Northwestern University Athletics
Men's Basketball Squad Looks to Continue Winning Ways
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
January 11, 1999
Evanston, Ill. - Northwestern looks to continue its winning ways on Wednesday when the Wildcats face the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington, Ind. Indiana is ranked 20th in the latest ESPN/USA Today coaches poll and 23rd by AP.
NU is coming off back-to-back Big Ten road wins last week. The 'Cats victory at No. 16 Minnesota was their first win in Williams Arena since 1986, while the win at Illinois on Saturday was NU's first victory at Assembly Hall since 1979.
The Wildcats never trailed against the Fighting Illini. NU opened the scoring with a three-pointer by Julian Bonner and took the lead for good at 5-3 on two free throws by Tavaras Hardy. NU used four three-pointers in the first 4:20 of the game, two by Bonner and two by Sean Wink, to take a 14-5 lead. The 'Cats eventually led 33-18 at halftime. The lead would swell to 19 points (43-24) with 16:04 remaining before the Illini began chipping away. With 5:26 remaining, the lead was down to eight points (49-41), before Evan Eschmeyer putback a rebound to push the margin to 10 points. The Wildcat defense would hold the Illini to just five points in the final 5 1/2 minutes as NU brought home the victory.
Evan Eschmeyer notched his fifth double-double in the last seven games, scoring 16 points while adding season-highs of 17 rebounds and five assists. Wink tallied 12 points on four three-pointers while Hardy scored nine points and grabbed seven boards.
Northwestern Wildcats (9-3, 2-1 Big Ten)
at #20/23 Indiana Hoosiers (14-5, 1-3 Big Ten)
Wed., Jan. 13, 1999 -- 5 p.m. CST
Radio: WGN AM 720
TV: ESPN Regional
Wildcat Probable Starters
Pos. No. Name (height, weight, class, hometown) ppg rpg F #33 Tavaras Hardy (6-8, 210, Fr., Joliet, Ill.) 8.6 5.1 C #42 Evan Eschmeyer (6-11, 255, Sr.-6, New Knoxville, Ohio) 19.8 10.1 G #4 Julian Bonner (6-1, 198, Sr., Detroit, Mich.) 3.9 2.4 G #22 Sean Wink (6-2, 176, So., Brea, Calif.) 10.3 2.3 G #24 David Newman (5-11, 165, Fr., Des Moines, Iowa) 8.6 2.3
Off the bench
F #5 Joe Harmsen (6-9, 248, Sr., Fond du Lac, Wis.) 1.0 1.9
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 2.4
F #14 Steve Lepore (6-5, 200, Fr., North Olmstead, Ohio) 4.5 4.5
G #31 Nate Pomeday (6-2, 201, Sr., Cedar Grove, Wis.) 1.7 0.7
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) 1.5 2.1
G #44 Jeff Eschmeyer (6-2, 192, So., New Knoxville, Ohio) 0.0 0.5
WILDCAT QUICK FACTS
Location 1501 Central Street, Evanston, Ill. 60208
Enrollment 7,400 undergraduates
Colors Purple and White
President Henry S. Bienen
Athletic Director Rick Taylor
Home Arena (Capacity) Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Season 94th, starting in 1904-05
Head Coach Kevin O'Neill
Years as Head Coach 2nd at NU, 11th in Div. 1, 13th overall
Record at NU 19-20
Division I Coaching Record 159-140
Overall Career Record (All Years) 179-161
1997-98 Record 10-17
1997-98 Big Ten Record/Finish 3-13 (t9th)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost 9/1
Starters Returning/Lost 4/1
Northwestern-Indiana, The Series
This marks the 134th meeting in the all-time series between Indiana and Northwestern, with the Hoosiers holding a 95-39 series lead.
Head Coach Kevin O'Neill
Kevin O'Neill (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).
O'Neill owns a 19-20 record at NU and a 159-140 record as a Division I head coach. Known as one of the best recruiters in the nation, O'Neill resurrected the Marquette and Tennessee programs, taking two teams which had not enjoyed recent success to postseason play.
The Nation's Top Defense
The biggest reason for Northwestern's good start has been the team's work on the defensive end of the floor. The Wildcats have adopted a 'blue collar' approach to defense, diving after loose balls and making the hustle plays necessary to win games.
The Wildcats lead the NCAA in field goal percentage defense (.341). They also lead the Big Ten and are ranked third in the country in scoring defense (53.6). The Wildcats' three Big Ten opponents, thus far, have averaged only 51.0 ppg and are shooting .327 against the NU defense.
Here's what NU has done to some top offensive teams:
Quick Hits
Eschmeyer Named Big Ten Player of the Week
Evan Eschmeyer was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday after leading the Wildcats to back-to-back Big Ten road victories at 16th-ranked Minnesota and at Illinois. Eschmeyer tallied 24 points and 15 rebounds in the win over the Golden Gophers. He followed that with a 16-point, 17-rebound, five-assist performance at Illinois.
It is the second time this season that Eschmeyer has earned conference player of the week honors. On December 28, he was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week after recording double-doubles in NU's games against Boston College (23p, 10r) and Long Beach State (16p, 13r). In the two games, 'Esch' went 21-for-25 (.840) from the free throw line.
Eschmeyer Leads the Big Ten -- Times Three
Evan Eschmeyer enters the week atop the Big Ten in three statistical categories: rebounds (10.1 rpg), field goal percentage (.611) and double-doubles (seven). He also is tied for third in the Big Ten in scoring (19.8 ppg). Eschmeyer enters the Indiana game with 36 career double-doubles and has scored in double figures 53-straight games.
More on Eschmeyer
Evan Eschmeyer has scored 880 career points against Big Ten Conference competition. He is looking to become just the second Wildcat ever to record 1,000 Big Ten points. Billy McKinney is the only NU player to accomplish the feat.
On December 29, he was named to the mid-season top 30 team for the John Wooden Award, which is presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club to the national player of the year. Eschmeyer was one of only two true centers to earn a spot on the list (Washington's Todd MacCulloch).
Watching Esch in the Record Books
With his 15 rebounds against Minnesota, Evan Eschmeyer surpassed Jim Pitts for third on NU's all-time rebounding chart. Here's where Eschmeyer currently ranks among NU's all-time career leaders:
Category Eschmeyer Next Up FG Pct. 1st - .601 --- FT Attempts 1st - 706 --- FT Made 3rd - 438 Kevin Rankin (458) Blocked Shots 3rd - 102 Jim Pitts (123) Rebounds 3rd - 824 Joe Ruklick (868) Scoring 5th - 1,474 Cedric Neloms (1,533) Reb. Avg. 6th - 8.7 Willie Jones (9.0) Scoring Avg. 9th - 15.5 Sibley/Ragelis (15.7)
Wink Leads the Big Ten in Three-Pointers
Sophomore guard Sean Wink enters the week atop the Big Ten in three pointers made, averaging 2.83 per game. In his last nine contests, Wink has hit 26-of-54 (.481) from three-point range. Wink has hit 120 three pointers in his 38 career games, the third-most threes in school history. For his career, Wink is shooting .436 (120-275) from three-point range.
Against Boston College, Wink hit 6-of-12 from three-point range, marking the fifth time in his brief NU career that he has hit six three-pointers. All five of those have come at home, the most recent being last season vs. Ohio State. Wink also hit five three-pointers against Long Beach State and four in each of last week's games at Minnesota and at Illinois.
Home Court Advantage
In Kevin O'Neill's two seasons as head coach, the Wildcats have made Welsh-Ryan Arena a tough place to play. NU has a 17-8 home court record under O'Neill, which is a marked improvement considering that, in the three seasons prior to O'Neill's arrival in Evanston, NU won just 14 home games.
Last year, 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.
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.
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.
WILDCAT QUICK FACTS
NCAA Recognizes Wildcat Greats
In its recently-released book 'Men's 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.
Coaches vs. Cancer
Head coach Kevin O'Neill 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. O'Neill 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.
Ask the Coach
Fans have an opportunity to submit questions to Kevin O'Neill and have them answered either on his weekly television show on Fox Sports Chicago or following games on WGN radio. Go to the Wildcat web site at NUSPORTS.COM and click on the special "Ask the Coach" link.
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 O'Neill Show
Once again this season, Fox Sports Chicago will air 'The Kevin O'Neill Show.' Dave Eanet, play-by-play announcer for NU football and basketball on WGN radio, hosts the half-hour show. Next week's show will air Tue., Jan. 19, at 3:30 p.m. and replayed that night at 9:30 p.m. CST.
Wildcats on the Web
Complete statistics and releases on Wildcat basketball will be available throughout the season on Northwestern's official internet site. The web address is WWW.NUSPORTS.COM. Information on the Big Ten Conference is available on the conference web site at www.bigten.org.
#4 Julian Bonner - Has started the past five games after coming off the bench in the first seven ... Started every game last season at point guard ... Hit the game-winning three pointer against St. Francis with 0.4 seconds remaining on the clock ... Ranks ninth in NU history with 238 career assists ... Ranks fifth in NU history with 91 career three pointers.
#5 Joe Harmsen - Reserve power forward/center ... Grabbed season-high four rebounds against Oakland, Dayton and Seton Hall.
#10 Matt Kammrath - Walk-on ... Saw game action vs. Oakland and UW-Milwaukee this season.
#11 Danny Allouche - Tallied season-bests of seven points vs. UWM and five rebounds against Long Beach State ... Reserve forward ... Sat out last season after transferring from Missouri.
#14 Steve Lepore - Started the first seven games ... Crashes the boards hard ... Excellent all-around game ... Hit three three-pointers in the win at Minnesota and two more treys at Illinois ... Also had six boards against the Fighting Illini.
#22 Sean Wink - NU's top three-point threat ... Has hit 120 career three pointers ... Hit six three-pointers against Boston College, tying his career best ... Also nailed five three-pointers against Long Beach State and four treys against Oakland, Minnesota and Illinois ... Set the NU single-season three-point mark (86) as a freshman.
#24 David Newman - Starting point guard as a true freshman ... Tallied a season-best 22 points and five rebounds against Furman ... Dished eight assists in his collegiate debut against Maine ... Has come through in several clutch situations this season.
#31 Nate Pomeday - Reserve shooting guard ... Plays with a lot of heart and emotion ... One of the team's most vocal leaders ... Has hit at least one three pointer in four of the last seven games, all coming off the bench.
#32 Collier Drayton - Extremely quick athlete ... Is a stronger defensive player than offensive ... Grabbed three rebounds in seven minutes against Oakland.
#33 Tavaras Hardy - Scored in double figures three of his first five collegiate games ... Tallied first career double-double (18p, 10r) vs. Oakland ... Has a nice outside touch from about 15-feet.
#35 Aron Molnar - Backup center ... Pulled down five rebounds in 15 minutes against Oakland and five boards in 10 minutes against Boston College ... Also had three boards in nine minutes against Dayton ... Vastly improved player from last year.
#42 Evan Eschmeyer - National Player of the Year candidate ... One of only two true centers on the mid-season top candidate list for the Wooden Award ... Leads the Big Ten with seven double-doubles this season ... Averaging 19.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game despite playing against defenses designed specifically to stop him ... Has scored in double figures 53-straight games, a school record ... Gained approximately 20 pounds of muscle during the offseason.
#44 Jeff Eschmeyer - Younger brother of Evan Eschmeyer ... Walked onto the squad last season ... Saw action against Oakland and UWM ... Lone rebound came vs. UWM.
