Northwestern University Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Illinois Saturday Night
2/18/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2000
NORTHWESTERN MEN'S BASKETBALL (5-19, 0-11)
vs. Illinois (16-7, 8-4)
DATE/TIME: Feb. 19, 2000/7 p.m. CT
SITE (Cap.): Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
TV: ESPN Regional (WJYS Ch. 62)
RADIO: WGN-AM 720
THE MATCHUP
The Wildcats play host to intra-state rival Illinois in the first of two games between the schools in the next two weeks. Illinois brings a five-game winning streak into tonight's game. The Illini have won seven of their last eight games after defeating Minnesota on Thursday, 89-80. Northwestern is coming off a 73-64 loss at Penn State on Wednesday. Tavaras Hardy led the Wildcats with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
THE SERIES: Illinois leads, 109-33
OFFICIALS: Mike Sanzere, Jerry Petro, Ron Zecher
SCOUTING THE ILLINI
Illinois is peaking at the right time, having won seven of its last eight defeating those opponents by an average of 14 points. Cory Bradford leads the way for Illinois, averaging 15.4 points per game. Bradford does much of his damage from behind the arc. He has hit 69 treys this season (3.0 per game) and has made at least one three-pointer in all 55 games he has played at Illinois. Marcus Griffin, who is coming off a knee injury, is second on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (5.8 rpg) and blocks (30).
NU PROBABLE STARTERS
(Big Ten statistics are in parentheses)
F - 14 - Steve Lepore (6-5, 200, So., North Olmstead, Ohio) 10.0 (8.5) ppg, 3.9 (3.4) rpg
F - 33 - Tavaras Hardy (6-8, 223, So., Joliet, Ill.) 7.8 (6.3) ppg, 5.1 (3.6) rpg
C - 55 - Aaron Jennings (6-11, 210, Fr., Atkins, Iowa) 5.4 (6.3) ppg, 3.3 (3.3) rpg
G - 5 - Ben Johnson (6-2, 180, Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.) 12.1 (12.4) ppg, 3.1 (1.8) rpg
G - 32 - Collier Drayton (6-2, 189, So., Lyons, N.Y.) 3.4 (3.6) ppg, 3.3 (2.8) rpg
OFF THE BENCH
G - 3 - Winston Blake (6-5, 191, Fr., Plano Texas) 4.3 (3.8) ppg, 1.2 (0.7) rpg
F - 41 - Adam Robinson (6-10, 210, Fr., Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1.1 (1.4) ppg, 1.2 (1.7) rpg
C - 43 - Brody Deren (6-7, 242, Fr., Harlan, Iowa) 3.5 (4.2) ppg, 2.5 (2.1) rpg
G - 30 - Jason Burke (6-6, 190, Fr., Plano, Texas) 2.7 (4.3) ppg, 1.3 (1.6) rpg
G - 24 - David Newman (5-11, 170, So., Des Moines, Iowa) 5.1 (4.2) ppg, 1.3 (0.9) rg
G - 44 - Jeff Eschmeyer (6-2, 192, Jr., New Knoxville, Ohio) 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
G - 10 - Langston Hughes (5-11, 186, Fr., Waukegan, Ill.) 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
PENN STATE RECAP
Tavaras Hardy was one of four Northwestern men's basketball players to hit double figures in scoring and added 10 rebounds Wednesday night at Penn State, but the Nittany Lions prevailed, 73-64. The teams virtually traded points for the first eight minutes, before the Nittany Lions went on an 18-6 run over a seven-minute stretch to turn a 12-11 game into a 30-17 contest. Northwestern tightened the screws during the next five minutes, holding PSU to just one point during that span, but could only make up four points themselves. And after PSU's Joe Crispin hit a pair of free throws with just five seconds left in the half, the Nittany Lions took a 33-21 lead into the locker room. Penn State then scored the first five points of the second half to take a 17-point lead, where it hovered for a majority of the stanza before the Wildcats closed the game with a 14-4 run to bring the final deficit to single digits. Hardy scored 16 points to go with his 10 boards, leading Northwestern in both categories. Freshmen Ben Johnson and Aaron Jennings added 15 and 12, respectively, while Steve Lepore scored 10 points. Penn State's Jarrett Stephens, one of the Big Ten's leading scorers, was held to six points by the Wildcats.
HEAD COACH KEVIN O'NEILL
Now in his third season at the helm of the Northwestern basketball program, Kevin O'Neill has brought his own brand of intensity, excitement and basketball talent to Evanston. In just two seasons, O'Neill has turned the Wildcats into postseason contenders. Northwestern made postseason play for the third time in the school's history last season when they were selected to play in the National Invitation Tournament. O'Neill's work was nothing short of miraculous considering the 'Cats started three freshmen and played in a conference that had seven teams ranked in the top 25 for most of last season. O'Neill owns a career record of 190-191 (.499) and is 30-50 in his tenure at NU. O'Neill's intensity translates to the court as pressure defense, and the Wildcats proved last season to be one of the best in the country on that side of the floor. NU finished ranked third in the NCAA in field goal defense (.373) and sixth in the NCAA in scoring defense (57.1 ppg). O'Neill, 43, knows what it takes to turn around a program. In 1994, he inherited a Tennessee program which won only five games the previous campaign, and took them to the NIT two seasons later. At Marquette, the two-time Great Midwest Conference Coach of the Year took over a program which, like Tennessee, hadn't enjoyed a winning season in many years. In 1990-91, his first season, he guided the Golden Eagles to a 15-14 record and an appearance in the NIT. Three seasons later (1993-94), he directed Marquette to a 20-8 mark and a spot in the NCAA tournament. The next season, he coached the Golden Eagles back to their glory days by advancing to the Sweet 16 and finishing with a 24-9 record. He left Milwaukee with an impressive mark of four winning campaigns in five years and a Great Midwest Conference championship in 1994. Tabbed as one of the nation's top recruiters, O'Neill has already overhauled the Northwestern program in just two recruiting classes.
O'NEILL WIN TOTAL
Head coach Kevin O'Neill is coaching his third season in Evanston. His 25 wins through his first two seasons at NU is second only to William Rohr, who won 28 from 1957-59.
O'NEILL AT WELSH-RYAN
In Kevin O'Neill's two-plus seasons at NU, the Wildcats have made Welsh-Ryan Arena a tough place to play. NU has 26 home court wins under O'Neill. That is a marked improvement to the 14 home wins in the three seasons before O'Neill took over the program.
NU LEADS BIG TEN IN 3s
In conference play, NU's 75 threes are the most in the Big Ten, and the Wildcats are averaging 6.82 threes per contest which is also tops in the Big Ten. Entering the Illinois game, the Wildcats have made 141-of-424 (.333) three-point field goals. The NU record for three-pointers made in a season is 201, done last year. The 141 threes made is fifth-best in NU history. One more three will tie the 1998 team for fourth-best in school history.
3s-A-PLENTY FOR 'CATS
Against Michigan on Jan. 19, NU set a team record with 14 three-point field goals. That broke the old record of 13, set in 1995 vs. Minnesota. Five different Wildcats hit threes vs. the Wolverines (Lepore-4, Burke-3, Johnson-3, Blake-2, Newman-2). The 'Cats were 14-of-23 (.609) from beyond the arc. It was the second time this season that NU had hit double-digit threes in a game. On Dec. 18 vs. Western Carolina, NU was 10-of-15 (.667) which was the fourth-best team three-point percentage in school history. The best is .714 (10-of-14) vs. Army in 1996.
AGE BEFORE BEAUTY - 'Cats Are Youngest In The Nation
According to statistics compiled by Stats Inc., Northwestern is the youngest basketball team in Division I basketball. NU has 99.96 percent of its minutes played by freshmen and sophomores. Walk-on Jeff Eschmeyer's two minutes are the only minutes played by an upperclassman. Only three other Big Ten teams are in the top 125 -- Michigan is 16th at 76.94 percent, Illinois is 37th at 66.28 percent and Minnesota is 62nd at 57.21. NU's freshmen have played the most percentage of a team's minutes in the conference at 59.71%, second in the country only to Texas A&M at 60.35. NU is also the least experienced team in America. Stats Inc. rated all 319 Division I basketball teams experience based on eligibility of the athletes and the percentage of minutes played by each class. NU grades out at 1.403 (1.00 = freshmen have played 100% of minutes, 4.00 = seniors have played 100% of minutes). Michigan is fifth at 1.732, while Minnesota is 34th at 2.138.
JOHNSON SHINES IN FIRST YEAR
Freshman guard Ben Johnson has lived up to his advance billing coming out of De La Salle High School in Minneapolis, Minn. Johnson, NU's leading scorer, has started every game as a true freshman. On Feb. 12 vs. Purdue, Johnson led all scorers and set a career high with 26 points. In his Big Ten debut, he led the 'Cats in scoring with 17 points at Iowa on Jan. 5. On Jan. 15 against Ohio State, the freshman led all scorers with 19 points. Johnson has led the 'Cats in scoring 11 times this season. At the Hoop and Quill Classic over Thanksgiving weekend, Johnson registered nine points against Evansville, 18 vs. Nebraska, and 17 against Mississippi State. On Dec. 14 vs. Jacksonville, he scored 18 against the Dolphins. Johnson is leading the team in scoring at 12.1 ppg and free throw percentage (56-of-68 from the line, .824). In addition, he leads the team in minutes played averaging 32.7 per game.
JOHNSON RANKS AMONG BIG TEN LEADERS
According to the Big Ten stats of Feb. 18, Ben Johnson is second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage at .488 (21-of-43) and ranks 15th in the conference in scoring at 12.4 ppg. Johnson ranks second among Big Ten freshmen behind Lavelle Blanchard of Michigan (10th at 15.4 ppg.). He is ninth in threes made with 21.
MATURING IN THE MIDDLE
In the last four games, freshman center Aaron Jennings has averaged 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in 26.5 minutes. Compare that with his first three Big Ten outings (1.7 pts, 1.3 rebs, 7.7 min.) and it's obvious A.J. is maturing in the middle for the 'Cats. At Penn State on Feb. 16, Jennings scored in double digits for the fourth straight game (12 points) and recorded a career-high nine boards. Against Rice on Feb. 9, Jennings tallied 18 points (6-of-12 shooting), and went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line in 31 minutes (also a career-high). It was the second straight game that A.J. set a career high in points and led the Wildcats in scoring. In 24 minutes against Indiana on Feb. 5, he scored 14 points and grabbed a career-high seven boards. All of his points and six of those boards were recorded in the second half. He and Steve Lepore led the team with 14 points.
LEPORE FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
According to the Big Ten stats as of Feb. 18, Steve Lepore is fourth in the conference with 57 overall three-point field goals made. He is averaging 2.38 per game, which is also fourth in the Big Ten. His .368 three point percentage also ranks fourth. In conference games, Lepore is sixth with 24 three pointers and a 2.18 average per game. Lepore set a career high with six three-pointers against Florida State. His six threes are the second most in a single game in NU history. He is tied with six other players. Todd Leslie holds the record with seven. Lepore's 13 three-point attempts against FSU is also third most in a single game in NU history. In his career, Lepore has hit 106 threes placing him fourth on the all-time list. Jeff Grose is third on the all-time list with 125. Lepore has led the team in scoring in 10 games this year.
BRODY IS BACK
In his first game back after a broken elbow, freshman forward Brody Deren scored a career-high 12 points and equalled a career-high seven rebounds against Penn State on Jan. 13. Deren started the first seven games of the season before suffering a broken left elbow against Nicholls State on Dec. 11. Deren was back in the starting lineup against Ohio State on Jan. 15.
LEPORE NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Steve Lepore was named the Big Ten's Player of the Week for his play during the week of Dec. 13-19. Lepore helped NU run its win streak to three games with a pair of stellar outings. Against Jacksonville, he scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting (4-of-6 from three point land) as NU won, 67-59. In the 'Cats 78-54 win over Western Carolina, he scored a career-high 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting (5-of-6 from three-point) and added four boards and two assists. Lepore scored 19 of his 25 points against WCU in the first half when Northwestern set the tone for the victory.
A BOY NAMED `T'
Sophomore forward Tavaras Hardy recorded the fourth double-double of his career on Wednesday at Penn State. Hardy scored a team-high 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds against the Nittany Lions. Hardy has also excelled defensively in the last two games, holding Purdue's Brian Cardinal to seven points on 2-of-11 shooting and Penn State's Jarrett Stephens to six points, also on 2-of-11 shooting from the floor. Earlier this season, he scored 13 points and grabbed 10 boards against Jacksonville on Dec. 13, and scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the loss to Nebraska on Nov. 27. The next day against Mississippi State, he came within one rebound of his second straight double-double when he registered 16 points and nine rebounds.
TRAVELIN' MAN
Sophomore Steve Lepore spent the summer traveling the globe playing basketball. Lepore was a member of the United States team at the World Junior Championships in Portugal. The Americans won a silver medal and Lepore finished second on the team in scoring with a 10.5 ppg average. He started all eight games and was tops in the team in three pointers, shooting 18-36 for the tournament. Lepore also traveled to Austria with a Big Ten All-Star team in August. The Big Ten team finished 3-3, as Lepore averaged 6.5 ppg and shot 47% from the field.
OLD SOPHOMORES
David Newman and Tavaras Hardy started all 29 games as freshmen a year ago and have played in every game in their college careers. In just his second season, Newman ranks seventh on the career three-pointers made list with 77. Hardy is third on the team in scoring at 7.8 ppg., and leads the team in blocked shots (23).
NU SIGNS YOUNG
Northwestern signed Jitim Young (guard, 6-2, 185, Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech) to a National Letter of Intent to play basketball beginning in the fall of 2000. Young was the only player NU signed in the early signing period, the Wildcats have one scholarship remaining for this season. "Jitim is a great get for our program," said O'Neill. "He will have a great senior year and come and make an immediate impact at Northwestern. We hope we can fill our other scholarship with as good a player as Jitim." Young led Gordon Tech to a 22-8 record along with Catholic North and regional championships last season. He averaged 18.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, three assists and two steals per game. Young was named all-state by the IBCA and all-area by both the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times. This past summer, Young was named the Most Valuable Player of the 5-Star Camp All-Star Game and was given the 5-Star Sportsmanship and Defensive Awards. He is invited to play in the Reebok Capital Classic in April. Young is a four-year honor roll student and a member of the National Honor Society. Young chose Northwestern over Notre Dame, Michigan State, Penn State and Marquette.
WILDCATS ON THE AIR
All Northwestern regular-season games can be heard on WGN-AM Radio 720. Once again this season, Dave Eanet will handle the play-by-play duties while former DePaul head coach Joey Meyer handles the color analysis. Coach O'Neill can be heard after every game on his postgame show. At home, fans can stay and listen to the show live over the Welsh-Ryan Arena sound system.
THE KEVIN O'NEILL SHOW
Fox Sports Chicago is the home of the Kevin O'Neill Show. The half-hour show will appear 11 times during Northwestern's 1999-2000 season. Each week, the Kevin O'Neill Show will air on each Tuesday at 5 or 5:30 p.m. and rerun at 2 a.m. and 3 p.m. each Wednesday until the Big Ten Tournament. Hosting the Kevin O'Neill show will be Dave Eanet. Eanet, sports director at WGN, has handled the play-by-play duties for WGN radio the past two seasons. Again for the 1999-2000 season, fans can submit questions to Coach O'Neill via NUSPORTS.COM, the official internet site of Northwestern athletics. Three questions will be chosen weekly and answered on "The Kevin O'Neill Show." Every fan who has their question read on-air will receive a special gift pack courtesy of Ameritech.
