Northwestern University Athletics
Men's Basketball Plays Host to Boston College
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
December 22, 1998
Northwestern Wildcats (5-2)
vs. Boston College Eagles (3-6)
Wed., Dec. 23, 1998 -- 7 p.m. CST
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Radio: WGN AM 720
The Wildcats look to get back on track on Wednesday when NU plays host to Boston College. Northwestern is coming off a 63-52 loss at Seton Hall, which snapped NUs five-game win streak.
Seton Hall took control early, leading by as much as 10 points at 22-12 midway through the first half, and would hold a 26-18 margin with 6:46 left in the period. NU would permit just two baskets the remainder of the half, outscoring the Pirates 15-4 during that span to take a 33-30 halftime lead. The game remained close throughout the second half, as Seton Hall led 51-48 with 4:38 left in the game. NU was unable to keep the Pirates off the boards down the stretch, and Seton Hall came away with the victory. Evan Eschmeyer led all scorers with 22 points while Tavaras Hardy had eight boards.
Northwestern--Boston College, The Series
The Wildcats and Eagles have met three times, with BC holding a 2-1 series edge. Boston College won last years meeting in Chestnut Hill, 64-63, on a shot at the buzzer. This is the first time the two teams have faced each other in Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Wildcat Probable Starters
Pos.No. Name (height, weight, class, hometown) ppg rpg F #33 Tavaras Hardy (6-8, 210, Fr., Joliet, Ill.) 10.6 5.4 F #14 Steve Lepore (6-5, 200, Fr., North Olmstead, Ohio) 4.3 5.3 C #42 Evan Eschmeyer (6-11, 255, Sr.-6, New Knoxville, Ohio) 21.0 8.7 G #22 Sean Wink (6-2, 176, So., Brea, Calif.) 8.3 2.4 G #24 David Newman (5-11, 165, Fr., Des Moines, Iowa) 10.4 2.3Head Coach Kevin ONeillOff the bench G #4 Julian Bonner (6-1, 198, Sr., Detroit, Mich.) 2.4 1.6 F #5 Joe Harmsen (6-9, 248, Sr., Fond du Lac, Wis.) 1.3 2.3 G #10 Matt Kammrath (6-0, 185, Jr., Boca Raton, Fla.) 0.0 0.0 F #11 Danny Allouche (6-5, 200, Sr., Omer, Israel) 3.1 1.9 G #31 Nate Pomeday (6-2, 201, Sr., Cedar Grove, Wis.) 1.6 0.9 G #32 Collier Drayton (6-1, 175, Fr., Lyons, N.Y.) 0.0 3.0 C #35 Aron Molnar (6-11, 242, Jr., Mississauga, Ontario) 0.6 1.6 G #44 Jeff Eschmeyer (6-2, 192, So., New Knoxville, Ohio) 0.0 0.5
Kevin ONeill (McGill, 1979) is in his second season at the helm of the Wildcat basketball program. This is his 11th season as head coach at the Division I level and 13th overall as a collegiate head coach. He also has served as head coach at North Country CC (1980-82), Marycrest (1982-83), Marquette (1989-94) and Tennessee (1994-97).
ONeill owns a 15-19 record at NU and a 155-139 record as a Division I head coach. Known as one of the best recruiters in the nation, ONeill resurrected the Marquette and Tennessee programs, taking two teams which had not enjoyed recent success to postseason play.
Top-Notch Defense
Entering the week, the Wildcats rank second in the Big Ten in scoring defense (54.9) and lowest opponents field goal percentage (.355). Since Kevin ONeill took over the helm of the Northwestern program, the Wildcats have held opponents to fewer than 70 points in 24 of 34 contests.
In the Dec. 15 NCAA rankings, NU was eighth nationally in field goal percentage defense and 10th in scoring defense. NU is one of only three teams to rank in the NCAA top 10 in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense. The other two are Stanford and Missouri. The next NCAA rankings will not be released until January 4.
In the November 21 win against Oakland, the Wildcats set a couple of defensive standards:
The 13 points scored by Oakland in the first half tied the Welsh-Ryan Arena record for fewest points in a half, done four times previously.
Of the five times that NU has held an opponent to 13 points in a half in Welsh-Ryan Arena history, four have come since Kevin ONeill took over as head coach. Last year, NU held Chicago State, Wisconsin and Illinois to 13 points in a half.
Quick Hits
Of the 14 halves of basketball played this season by NU, the Cats have held an opponent to 30 points or less on 11 occasions. Only St. Francis, Maine and Seton Hall posted more than 30 points in a period.
NU has led at halftime every game this season.
The Wildcats have outscored opponents 235-165 in the first half, an average of 33.6-23.6 per game.
Of NUs first seven opponents, five entered this week with .500 or better records: Seton Hall (7-3), Maine (6-3), Furman (6-3), St. Francis (5-3) and Dayton (4-3). The combined record of NUs opponents this season is currently 116-67 (.634).
Sophomore forward Napoleon Harris left the team following the Seton Hall game to concentrate on football.
In Memoriam
The Wildcats will wear a patch on the left corner of their shorts for the remainder of the season bearing the initials "D.P." The patch is in memory of Don Pomeday, father of senior guard Nate Pomeday, who passed away on December 9.
Eschmeyer Among Big Ten Leaders
As of Dec. 21, sixth-year center Evan Eschmeyer ranks third in the Big Ten in both rebounds (8.7 rpg) and scoring (21.0 ppg). He enters the Boston College game with 33 career double-doubles and has scored in double figures 48-straight games.
In late November, he was named one of 31 candidates for the Oscar Robertson Award, presented by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association to the national player of the year. Eschmeyer was one of four Big Ten players on the awards preseason list (Mateen Cleaves, A.J. Guyton, Michael Redd).
While Eschmeyers offensive numbers are stellar, dont discount his work on the defensive end. In the seven games this season, opposing teams starting centers have shot just a combined 16-for-47 (.340) while averaging a mere 7.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
Watching Esch in the Record Books
Evan Eschmeyer enters the Boston College contest with 1,384 career points, good for sixth in NU history. He surpassed Jim Burns (1,368 from 1965-67) in Saturdays win at Seton Hall. Current Wildcat Assistant A.D. Shon Morris is fifth with 1,407 career points. Heres where Eschmeyer currently ranks among NUs all-time career leaders:
Category Eschmeyer Next Up FG Pct. 1st - .605 --- FT Attempts 2nd - 647 Cedric Neloms (676) FT Made 3rd - 392 Kevin Rankin (458) Blocked Shots 3rd - 97 Jim Pitts (123) Rebounds 5th - 764 Don Adams (773) Scoring 6th - 1,384 Jim Burns (1,368) Reb. Avg. 7th - 8.5 Ron Kozlicki (8.6) Scoring Avg. 9th - 15.4 Sibley/Ragelis (15.7)Eschmeyer Preseason Honors
The following are some of the preseason honors gained by Wildcat center Evan Eschmeyer:
Top candidate for the Wooden Award (L.A. Athletic Club)
Top candidate for the Naismith Award (Atlanta Tipoff Club)
Candidate for the Oscar Robertson Award (U.S.B.W.A)
Preseason All-American, CNN/SI
Preseason All-American, Street and Smiths
Preseason All-American, Athlon
Preseason All-American, Basketball News
Preseason All-American, Playboy
Preseason All-American, Blue Ribbon College Yearbook
Named the second-best center in the country by
Street & Smiths, The Sporting News and CNN/SI
"The most underrated big man in the college ranks" by
Preview Sports Publications (PSP)
Best rebounder in the Big Ten, The Sporting News
"All-Windex Team" (best rebounders in the country),
Dick Vitales College Basketball
A Wink and a Nod
Sophomore guard Sean Wink has begun to find his shooting stroke. In his first three games, Wink was just 8-for-33 (.242) from beyond the arc. However, in his last four contests, Wink has hit 7-of-15 (.467) from three-point range.
Wink has hit 101 three pointers in his 34 career games, an average of 2.9 per contest. For his career, Wink is shooting .428 (101-236) from three-point range.
Newman Coming Through in the Clutch
Freshman point guard David Newman has made several clutch plays this season down the stretch. Against St. Francis, Newman hit three pointers with 56 and 48 seconds left to tie the game at 66-66. He then followed his own missed shot on the games final possession, tipping the ball to Julian Bonner who hit the game-winning three pointer with 0.4 seconds left.
In the win against Furman, Newman hit a three pointer with 2:27 left to give NU a 56-50 lead. He also made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 48 seconds to help the Wildcats secure the victory. Against Dayton, Newman scored eight of his 11 points in the second half, all of which came in the final 10 minutes after the Flyers had cut the NU lead to three points.
Newman ranks fourth in the Big Ten in assists (3.7 apg), ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5-to-1) and tied for ninth in three-pointers made (2.1 tpg).
Big Ten Stat Leaders
Heres where the Cats rank among the Big Ten and NCAA stat leaders (Big Ten as of Dec. 21, NCAA as of Dec. 14):
Individual
Scoring: Evan Eschmeyer - 3rd Big Ten, 40th NCAA (21.0 ppg)
Rebounds: Evan Eschmeyer - t3rd (8.7 rpg)
FG Pct.: Evan Eschmeyer - 4th Big Ten, 10th NCAA (.655)
Assists: David Newman - 4th (3.7 apg)
Steve Lepore - t11th (3.0 apg)
FT Pct.: David Newman - t12th (.769)
3pt Made: Sean Wink - t9th (2.1 tpg)
David Newman - t9th (2.1 tpg)
3pt Pct.: David Newman - 8th (.429)
Blocks: Evan Eschmeyer - 6th (1.9 bpg)
Asst/TO ratio: David Newman - 9th (1.53-to-1)
Offensive Rebs: Evan Eschmeyer - 2nd (3.4 orpg)
Defensive Rebs: Evan Eschmeyer - 5th (5.3 drpg)
Team
Scoring Defense: 2nd Big Ten, 10th NCAA (54.9 ppg)
FG Pct. Defense: 2nd Big Ten, 8th NCAA (.355)
Asst/TO ratio: 3rd (1.17-to-1)
Assists: 4th (17.1 apg)
Rebound Margin: 6th (+3.9 rpg)
Home Court AdvantageIn Kevin ONeills first season as head coach, the Wildcats made Welsh-Ryan Arena a tough place to play. The Cats went 10-6 at home, the first time in a decade that NU had won 10 games in their own arena. That mark included a seven-game home winning streak.
Northwestern has a 15-7 home court record under ONeill, which is a marked improvement considering that, in the three seasons prior to ONeills arrival in Evanston, NU won just 14 home games.
Wildcats on the Air
Once again this season, WGN-AM 720 will be the radio home of Wildcat basketball. Dave Eanet handles the play-by-play chores while Joey Meyer will handle the color analysis. Every Wildcat game this season will be aired by WGN.
The Kevin ONeill Show
Once again this season, Fox Sports Chicago will air "The Kevin ONeill Show." Dave Eanet, play-by-play announcer for NU football and basketball on WGN radio, hosts the half-hour show. The next show will air Tue., Jan. 5, at 3:30 p.m. and replayed that night at 1 a.m. CST. This season, fans will have an opportunity to submit questions to Coach ONeill and have them answered on the show during the "Ask the Coach" segment. Simply go onto the Wildcat internet site at NUSPORTS.COM and click on the "Ask the Coach" button.
NCAA Recognizes Wildcat Greats
In its recently-released book "Mens Basketball Finest," the NCAA recognized three former Wildcat players and two former NU coaches. Wildcat All-Americans Otto Graham, Max Morris and Joe Reiff were among the 396 players chosen while Dutch Lonborg and Harold Olsen were among the 119 coaches to earn a place among the best in NCAA history.
Nationalism
Freshman guard Steve Lepore spent part of this past summer representing the United States at the Junior World Championship qualifying tournament in the Dominican Republic. He started all six games during the tournament, leading the USA to a perfect 6-0 record and the gold medal.
Lepore paced the team in three-point shooting, hitting 13-of-29 (.448) from beyond the arc, and was tied for the team lead with 11 steals. Lepore finished third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.8 points (in only 21 minutes) per game.
The Brothers Esch
For the second-straight season, the Wildcats will have two Eschmeyers on the team (Evan and Jeff). Last year was the first time the duo was able to play together on the same team due to the fact they are four years apart in age. In fact, Jeffs first collegiate field goal (last year vs. Minnesota) came on an assist from Evan.
Letter-of-Intent Signees
During the November early signing period, the Wildcats signed five players to National Letters of Intent to begin playing basketball at NU next season:
Winston Blake (F, 6-5, 180, Plano, Texas/Plano Senior)
Brody Deren (F, 6-7, 223, Harlan, Iowa/Harlan Comm.)
Aaron Jennings (C, 6-11, 200, Atkins, Iowa/Benton Comm.)
Ben Johnson (G, 6-3, 180, Minneapolis, Minn./De La Salle)
Adam Robinson (F, 6-10, 210, Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls)
Johnson (No. 60) and Blake (No. 95) are each ranked among the top 100 players in the country by Bob Gibbons. Deren was "Southwest Iowa Player of the Year" as a junior, while Jennings and Robinson were both named All-Americans this season by various publications.
Coaches vs. Cancer Head coach Kevin ONeill is one of several coaches across the country who have joined together to help the fight against cancer. Fans are asked to pledge a certain amount of money for each assist the Wildcats make throughout the 1998-99 season. ONeill will personally donate $5 for every assist this season to Coaches vs. Cancer. Fans can pick up pledge forms and brochures in the Welsh-Ryan Arena lobby during all home games.
Wildcat Season Bests
#4 Julian Bonner
Points: 8 vs. St. Francis (11/25/98)
Rebounds: 4 at Seton Hall (12/19/98)
Assists: 3 vs. Oakland (11/21/98) and
vs. Dayton (12/5/98)
#5 Joe Harmsen
Points: 2 four times,
last at Seton Hall (12/19/98)
Rebounds: 4 three times,
last at Seton Hall (12/19/98)
#10 Matt Kammrath
Points: none
Rebounds: none
#11 Danny Allouche
Points: 7 vs. UW-Milwaukee (12/14/98)
Rebounds: 4 vs. St. Francis (11/25/98)
#14 Steve Lepore
Points: 13 vs. Oakland (11/21/98)
Rebounds: 12 vs. St. Francis (11/25/98)
Assists: 5 vs. St. Francis (11/25/98) and
Furman (11/28/98)
Steals: 3 vs. Maine (11/17/98)
#22 Sean Wink
Points: 13 vs. UW-Milwaukee (12/14/98)
Rebounds: 5 vs. Furman (11/28/98)
Assists: 4 at Seton Hall (12/19/98)
3pt. FG: 4 vs. Oakland (11/21/98)
#24 David Newman
Points: 22 vs. Furman (11/28/98)
Rebounds: 5 vs. Furman (11/28/98)
Assists: 8 vs. Maine (11/17/98)
3pt. FG: 5 vs. Furman (11/28/98)
#31 Nate Pomeday
Points: 6 vs. UW-Milwaukee (12/14/98)
Rebounds: 2 three times,
last vs. UW-Milwaukee (12/14/98)
3pt. FG: 2 vs. UW-Milwaukee (12/14/98)
#32 Collier Drayton
Points: none
Rebounds: 3 vs. Oakland (11/21/98)
#33 Tavaras Hardy
Points: 18 vs. Oakland (11/21/98)
Rebounds: 10 vs. Oakland (11/21/98)
Assists: 4 vs. St. Francis (11/25/98)
#35 Aron Molnar
Points: 2 vs. St. Francis (11/25/98)
Rebounds: 5 vs. Oakland (11/21/98)
#42 Evan Eschmeyer
Points: 28 vs. St. Francis (11/25/98) and
vs. Dayton (12/5/98)
Rebounds: 13 vs. Oakland (11/21/98)
Assists: 4 vs. Dayton (12/5/98)
Blocks: 3 vs. Maine (11/17/98) and
vs. Dayton (12/5/98)
#44 Jeff Eschmeyer
Points: none
Rebounds: 1 vs. UW-Milwaukee (12/14/98)
