Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Host Wisconsin Tonight at 7 p.m.
3/1/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 1, 2000
NORTHWESTERN MEN'S BASKETBALL (5-22, 0-14)
vs. the University of Wisconsin (14-12, 6-8)
DATE/TIME: Mar. 1, 2000/7 p.m. CT
SITE (Cap.): Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
TV: ESPN Regional/No local TV
RADIO: WGN-AM 720
THE MATCHUP
The Wildcats play their last home game of the season against the Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers are still alive for an NCAA Tournament berth at 6-8 in the conference and 14-12 overall. UW has quality wins over Missouri, Texas, Temple and Illinois. If current standings hold through this week, these two teams will meet again next Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at the United Center.
THE SERIES: Wisconsin leads 97-54
OFFICIALS: Ed Hightower, Ron Zetcher, Glenn Mayborg
SCOUTING THE BADGERS
Under head coach Dick Bennett, Wisconsin is led by their defense. The Badgers lead the Big Ten in scoring defense, giving up an average of 58.6 points per game in conference action. On the other hand, UW scores at a 59.3 point per game clip, 10th in Big Ten games. They are led in scoring by their frontcourt of junior forwards Mark Vershaw and Andy Kowske. Vershaw averages 11.6 ppg. Kowske 9.7 points and he also leads the team in rebounding at 6.1 rpg.
NU PROBABLE STARTERS
(Big Ten statistics in parentheses)
F - 14 - Steve Lepore (6-5, 200, So., North Olmstead, Ohio) 9.3 (7.6) ppg, 3.7 (3.1) rpg
F - 33 - Tavaras Hardy (6-8, 223, So., Joliet, Ill.) 8.3 (7.4) ppg, 5.8 (5.3) rpg
C - 55 - Aaron Jennings (6-11, 210, Fr., Atkins, Iowa) 5.9 (7.0) ppg, 3.4 (3.5) rpg
G - 5 - Ben Johnson (6-2, 180, Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.) 11.6 (11.4) ppg, 2.9 (1.6) rpg
G - 32 - Collier Drayton (6-2, 189, So., Lyons, N.Y.) 3.3 (3.4) ppg, 3.3 (2.9) rpg
OFF THE BENCH
C - 43 - Brody Deren (6-7, 242, Fr., Harlan, Iowa) 3.6 (4.2) ppg, 2.4 (2.1) rpg
G - 30 - Jason Burke (6-6, 190, Fr., Plano, Texas) 2.7 (3.9) ppg, 1.4 (1.7) rpg
G - 3 - Winston Blake (6-5, 191, Fr., Plano Texas) 4.1 (3.4) ppg, 1.1 (0.7) rpg
F - 41 - Adam Robinson (6-10, 210, Fr., Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1.0 (1.2) ppg, 1.0 (1.3) rpg
G - 24 - David Newman (5-11, 170, So., Des Moines, Iowa) 4.6 (3.3) ppg, 1.4 (1.1) rpg
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
MICHIGAN RECAP
Sophomore forward Tavaras Hardy scored a career-high 25 points and led a furious Wildcat comeback in the second-half but Michigan was able to hold on for a 61-55 overtime victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena. After jumping out to an early 5-2 lead, Northwestern lost its shooting touch. The Wolverines capitalized, running off 10 straight points as part of a 15-2 run and opened up a 17-7 lead at the 8:11 mark. NU's shooting woes continued as Michigan took a 31-15 lead into intermission. Northwestern turned things around in the second half. The 'Cats pounded the ball inside to Hardy and freshman Aaron Jennings opening the half with a 10-3 spurt to cut the deficit to nine (34-25) with 15:07 left. The teams traded baskets for the next six minutes before NU tightened the screws defensively, holding Michigan to three points over the next eight minutes. Northwestern took advantage, rattling off 10 straight points to tie the game at 45 on an acrobatic alley-oop lay in by Hardy. Michigan's Gavin Groninger split a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left to push the lead to two (49-47) before Hardy calmly converted a pair from the line with 1.6 seconds left to send the game to overtime. Jennings scored the first basket of overtime, but Michigan countered by running off five quick points. Kevin Gaines' three-pointer capped the spurt which gave Michigan the lead for good (55-53). Hardy recorded his fourth double-double of the season, grabbing 11 rebounds to go with his 25 points. Jennings added 17 points, one off his career high.
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 190-194 (.495) and is 30-53 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 SCORES IN 3s
In conference play, NU's 84 threes in 14 Big Ten games rank fourth in the conference. Illinois leads the league with 99 threes in 15 games. The Wildcats are averaging 6.00 threes per contest, is also fourth in the Big Ten. Entering the Wisconsin game, the Wildcats have made 150-of-467 (.321) three-point field goals. The NU record for three-pointers made in a season is 201, done last year. The 150 threes made is the third-best mark in NU history. The second-best mark is 187 treys in 1993-94.
3s-A-PLENTY FOR WILDCATS
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 18th at 75.69 percent, Illinois is 37th at 67.00 percent and Minnesota is 57th at 58.10. NU's freshmen have played the most percentage of a team's minutes in the conference at 60.31%, second in the country only to Texas A&M at 60.53%. 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 1.397 (1.00 = freshmen have played 100% of minutes, 4.00 = seniors have played 100% of minutes). Michigan is sixth at 1.769, while Minnesota is 34th at 2.107.
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 12 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 11.6 ppg and free throw percentage (67-of-81 from the line, .827). In addition, he leads the team in minutes played averaging 33.1 per game.
A BOY NAMED `T'
Sophomore forward Tavaras Hardy recorded the fifth double-double of his career and fourth of the season on Feb. 26 vs. Michigan. Hardy scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the overtime loss. Over the last four games, Hardy has averaged 11 rebounds per game. On Feb. 16, he scored a team-high 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds against Penn State. Hardy has also excelled defensively against the best power forwards in the conference, 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. At Ohio State on Feb. 23, he set a career rebounding high for the second straight game with 12 boards. Against Illinois on Feb. 19, Hardy had 11 boards. 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.
MATURING IN THE MIDDLE
After a tough game against Ohio State's Ken Johnson on Feb. 23, freshman center Aaron Jennings continued his improved play with 17 points in 33 minutes vs. Michigan on Feb. 26. In a five game span between Feb. 5-19, Jennings averaged 12.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 26.4 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 12 points and recorded a career-high nine boards. Against Rice on Feb. 9, Jennings tallied 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting. It was the second straight game that A.J. set a career high in points and led the Wildcats in scoring. 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. 27, Steve Lepore is fourth in the conference with 60 overall three-point field goals made. He is averaging 2.22 per game, which is also fourth in the Big Ten. His .364 three point percentage ranks sixth. In conference games, Lepore is eighth with 27 three pointers and a 1.93 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 109 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.
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 8.3 ppg., and leads the team in blocked shots (24) and rebounding (5.8 rpg).
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. Again for the 1999-2000 season, fans can submit questions to Coach O'Neill via NUSPORTS.COM, the official internet site of Northwestern athletics. Every fan who has their question read on-air will receive a special gift pack courtesy of Ameritech.
