Dave Sobolewski shares a moment with his mother before being honored prior to Tuesday's game

The Aftermath

By Jasper Scherer

What actually happened during Senior Night?

At first glance, there wasn’t a whole lot at stake Tuesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Coming in, Michigan had lost six of its last seven games and hadn’t won back-to-back contests since mid-January. Northwestern, despite recently coming off a four-game winning streak, was mostly battling for a .500 record while sitting near the bottom of the Big Ten standings. But when Chris Collins' team won in double-overtime, there seemed to be more on the line than just finishing with six in-conference wins instead of five.

The great part about sports is that even games that are essentially meaningless in terms of standings and playoff implications (other than a potential first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament) still hold plenty of importance for so many other reasons. Tuesday night was about Northwestern finishing the season strong to continue the momentum generated by that four-game winning streak. It was about sending off three seniors, two of which made major impacts on the basketball program for four seasons, in a better way than last year’s offensive disaster against Penn State on Senior Night. It was about finally beating Michigan in basketball or football, something no current student at Northwestern had seen until Tuesday night.

When Demps released his potentially game-tying three-pointer at the end of the first overtime, it felt like the ball had to go in. After all the late-game heartbreak this season – McIntosh’s missed layup against Michigan in January, the overtime loss to Michigan State, the last-minute collapse against Maryland – the players, Collins, the fans deserved something. Demps’ three clutch three-pointers, and the second overtime that followed, was that something.

We’ve all seen crazy stuff happen in sports, which is part of the reason we love watching and, as writers, love covering them. When you’re lucky enough to be a part of a special night like Tuesday, you have something to remember years down the road.

But the end of Tuesday night’s game was unlike anything in sports I’ve ever seen in person. It wasn’t just the ridiculousness of what happened on the court. Yes, Demps was basically a human torch and had a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

But there was more. Seeing JerShon Cobb have such a huge impact – 10 straight points down the stretch and then a perfect pass to Demps for the game-tying three in overtime – after such a tough senior year seemed fitting. You could tell how much this game meant to Dave Sobolewski when, in reaction to Demps’ three, he just stood on the sideline with his arms raised in triumph for a good 10 seconds, then ran out with a big smile to greet Demps. And when Collins showed up to his post-game press conference in a gray t-shirt instead of his usual suit and tie (and told reporters “You can imagine what happened in there”), we knew the locker room celebration got crazy. Not to mention, athletic director Jim Phillips probably lost about a year off his life pacing around for the better part of the overtime periods.

I remember getting chills when Vic Law hit a three-pointer in the second overtime with Northwestern up by one, and PA announcer Gary Ross’ announcement (“Vic Law for THREE”) rang through the arena. And when Demps’ second game-tying three went in, I just sat there with my mouth open. Even if I were allowed to make some sort of exclamation in press row – which is “strictly forbidden” – I’m not sure I would have out of pure shock.

Even in light of Northwestern’s 17-point loss to Iowa on Saturday, and even if the ‘Cats exit early from the Big Ten Tournament, how could Tuesday night not get you excited for 2015-16? Maybe Demps and Alex Olah, like JerShon Cobb, will go undefeated on their senior nights, too.