After narrowly escaping in a 68-66 win over Vanderbilt, it certainly doesn’t get any easier for Northwestern. The Wildcats are dancing their way into a Round of 32 matchup against the No. 1 seed in the west, the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Northwestern’s win wasn’t necessarily pretty, but they gutted out a win. Gonzaga had a similar Round of 64 experience against the Summit League Champion South Dakota State Jackrabbits. Although Gonzaga would close out a 66-46 win, the Jackrabbits hung around far too long for comfort. Gonzaga saw itself trailing for much of the first half, and carried only a 26-22 lead at the interval.