 lead after the first half, with a Ryan Greer half-court buzzer-beater capping off the Wildcats' 18-5 run headed into the locker rooms. Chicago's Big Ten Team put together a dominant performance on both ends of the court in the first frame, the 20-point lead at half the largest for Northwestern against a Power 5 opponent since also leading by 20 at the break against Georgia Tech in 2018. The 'Cats made it rain from three-point range, shooting 8-of-17 (47.1%) from deep with four different players hitting on three-pointers, while holding Georgia to 6-of-26 (23.1%) from the field and a paltry 1-of-12 from behind the arc.
The Wildcats held steady in the second half, cruising to a 16-point victory, their largest over a Power 5 opponent since December 2019 against Boston College.
Boo Buie led the way with 22 points on 8-of-21 shooting with four 3-pointers. He also led the team with six assists, as the Wildcats finished with 20 assists on 28 made field goals as a team.
Northwestern's strong night shooting the ball extended to the free throw line where the 'Cats went a perfect 13-of-13, the first time Northwestern has 100% from the charity stripe since a March 2019 showdown against Purdue and their first time shooting 100% on over 13 attempts since 2014.
A staple in the starting five, first-year Casey Simmons made his sixth start and put together one of his strongest performances yet with a career-high 7 rebounds as well as career highs in steals, assists and minutes.
The Wildcats stay on the road for their match up with Wake Forest in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge next Tuesday with tip-off set for 8 p.m. CT. Live coverage of that game can be found on ESPNU and WGN Radio AM-720.
Team Stats
UGa
NU
FG%
.382
.438
3FG%
.208
.321
FT%
.652
1.000
RB
34
38
TO
14
10
STL
4
9
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
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Men's Basketball - Illinois Postgame Press Conference (2/4/26)
Thursday, February 05
Men's Basketball - Wildcats Fall at No. 5 Illinois (2/4/26)
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