Northwestern will look to bounce back from its first loss of the season when it faces Georgia on Tuesday night in the third-place game at the Roman Legends Classic in Newark, N.J.
The Wildcats (4-1) fell 77-72 against Providence in their tournament opener on Monday night.
Down by 18 with 11:22 remaining, Northwestern made a push to get within five twice in the final minute before the Friars sealed the game at the free-throw line.
Boo Buie had a game-high 23 points while Pete Nance added 20 as the duo combined for nearly 60 percent of the Wildcats’ offense. Ryan Young contributed nine points off the Northwestern bench.
“They’ve been a really good one-two punch for us, and certainly we’re going to need to have that going forward,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said recently about Buie and Nance.
Georgia (2-3) has dropped two in a row and three of its last four following a 65-55 setback against Virginia to open the event on Monday.
Braelen Bridges had 14 points and Jailyn Ingram posted 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs, but they couldn’t overcome a game-high 23 points from Virginia’s Armaan Franklin.
“We knew he would be a tough matchup because of how aggressive he is, how well he attacks the rim,” Bulldogs coach Tom Crean said, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, about Franklin.
The Bulldogs led 48-47 after Tyron McMillian’s dunk with 7:18 to play before the Cavaliers ended the game on an 18-7 run. Kario Oquendo scored all seven of Georgia’s points in that span.
Virginia committed only four turnovers, compared to 16 for Georgia.
The loss denied Crean his 400th career victory. The 55-year-old coach is in his fourth season at Georgia after spending nine seasons apiece at Indiana and Marquette. He is 399-283 overall, 43-52 since taking over in Athens, Ga.
The Bulldogs and Wildcats will be meeting for the first time.
–Field Level Media
