Broncos

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) &mdash;&nbsp;Boo Buie scored 22 points&nbsp;to lead Northwestern to a win in the school&rsquo;s second appearance ever in the NCAA Tournament, 75-67 over Boise State on Thursday.
The seventh-seeded Wildcats (22-11) previously made it to the Big Dance in 2017, and just like that time, they made sure they wouldn&rsquo;t be one-and-done.
&ldquo;All joy. No relief. It&rsquo;s really hard to get here, especially when you play in the Big Ten,&rdquo; coach Chris Collins said. &ldquo;When you get to this point now, it&rsquo;s so rewarding and so joyful as a coach to see these guys celebrating and to be on the big stage like that playing well, finding a way to win and advance in the NCAA Tournament.&rdquo;
Northwestern never trailed in a game that was close most of the way and advanced to play second-seeded UCLA in the second round of the West Region.
The 10th-seeded Broncos (24-10) are still searching for their first tournament win, losing their opener for the ninth time in as many tries.&nbsp;Max Rice scored 17 points&nbsp;to lead Boise State and Naje Smith added 14.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anyone expected us to be here,&rdquo; Rice said. &ldquo;I still think it was an amazing season. Obviously we wanted to get our first win in the tournament. But they played good tonight. They played better than us tonight and made a bunch of big shots. But that doesn&rsquo;t take away from what we&rsquo;ve done this year.&rdquo;
Chase Audige added 20 points for the Wildcats and Ty Berry scored 13, including three 3-pointers.
The Bulldogs fell behind by 10 points early but fought back to tie the game at 40 early in the second half when Rice hit his second 3-pointer of the half.
The game was tight most of the way before Northwestern finally built the lead back to 10 on a tip-in by Brooks Barnhizer with 3:15 to go.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t break down,&rdquo; Audige said. &ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t screaming. We might have screamed at each other, but it was a good type of like, &lsquo;C&rsquo;mon, let&rsquo;s be better.&rsquo; I think every single time we just executed, whether we missed a shot or made it, we got a shot we wanted or liked.&rdquo;
TOUGH IT OUT
Broncos guard Marcus Shaver Jr. had to be helped off the court after going down with an apparent leg injury late in the first half. He came out of locker room late after halftime and returned to the game.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s courageous, he&rsquo;s tough, and he didn&rsquo;t want to let these guys down, us down,&rdquo; coach Leon Rice said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just unfortunate.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Boise State: With four returning starters from last year&rsquo;s tournament team, including three seniors, the Broncos hoped this year&rsquo;s team could be the one finally to break through. They fell to 0-4 in the tournament under Rice.
Northwestern: After finishing second in the Big Ten for the first time since the 1958-59 season, the Wildcats made sure this special season wouldn&rsquo;t come to an early finish. Northwestern lost in the second round to Gonzaga in 2017 after beating Vanderbilt in its tournament debut.
UP NEXT
Northwestern is seeking its first trip to the Sweet 16.

Boo Buie scored 22 points to lead Northwestern to a 75-67 win over Boise State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

Northwestern beats Boise State 75-67 in NCAA Tournament

ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; The Boston Celtics were missing two key members of their rotation.
There was no shortage of players to fill the void.
<a href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1593054723845652486">Jaylen Brown scored 22 points</a> to lead a balanced attack and the East-leading Celtics stretched their winning streak to eight with a 126-101 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
The Celtics were missing <a href="https://apnews.com/article/boston-celtics-atlanta-hawks-nba-sports-malcolm-brogdon-fb2560e774c667919a78f893cc64606c">injured guards Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon</a>. It hardly mattered.
<a href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1593070151959687169">Led by Brown</a>, the Celtics put seven players in double figures. Jayson Tatum had 19, Grant Williams 18, Derrick White 16, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet 15 apiece, and <a href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1593058672833273856">Payton Pritchard</a> 14.
White also had 10 assists, Kornet went 7 of 7 from the field, and Hauser did all his scoring on a 5-of-6 performance from 3-point range.
&ldquo;We've got a lot of guys who can do a lot of things to help us win games,&rdquo; White said. &ldquo;We trust every person on this roster. When they come in, they do good things for us. It's a long season, there's gonna be injuries, people out. We're gonna need everybody.&rdquo;
The Hawks were coming off <a href="https://apnews.com/article/atlanta-hawks-milwaukee-bucks-nba-sports-800cfa3e48837cb0e7c303f3d3644edb">a big win at Milwaukee</a> and eager to show they could challenge the best in the conference.
Not on this night.
Boston took control in the first quarter against the cold-shooting Hawks, whose occasional spurts <a href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1593064180298285056">were quickly snuffed out</a> by the Celtics' stifling defense.
<a href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1593063712897650688">Trae Young led the Hawks</a> with 27 points, but was held to 10-of-23 shooting, including a mere 2 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Shooting has been a problem for the Hawks early in the season &mdash; quite a change from their high-scoring offense of a year ago.
&ldquo;We thinking about it too much,&rdquo; Young said. &ldquo;It's just a matter of going out there and playing, playing free, getting back to playing with confidence."
Even without two key members of their rotation, the Celtics shot 54.5% from the field and knocked down 21 3-pointers.
Since a loss to Golden State in last season's NBA Finals, Boston's backups have been eager to make up for a poor showing by the bench and a perceived lack of depth.
&ldquo;It gets a little fire going,&rdquo; Hauser said. &ldquo;Everyone has kind of taken it personal a little bit.&rdquo;
The Hawks got a glimpse of what this game would be like in the very first quarter. They connected on just 8 of 24 shots, missing all six of their attempts beyond the 3-point stripe, and quickly fell into a double-digit hole.
The Celtics led by as many as 16 points before the Hawks shaved into the deficit, trailing 62-53 at halftime. But Boston regained control in the third quarter and turned it into a total blowout down the stretch.
WHITE VS MURRAY
White, who was traded from San Antonio to the Celtics last February, got his first chance to go against former teammate Dejounte Murray.
The Hawks acquired Murray from the rebuilding Spurs over the summer. He had 19 points against the Celtics.
&ldquo;I've got a lot of love for him,&rdquo; White said. &ldquo;I know he's an ultimate competitor. I wanted to compete right back him.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Celtics: Brogdon missed his fourth straight game with an ailing right hamstring, while Smart was ruled out with right ankle inflammation. ... Former Hawks C Al Horford led the Celtics with 11 rebounds.
Hawks: Young made his 294th career start, tying Paul Millsap for 17th on the franchise career list. ... Atlanta was held to 18 points in the first quarter, its second-lowest output in a period this season. The Hawks managed only 17 points in the second quarter of a Nov. 10 game against Philadelphia.
UP NEXT
Celtics: At New Orleans on Friday night.
Hawks: At Toronto on Saturday night.

The Celtics were missing injured guards Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon. It hardly mattered.