Penn State is moving on, surviving a wild finish Friday night in overtime against Northwestern. As a result, the 10-seed Nittany Lions will join 13-seed Ohio State as double-digit seeds in the semifinals on Saturday.

Friday’s game was a true back-and-forth affair all the way to overtime and into the final seconds of the game. With Penn State unable to put the game out of reach from the free-throw line, Northwestern had a chance to potentially tie the game trailing 67-64.

Instead of giving up a game-tying 3-point attempt, Penn State opted to foul Boo Buie and put him on the free-throw line. Buie drained the first one and then intentionally missed the second.

A scrum ensued off the rebound and Northwestern actually got a shot off at a game-winning 3-point field goal try. Unfortunately, Chase Audige felt the time was running out and tried an off-balance shot instead of settling and shooting.

Even with the off-balance try, Audige nearly buried the jumper, but the Nittany Lions hung on for the win. Here’s the frantic finish:

Impact for NCAA Tournament

While playing for a B1G Tournament title would have been a nice feather in the cap, Northwestern’s stance for the NCAA Tournament was already assured heading into the weekend. As for Penn State, the Nittany Lions should be squarely off the bubble and in the final field for the big dance.

Micah Shrewsberry’s team was already trending toward a bid heading into Chicago. With wins over Illinois and Northwestern, the Nittany Lions are in great shape entering Saturday.