Top 5 moments from Day One of 2023 NCAA Tournament

By Elijah Campbell | Mar 17, 2023

ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 16: Players of the Furman Paladins celebrate their 68-67 victory against the Virginia Cavaliers in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Amway Center on March 16, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

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Northwestern’s Chase Audige NCAA Tournament 221204 Msu Northwestern Bball 124a /

Northwestern picks up second tournament win in school history

The Northwestern Wildcats are an easy group to cheer for. They lost two of their best forwards from last year’s team to Duke and North Carolina in the transfer portal and didn’t have lofty expectations going into the season. Chris Collins’ team, however, defied all of them and hovered near the top of the Big Ten regular season standings for most of the season. On Thursday night, this unexpectedly successful group earned the school’s second tournament win in school history with a 75-67 win over Boise State.

It took the Wildcats decades to get their first appearance until they finally earned a bid in 2017. In that postseason run, they defeated Vanderbilt to win their first-ever tournament game before the magic ended against one-seeded Gonzaga in round two.

On Thursday night, Evanston’s finest got to relive that 2017 magic. Led by 20-plus-point performances from Boo Buie and Chase Audige, the Wildcats were able to score at a 1.25-point per possession pace against a Boise State team that was top 30 in the nation in defensive efficiency.

Speaking of historic droughts in the NCAA Tournament, the loss for Boise State was their eighth straight in the Big Dance. The Broncos are still looking for a tournament win as they are now 0-8 all-time in such games.

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