Northwestern football players Clayton Thorson and Cameron Green aimed to rekindle what had happened in Welsh-Ryan Arena the night before.
Following a game-winning shot Wednesday night, the Northwestern Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament dry spell could be broken after a miraculous ending versus Michigan.
Nathan Taphorn threaded a full-court pass to Derek Pardon who nailed the shot as time expired. All of this took place in 1.7 seconds. NU edged the Wolverines, 67-65, to notch its 21st win of the season. A sea of purple on top of jubilation stormed the court in the Wildcats second-to-last home game of the regular season.
In black jerseys with gold trimming, the Wildcats pulled themselves out of a rough February. Coming into the Michigan game, NU had lost five of its last seven games, including a surprising loss to Indiana.
Earlier today, Northwestern’s athletics Twitter account captured quarterback Clayton Thorson and wide receiver Cameron Green attempting to relive the sequence. Unlike Wednesday night, this replay took place with eight less people on the court and not one soul in the stands. However, Pardon and Taphorn were on site to witness the recreation.
Furthermore, the duo of Thorson and Green were unsuccessful in completing the biggest shot in Northwestern basketball history. Pardon and Taphorn looked on in disbelief as the football players’ were not able to complete the play in the first try.
Ironically, NU basketball boasts one of the oldest programs in the country (1901), but it has not ever participated in the NCAA Tournament.
Northwestern has now won 10 games in Big Ten play for the first time since the 1932-33 season. It also posted its first winning record in the conference since 1967-68.
The ‘Cats play host to Purdue on Sunday to finish up the regular season. Many followers and fans of Northwestern are dubbing the epic outcome, “The Play”.