It was this time last year that guard Ryan Langborg was well on his way to leading Princeton to a spot in the Sweet 16.
He could now very well be doing the same thing with Northwestern after transferring ahead of the 2023-24 college basketball season.
Taking on Florida Atlantic in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, the Wildcats found themselves in a major fight. Sitting as the ninth seed in the East Region, Northwestern was forced to overtime.
That’s when Langborg went absolutely nuts. It’s not hyperbole. He dominated the extra stanza en route to leading Northwestern to a 77-65 win and a Round 2 matchup with the top-seeded UConn Huskies.
The kid dropped 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field, including two dagger threes.
This is not foreign territory for the guard. It was last season that he scored 22 points in a second-round upset win over Missouri. The following game saw Langborg connect for 26 points despite Princeton falling to Creighton. He’s now just the second player in NCAA Tournament history to score 25-plus points for two different schools.
- Ryan Langborg stats (Thursday): 27 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, two steals, 11-of-19 shooting
It seems as if the Southern California native saw this coming one day before taking to the court on Friday.
“What I think that helps us with is playing with no regard for human life,” Langborg said on Thursday. “Leave everything on the court. Blood, sweat, tears. Last ride, so no regrets.”
Well, he played with no regard for Florida Atlantic’s basketball life in the extra period on Friday.
Related: Everything you need to know about the NCAA Tournament
Social media reactions to Ryan Langborg’s latest NCAA Tournament appearance
Reactions were just great.