Northwestern had something of a bruised resume coming into the season with five consecutive losing seasons, though none of it was tied to lack of effort.

It happens, and the Wildcats felt every bit of the difficult task that is competing in the Big Ten Conference. Then, after producing their best conference finish since 1959, the Wildcats didn’t bound into this postseason as much as they stumbled in, losing four of their last five games.

Now there’s a new sense of optimism after the No. 7-seeded Wildcats beat No. 10 Boise State 75-67 on Thursday night in the Sacramento sub-regional at Golden 1 Center.

It’s the second tournament win for the program in just its second tournament appearance. The first NCAA Tournament entry was in 2017 under coach Chris Collins, who then endured those five tough campaigns, though he never wavered.

Collins, the son of former NBA coach Doug Collins, implored his team to settle down with about eight minutes to play against a Boise State team that was eager to win its first-ever NCAA Tournament game. The Wildcats responded behind senior guards Boo Buie and Chase Audige, who scored 22 and 20 points, respectively, as Northwestern moved to 22-11 and into Saturday’s second- round game at Golden 1 against No. 2 UCLA, which rolled UNC Asheville in the late game.

“Emotions are high in these games,” Collins said. “Everyone’s excited. I just wanted those guys to see a look of strength on the sideline. The worst thing they can do is look over there and see me being a lunatic.”

Collins was adamant that there was no monkey on his program’s back, or his. Northwestern will forever be known more for its academics than basketball, not that they cannot go hand-in-hand.

“No relief — all joy,” Collins said. “It’s really hard to get here, especially when you play in the Big Ten. What we compete against in our conference, the 14 teams, night in and night out, the games you have to win to just get here. There’s no relief at all. It’s joy. I’m so proud of this team. I’ve said it all year long. I can be really happy, but I’m happy for these guys, man, they’ve been so loyal to this program. They’ve stayed true to our mission. They’ve stayed true to the course we were on. They stuck through the heavy waters at times.”

He added: “When you get to this point now, it’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.

Max Rice, son of Boise State coach Leon Rice, had 17 points for the Broncos, who fell to 0-9 in NCAA Tournament play.

Buie said he is thankful to his coach to get a taste of March Madness.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Coach,” he said. “I was super under-recruited (coming out of high school). He gave me my first and only high major scholarship. It was my commitment since Day One to help him out and just do anything I could. He put the ball in my hands since a freshman. He just believed in me. Each year I’ve gotten better. He’s helped me get better, helped me see the game, read it, slow it down for me.”

Audige said Doug Collins has been an invaluable resource of support and insight. Players call him Papa Doug.

“He calls me all the time, checking in on me,” Audige said. “You really feel the love. When he comes to the practice gym, it’s like everybody’s mood just shifts because he’s such a great presence to have around.”

Northwestern wears purple, and some fans draped in colors that match the Sacramento Kings wondered if Golden 1 might fire off a beam for their efforts.

“I can’t talk enough about the (crowd) support,” Buie said. “ To travel across the country and just see so much purple is just unbelievable. It means so much.”

UCLA 86, UNC Asheville 53: The second-seeded Bruins led 14-0, had a season-high 24 assists and were never threatened in routing the No. 15 Bulldogs, who dropped to 0-5 in the NCAA round of 64.

Pac-12 Player of the Year Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 points, Amari Bailey also had 17 and David Singleton 11 for the Bruins (30-5), who are in the tournament for the 52nd time and emphatically avoided the same opening-day fate as fellow No. 2 seed and Pac-12 rival Arizona. The Wildcats lost to No. 15 Princeton 59-55 in the second of four first-round games at Golden 1.

UNC Asheville came into the game with a nine-game winning streak and a schoolrecord 27 victories.

Bruins coach Mick Cronin downplayed the Princeton shocker.

“It has no bearing on us,” he said. “We don’t believe in false motivation, so we don’t believe that you need your home crowd to win. We don’t believe you need two starters to win. We believe that you need toughness and togetherness, playing hard and smart. There’s always a way to win.”

Saturday’s second-round games: No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 15 Princeton, 3:10 p.m. (TNT) No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 7 Northwestern, 5:40 p.m. (TNT)