Northwestern University Athletics
Men's Basketball Braces For Illini Invasion
1/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2001
Game 17
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY (7-9, 0-4) vs. #11/10 Illinois (13-4, 3-1)
DATE/TIME: January 17, 2001/7 p.m.
SITE: Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston)
capacity: 8,117
TV: ESPN+ (WCIU-TV in Chicago)
RADIO: WGN (720 AM)
After watching his team fritter away a 14-point lead at Penn State Saturday night, head coach Bill Carmody had a simple message for his players in the locker room in State College:
Make the plays that ensure this does not happen again.
What the end of the game boiled down to, from Carmody's perspective, was the fact that Penn State made the plays down the stretch and Northwestern did not. For instance, the Nittany Lions hit just two 3-pointers in the game's first 27 minutes, then five treys in the final 13. Penn State's decisive run -- which turned a 58-55 NU lead into a 66-58 deficit over a span of 2:13 -- came courtesy of four Wildcat turnovers. Also in that span, Winston Blake, who had been outstanding for the 'Cats the entire night, fouled out.
Blake had 17 points and five assists, and tied his career high for the third time this year with five 3-pointers (on just six attempts). That matched Penn State's Joe Crispin, who also had five treys in the first meeting between the top two long-range sharpshooters in the Big Ten Conference. Blake, who leads the team in scoring at 12.9 ppg, has hit double figures in each of the last six outings, averaging 15.3 ppg in that span.
Blake was aided by Ben Johnson, who had one of his best games of the year with 16 points, several coming in the first half on backdoor plays. Johnson also added eight rebounds, tying a season high. Tavaras Hardy had 13 points, his seventh double-figure game in nine outings.
THE FUN FACT
Saturday's loss at Penn State was the first time this season Northwestern lost a game when leading at halftime (the Wildcats are now 6-1 in such games this season). It also marked the first game NU lost this season when shooting better than 50 percent from the field. The 'Cats were 27-of-53 (50.9) against the Nittany Lions.
HEAD COACH BILL CARMODY
Bill Carmody is going for his 100th win as a head coach tonight. With a Wildcat win he will get it in his 134th game, a mark only 30 coaches in NCAA Division 1 history have beaten.
Carmody is in his first season at Northwestern after spending 18 years at Princeton University, the last four as head coach of the Tigers. While at the helm, Carmody guided the Tigers to an overall record of 92-25 (.786), an Ivy League mark of 50-6 (.893) and four postseason appearances. During his first season as head coach (1996-97), Carmody led the Tigers to a 24-4 record, the third-best first year mark for a Division I head coach in 30 years. Carmody followed that up with an even better sophomore campaign, when he directed Princeton to a 27-2 record, a Top 10 national ranking and the second round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament.
Carmody graduated from Union College (Schenectady, N.Y.) in 1975. A basketball standout, he led Union to a 59-11 record in three seasons as a starter. During his senior year, he captained his team and was named first-team All-ECAC as well as the school's Most Outstanding Athlete. Upon graduation, Carmody served as the head coach of Fulton-Montgomery Community College in New York, leading the team to a 17-10 record and a conference title. He returned to Union the following year as an assistant coach before heading to Princeton to be an assistant under the legendary Pete Carril in 1982.
THE SERIES WITH ILLINOIS
Tonight's game marks the 145th meeting between the Wildcats and the Fighting Illini, with Illinois holding a 111-33 advantage. The Illini have won three in a row and 10 of the last 11. They have also won five straight here in Evanston. Last year, Illinois defeated the Wildcats 63-30 here at Welsh-Ryan Arena, and 73-44 in Champaign.
These two teams will meet again on Saturday, February 3 in Champaign. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
THE TRIVIA TRIFECTA
* The other coaches to reach 100 wins in their 134th game: Frank McGuire at St. John's (1952), Dudey Moore at Duquesne (1953), Lou Carnesecca at St. John's (1970).
* Northwestern is 5-1 in its last six home games.
* Tavaras Hardy is averaging 12.9 ppg in the last nine games.
YOUTH SHALL BE SERVED
For the second year in a row, Northwestern boasts a roster with nary a senior to be found. In fact, the 12-player roster has just two juniors -- Collier Drayton and Tavaras Hardy -- to go with five sophomores and five freshmen. According to Stats, Inc., the Wildcats entered the week leading the nation in minutes played by freshmen and sophomores at 85.9 percent.
Do not assume it is an inexperienced group, though. Last year, the Wildcats led the nation in minutes played by freshmen and sophomores at a staggering 99.9 percent.
Another Stats, Inc., gem: NU is seventh youngest in terms of experience based on eligibility and minutes played (1.000 for freshmen, 4.000 for seniors). NU's average is 1.902.
GOTTA SHOOT 'EM TO MAKE 'EM
In the win against Evansville at the San Juan Shootout, NU tied a school record by making 14 three-point baskets. The Wildcats also broke the school mark with 31 attempts -- the previous mark of 30 was done twice, including in the season-opening loss to Arkansas-Little Rock.
According to Stats, Inc., the Wildcats entered the week 12th in the nation with 337 of its 812 field-goal attempts this season coming from beyond the arc (41.5 percent). In addition, NU is second in the Big Ten's overall stats behind Penn State with an average of 7.25 treys made per game.
DEE-FENSE!
Only three teams -- Ohio State (73), Michigan State (84), and Penn State (73) -- have reached the 70-point mark against Northwestern this season. Currently, the Wildcats are third in the Big Ten allowing 60.4 points per game, behind Wisconsin (57.5) and Ohio State (60.1).
TAKING MORE THAN THEY GIVE
Against Evansville on December 22, the Wildcats committed just seven turnovers, the lowest by an NU team since 11/26/97, when they had six in a 71-51 win over Sam Houston State. In Big Ten action, Northwestern had just 10 turnovers against both Ohio State and Michigan State, the fewest in a Big Ten game since the 'Cats had eight against Penn State on 3/4/99.
SHARE THE WEALTHY
Another staple among Coach Carmody's teams is how many baskets come directly off a pass. Last Wednesday at Michigan State, for example, 13 of Northwestern's 16 field goals came directly off a pass. According to Stats, Inc., Northwestern is 21st nationally with 65 percent of its field goals (221 of 340) coming off an assist. Among the highlights: 19 assists on 21 field goals against Vermont, and 25 assists on 28 field goals against Mississippi Valley State. In the win against USC on December 27, NU recorded 23 assists on their 28 buckets.
A PAIR OF THIEVES
Northwestern has two players among the Big Ten Conference's overall steal leaders. Collier Drayton averages 1.56 steals per game and is sixth, while Jitim Young averages 1.31 per game which ties him for 14th.
BOMBS AWAY
Sophomore guard Winston Blake has hit 49 three-pointers already this season, nearly triple what he had for all of last year (17). That puts him second among Big Ten players in total treys this season, behind only Penn State's Joe Crispin (55). Blake had five at Penn State Saturday, as well as in back-to-back games against Mississippi Valley State and La Salle earlier this season. He has also knocked down four against St. Peter's, Evansville, Ohio State and Michigan State.
`T' -- AS IN TREMENDOUS
Junior center Tavaras Hardy was named to the all-tournament team at the San Juan (P.R.) Shootout from December 20-22, scoring 42 points and snaring 16 boards as the Wildcats went 2-1 and took fifth place. He led all scorers with 18 points against Kent State, and followed that up with a 16-point performance in NU's win over Iona. He went 8-of-9 from the field in the KSU game, then 8-of-9 from the foul line vs. the Gaels.
One week later, Hardy was Big Ten Co-Player of the Week. He had 20 points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and two steals as NU defeated No. 16 USC, 63-61. It was Northwestern's first win over a ranked opponent since a 54-50 win over No. 14 Purdue on January 27, 1999.
LAST TIME OUT
GAME 16 -- Penn State 73, Northwestern 66
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (1/13) -- The Northwestern men's basketball team saw a 14-point second-half lead evaporate Saturday night in front of a boisterous crowd at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center, and the opportunistic Nittany Lions scored a stunning 73-66 victory.
The loss dropped the Wildcats to 7-9 (0-4 Big Ten), while PSU improved to 11-3 (2-2 Big Ten).
Northwestern looked to be in control for much of the game, and saw its lead peak at 51-37 with just 13 minutes left in the game. However, Penn State chipped away at the advantage, finally taking its first lead since 9-7 when senior guard Joe Crispin hit a pair of free throws that made the score 59-58 with just 3:16 to play. Three consecutive NU turnovers were quickly converted into seven Nittany Lion points, and the 'Cats never got closer than five points after that.
Northwestern was hurt down the stretch by the absence of Winston Blake, who fouled out when he hit Crispin on the play that gave PSU the lead for good. Blake had an outstanding performance for the Wildcats, hitting 5-of-6 three-pointers as well as his only shot inside the arc for a team-high 17 points. He also dished out five assists.
Ben Johnson also provided a spark for the 'Cats, scoring 16 points and snaring eight rebounds. Tavaras Hardy was the other NU player in double figures on the night, with 13 points.
The game was sloppy early on, as the teams traded turnovers nearly as often as they traded baskets. But a 3-pointer and then a backdoor layup -- both by Ed McCants -- gave NU an 18-13 lead. Penn State drew level one final time, at 22-22, but another backdoor layup by Johnson off a Hardy pass sparked a 16-4 run that gave Northwestern a 38-26 lead. The teams went into the locker room with NU up, 38-30.
The Wildcats shot out of the gate with a 7-2 run to start the second half to take a 45-32 lead, and pushed it up another point before Penn State's comeback started.
Crispin, who entered the game leading the Big Ten in 3-point baskets as well as scoring, hit five treys en route to a game-high 28 points, and added four assists and two steals without committing a turnover. Titus Ivory added 13 points, while Gyasi Cline-Heard had 12.
