Buie, Audige Lead Northwestern Into Pivotal Big Ten Battle Against Revenge-Seeking Hoosiers

Northwestern was picked to finish 13th in the Big Ten, but the Wildcats enter Wednesday's game tied for second place after beating No. 1 Purdue. Veteran guards Boo Buie and Chase Audige are a major reason for Northwestern's success, and they have Indiana coach Mike Woodson's focus ahead of Wednesday's battle for second place in the Big Ten.

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern trailed Purdue for 37-plus minutes on Sunday at Welsh Ryan Arena.

Purdue center Zach Edey battled through physical double-teams to score 24 points and grab eight rebounds, and the Boilermakers' lead hovered between four and 10 points throughout the game.

Previous Northwestern teams might have folded, but coach Chris Collins said he's seen improved maturity and poise this year, especially from lead guards Boo Buie and Chase Audige. With the second half clock ticking below two minutes, Audige, who missed nine 3-pointers in this game, remained confident and sunk a 3 to give Northwestern its first lead since the first possession of the game. 

With Purdue desperate for a bucket, Buie stole the ball from Braden Smith – Purdue's 15th turnover – then sunk two free throws at the other end. 12 seconds later, the Wildcats were swarmed by fans storming the court as Northwestern took down No. 1 Purdue, 64-58. 

Northwestern held Purdue to 21 points in the second half and just seven points in the final seven minutes. Heading into Wednesday's matchup, Indiana coach Mike Woodson was impressed with Northwestern's second-half defense against Purdue.

"I thought Purdue was pretty much in control," Woodson said Monday. "Coming down the homestretch, man, that last six, seven minutes, that's when you have to buckle down and figure it out on both ends. Northwestern did with their defense, man. They started making shots. I mean, it was a hell of a game. I thought Purdue was in the driver seat for a while, but Northwestern changed it with their defense."

Led by Buie and Audige, a Northwestern team that was picked to finish 13th in the Big Ten preseason poll now stands at 18-7 overall and 9-5 in conference play, good for a second-place tie with Indiana. Collins has seen flashes from Buie and Audige since they joined the team before the 2019-20 season, but he said their improved decision making, shot selection and leadership has elevated Northwestern this year.

"It's great when we're in huddles late in games just to hear [Buie and Audige] be the ones talking, leading, directing," Collins said Monday on Big Ten Network. "You hope to have that be the case when you have senior guards, and that's really come to fruition with these guys. Their experience and maturity is really paying off."

Buie is averaging career-highs in nearly every category, and he's developed into one of the top guards in the Big Ten in his fourth season as a Wildcat. The 6-foot-2 guard from Albany, N.Y. scores 16.6 points with 4.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. His 3-point shooting has dipped to 29.1 percent this season, but his overall field goal percentage is nearly identical from last season. He also leads the Big Ten with an 88.2 free throw percentage.

Next to Buie in the backcourt, Audige is having a career year as well. The 6-foot-4 guard from Coram, N.Y. averages 15.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and shoots 33.3 percent on 3-point attempts. Audige is tied with Rutgers' Caleb McConnell for the Big Ten lead in steals per game at 2.5, making him a candidate for the Big Ten All-Defensive team. After Sunday's loss, Purdue coach Matt Painter commented on Audige's noticeable improvements this year. 

"He's a streaky guy," Painter said. "He's a guy that can take bad shots and be on your team and then take bad shots and be on their team. That's just the way he is. The thing that he has done for that team is how hard he's played and how he's defended. He didn't defend like that last year, and he didn't defend like that the year before. And that's where the difference is. He plays hard the whole game, and he defends the whole game. As a coach, you can live with some bad shots when you play hard and you defend, and he's really helping them."

With Buie and Audige, Northwestern is the only team with two players in the top 10 in points per game in the the Big Ten.

"Their chemistry with each other, it's really cool when you have a backcourt like that that can play off of each other," Collins said. "They feed off of each other. The guys on our team know that they're the guys, and they play their roles around them at a really good level."

The duo scored 26 and 15 points, respectively, against Purdue, and they were a big reason why Northwestern took down Indiana 84-83 on Jan. 8 at Assembly Hall. Buie finished that game with 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting, and Audige scored 19 points with eight assists and six steals.

Northwestern led Indiana by 13 points with three minutes remaining, but freshman point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino led a storming comeback with a career-high 33 points. Trayce Jackson-Davis racked up 18 points and 24 rebounds and Trey Galloway sunk a half-court shot at the buzzer, but the Hoosiers fell one point short of a miraculous comeback.

On Monday, Woodson said he thought Indiana outplayed Northwestern in the second half, but the Wildcats built a cushion substantial enough to withstand the Hoosiers' late surge. Indiana is seeking to avenge that loss on Wednesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena, and for Woodson, it starts on the defensive end. 

"Those two guards, man, they're two of the best, I think, combo guards in the Big Ten," Woodson said. "I thought they hurt us here. Our focus has just got to be, we got to go in with a defensive mentality."

Entering the first matchup, Indiana held a 1-2 record and Northwestern was 2-1 in Big Ten play. And now, with less than a month left in the regular season, the Hoosiers and Wildcats are tied for second place in the Big Ten ahead of Wednesday night's game at Welsh-Ryan Arena. 

"Hey, it's going to be a dogfight," Woodson said. "They're playing in front of their crowd, their fan base. I'm just anxious to see what we made of when we get there."

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