Men's Basketball - NCAA Tournament Second Round Postgame Press Conference (3/24/24)

Chris Collins, Boo Buie and Ryan Langborg addressed the media following Northwestern's 76-58 loss to No. 1 UConn on Sunday to end the Wildcats' 2023-24 season.

[@CarsonClaws]

Boo buie is a northwestern legend. He tore my Spartans up every time he faced us. Thanks for the memories Boo! -MSU fan

[@Zobin211]

This game reminded me a lot of our second-round match-up against Gonzaga in 2017. We trailed by 18 at the half of that one and stormed back to make it a close game in the second. That was not meant to be tonight, but as coach said, I'm proud of the fight in the second half against a dominant Connecticut team. Every team has injuries and nagging issues, but the reality is that missing Ty Berry and Matthew Nicholson really hurt us. There was nothing we could do about that - but we'll always wonder what could have been had we not lost those two valuable starters. Nicholson's loss was perhaps even more significant because he would have helped out in the paint. But make no mistake, UConn is a championship club and there is no shame losing to them. I tip my cap. Ryan Langborg was a joy to watch. It was like having Steve Alford for a year - or what we would have had with Rex Walters had he not transferred out all those years ago. Thank you Ryan! I don't know if Matthew or Ty will come back for their 5th year - but if not, thank you to those two warriors! Nothing, and I mean nothing, was better than a Matthew Nicholson slam dunk! And then there's Boo Buie. I'm actually tearing up as I type this. There's not much more to say than "thank you" and "wow" and "I love you". Boo Buie is beyond special. Our all-time leading scorer. The greatest Wildcat in program history and, most importantly, a wonderful young man who is going to do great things in this life - with or without a basketball. Boo, you will be sorely missed. You are irreplaceable and you will be honored and loved by Northwestern fans for the rest of your life - so get used to us gushing on you! And finally, to Coach Collins. This was your masterpiece. You adjusted to devastating injuries TWICE this year. You never used the loss of Ty and Matthew as an excuse, and you squeezed everything you could out of this team. Thank you for this incredible season. The 2023-24 Wildcats will go down as one of my absolute favorite teams. Have a great Spring and Summer all you Wildcat weirdos. We'll see you next November!

[@NUWILDCAT1977]

Thanks for a great run, guys. Very proud of all of you. Go ‘Cats.

[@MichaelNelson-ul2ly]

NU keep it going! The programs are great. They will get better, despite what other people think.

[@nathaniellathy6559]

All the buzz and it was never a game. Oh well in the 20th Century Northwestern was often downtrodden. Good job Cats. And this is from an Ohio State fan.

[@paulkeilman3510]

Could have used our leading rebounder and 3 point shooter against ucon.

[@user-ct8tk9nh8z]

What's really scary about that is if we have Berry and Nicholson. We might have made this a game

[@stormyweather9917]

​@@user-ct8tk9nh8zI noticed you typed the word "if"

[@nathaniellathy6559]

​@@stormyweather9917and might

[@IPreferBagels]

Brooks is our leading rebounder, but yeah Matt would've been good

[@Dabearshhdbdb]

If Berry and Nicholson are healthy we win

[@chicagoin4963]

Hopefully they come back!!!

[@sailorsquatandhisseaman]

I don’t know about that, but it sure would have been a much tighter game. There were too many easy buckets for UConn, off the rolls and the ‘Cats couldn’t figure that out. And that is SOME talented team we played in UConn. With their performance today, they gotta be the favorite, imo. GO ‘CATS!!! 👊🏻

[@nathaniellathy6559]

They could have played 10 times and UCONN would win at least 9. Still a good season. Dusty May already knows how good Big Ten is pre expansion

[@cnett3763]

You crazy

[@itsjustacomment454]

Ifs and buts. You don't know.

[@user-ct8tk9nh8z]

A Requiem for Northwestern sports. With the addition of the PAC teams our teams ( wiith the exception of women's lacrosse) are finished. If Collins is smart he'll get out now before the losing commences.

[@karah916]

Looked at your other comments, a lot for just being on here 6 months with this troll account. Did you not get in? You seem to have a grudge.

[@user-ct8tk9nh8z]

@@karah916 Hardly a "troll" account. Although I don't know what difference that makes. 6 months or 6 years. I'm a 63 year old man who played football at NU for two years (1980-81 0-22) I've seen this program at its worst up close, and I've seen the program rise from the ashes. Unfortunately, I fear it is about to descend back to darkness. I hope that I am wrong, but I am afraid I am not

[@nathaniellathy6559]

​@user-ct8tk9nh8z easier to compete in basketball 🏀 than football. Still Cats need NIL and Transfer Portal.