EVANSTON, Ill. _ Doug Collins, you can breathe again. Same for every Northwestern fan who pumped oxygen into Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday night.
The atmosphere in Evanston was electric, and head coach Chris Collins (Doug's son) and the Wildcats responded with a crazy, 67-65 victory over Michigan that ended with a mass of purple-clothed fans on the floor.
With 1.7 seconds left, Nate Taphorn fired a full-court pass that center Dererk Pardon collected near the basket. His layup led to an uproarious celebration _ even more so after the PA announcer bellowed: "Upon Further Review ... the basket is good!"
Northwestern won for a school-record 21st time and, more significantly, might have just ended one of the saddest droughts in sports.
That 0-for-78 run of making the NCAA Tournament? It's probably history after beating a Michigan team that could also end up dancing.
This could go down as the greatest game in Welsh-Ryan Arena _ and it was among the most entertaining, featuring a bevy of emotional swings and some odd rulings by the officials.
Vic Law came back to life after a month-long slump, scoring 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Pardon had nine points and eight rebounds.
The Wildcats turned it over 10 times in the first half but just twice in the second. Years from now, few will remember these numbers.
But everyone here will remember the vibe.
