Northwestern outlasts FAU in overtime

Ryan Langborg was playing for Princeton last year when he caught the eye of Northwestern coach Chris Collins as both teams advanced at the NCAA Tournament site in Sacramento, California.

Now it’s the Wildcats benefiting from Langborg’s clutch shooting in March — and they couldn’t be more confident in their Ivy League transfer.

“I don’t know, something about that kid — you get to the dance and he’s ready to go,” Collins said.

Langborg scored 12 of his career-high 27 points in overtime, and ninth-seeded Northwestern finally put away No. 8 seed Florida Atlantic

77-65 in a first-round East Region game Friday at Barclays Center.

“I usually don’t celebrate a lot when I make shots, but I know I had my tongue out and things like that,” said Langborg, who set a Northwestern record for points in an NCAA Tournament game.

The injury-depleted Wildcats recovered after squandering a nine-point lead late in the second half. Brooks Barnhizer’s driving layup tied it with nine seconds left.

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 reached the Sweet 16.

“The toughness level and the heart of this team is like nothing I’ve ever been a part of,” Collins said. never

San Diego St. 69, UAB 65

Within the first 5 minutes, Jaedon LeDee scored at the rim, hit a midrange jumper, threw down a powerful dunk and knocked down a 3-pointer.

This was bound to be a big game for LeDee, and San Diego State needed everything the third-team AP All-American had to offer.

LeDee dominated inside on the way to 32 points, Lamont Butler added 15 and No. 5 seed San Diego State held off 12th-seeded UAB in a firstround East Region game.