Photos by Blake Dover and Ziyi Liu
Vanderbilt’s season came to an end in Salt Lake City as it dropped a 68-66 nail-biter to the Northwestern Wildcats on Thursday.
The Vanderbilt season concludes with a 19-16 record and a brief appearance in the Big Dance.
The Commodores started the game off sloppy, struggling to convert on offensive opportunities and failing to get stops on the defensive side of the ball. Northwestern shot 49 percent for the game and 43 percent from three; Matthew Fisher-Davis led the Commodores with 22 points, but Vanderbilt struggled to defend Northwestern’s Bryant McIntosh (25 points).
After falling behind by as many as 15 points in the second half, the Commodores rallied and clung to a one-point lead with 15 seconds left in the game. As the Wildcats brought the ball up, Fisher-Davis mistakenly fouled McIntosh to send him to the free-throw line.
Vanderbilt’s last-second heave sailed wide, as Northwestern moves on to face Gonzaga after winning its first NCAA tournament game in school history.
