Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcat Men Look to Douse Flames Saturday
12/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2003
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EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern men's basketball coach Bill Carmody has talked about the need to learn how to win in the past. Judging from the last two games, it seems as if this year's Wildcat team is picking things up -- quickly.
Wednesday's game with Arizona State provided the latest example of that. Northwestern was up 13 early in the second half against the Sun Devils, a highly regarded team which received voting points in this week's USA Today/ESPN national coaches poll. However, ASU -- as has been its habit this season -- came charging back, tying the game with six minutes left.
NU responded immediately, as Vedran Vukusic (who would finish with a career best and game-high 26 points) knocked down a three-pointer.
Arizona State continued to hang around, and even took the lead -- its first since 13-12 -- with just 1:32 to play.
Once again, Vukusic had the answer on Northwestern's ensuing possession, hitting a pair of free throws. Arizona State tied it one more time, but that merely set the stage for T.J. Parker to go the length of the floor and hit a game-winning shot as time expired. The game-winning bucket -- the second of Parker's collegiate career -- ended up making ESPN "SportsCenter" Top 10 Plays of the Day.
"We played well for awhile Wednesday night, but I want us to sustain it for an entire game," said Carmody. "I think, if we had lost that game Wednesday, it would have knocked the wind out of our sails. Whenever Arizona State made a shot to take the lead, we came back and made a shot to get it back. We could have folded, but we didn't."
Prior to the University's exam break, Northwestern showed the first glimpse of finishing teams at Bowling Green. In that game, the 'Cats were ahead the entire way, but put together a flourish in the final five minutes to down a Falcon team that had defeated 20 nonconference opponents in a row at its hostile Anderson Arena.
This evening, Northwestern will need all of that mental and physical energy against a talented Illinois-Chicago team. This is the second year in a row the Wildcats and Flames have squared off; last year, UIC took it to Northwestern in Evanston.
"UIC has a lot of the same guys from last year, and they are a very good team," said Carmody. "They are a veteran team, and they are a year older and have played another year together since we last saw them. They are sound--they can push the ball, but also play the half-court game. They can do a lot of different things; I look at them and I do not see too many weaknesses.
This time around could be different. For one thing, last year NU played UIC just one day after hosting another game, whereas this year the 'Cats have had a chance to catch their wind. For another thing, NU is rapidly learning what it takes to compete and win at this level.
"I am enjoying watching these guys play, because they distribute everything pretty well," said Carmody. "There is good balance in our passing and shooting."
GAME 9
Northwestern (5-3) at Illinois-Chicago (8-2)
Saturday, Dec. 20, 2003 * 5 p.m. CST
UIC Pavilion (8,000) * Chicago, Ill.
THE COACHES:
Northwestern: Bill Carmody, 4th season at NU (44-52); 8th season overall (136-77)
UIC: Jimmy Collins, 8th season at UIC (115-103; same overall
TV: Fox Sports (Eric Collins, play-by-play; David Kaplan, analyst)
RADIO: WGN Radio 720 AM (Dave Eanet, play-by-play; Shon Morris, analyst)
The Fun Fact:
Wish a happy birthday to Vedran Vukusic and Jitim Young -- Northwestern's two leading scorers -- if you see them today. Vukusic (13.6 ppg) turned 21 Thursday, while Young (18.1 ppg) turned 22 Friday.
Northwestern vs. UIC
Today's game marks the fifth meeting between the Wildcats and the Flames in men's basketball, with NU leading 3-1. Last year, in the first meeting since 1985, UIC defeated Northwestern--which was playing its second game in as many days--70-53. Cedrick Banks came off the bench to score 31 points to lead the Flames. Evan Seacat had a career-high 16 points to lead NU; T.J. Parker was the only other 'Cat in double figures (15).
Northwestern vs. The Horizon League
The Wildcats have a 37-18 record all-time against the schools that currently make up the Horizon League. UIC is the only Horizon team NU has faced under Bill Carmody.
Butler 16-6
Cleveland State 1-1
Detroit 0-1
UIC 3-1
Loyola-Chicago 11-8
UW-Green Bay 2-1
UW-Milwaukee 1-0
Wright State 0-0
Youngstown State 3-0
Back At It
Tonight's game is one of just two Northwestern is playing in a 21-day span (from Dec. 6-27); the other came Wednesday against Arizona State. That is a far cry from the beginning of the season, when the Wildcats opened with seven games in 15 days, and the longest break between games was three days--the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving. NU is next in action one week from today, at the Sierra Providence SunClassic in El Paso, Texas.
Some Team Notes
* NU has won three in a row for the first time this season; the last time the 'Cats won three in a row was last season (Fordham on 12/22, Buffalo on 12/27, Long Island on 1/4). The last time NU won four in a row was the 2001-02 season (the 'Cats actually won six in a row, starting with San Jose State on 11/16 and ending with Liberty on 12/17).
* NU's two-point win Wednesday was its closest game this season; previously it was eight (wins over Northwestern State and Bucknell). Of the 96 games Bill Carmody has coached at NU, 18 have been decided by less than five points.
* NU has hit 21 three-pointers in its last two games (12 at Bowling Green, nine vs. ASU).
* After going up in five straight games--including a peak of 50 percent at Bowling Green (12-of-24)--NU's three-point percentage went down Wednesday vs. ASU. The 'Cats were 9-of-23 beyond the arc (39.1 percent).
* NU had 35 rebounds against Arizona State, its second-best total this season (39 vs. Chicago State). That included 10 offensive boards--also the second-best total this season (11 vs. Chicago State).
* NU had 20 assists on 22 baskets Wednesday, its best ratio in the Bill Carmody era (.909); one of the baskets that did not have an assist was T.J. Parker's game-winner.
* For the season, the 'Cats have 134 assists on 179 baskets, a .749 ratio. According to Stats, Inc., they lead the nation in that category.
* According to Stats, Inc., NU also leads the nation in minutes played by the starters, at 85.31 percent, and is third in points scored by the starters, at 88.08 percent.
* NU is 5-0 this season and has won 12 in a row when shooting a better percentage from the field than its opponent, as the 'Cats have done in three straight games.
* NU has scored 70.8 points per game in its five wins and 54.0 in its three losses.
* NU has shot 51.4 percent from the field in its five wins (124-of-241) but just 39.9 percent in its three losses (55-of-138).
* NU has shot 43.3 percent from three-point land in its five wins (42-of-97) but just 30.7 percent in its three losses (20-of-65).
* NU boasts a 1.21 assist-to-turnover ratio (134 assists/110 turnovers) this season, including 1.75 (56/32) in the last three contests.
* NU has averaged 18.3 foul shots per game this season; its opponent have averaged 12.8. The 'Cats have taken more free throws than their opponents in seven of eight games.
Noting The Northwestern Players
Notes following Arizona State...
'* Vedran Vukusic reached a career high in scoring for the second game in a row, with 26 points.
* Vukusic is averaging 23.0 ppg and 5.5 rebounds in the last two contests; prior to that, he was battling the flu and scored 11 points combined vs. Florida State and Bucknell.
* The last time a player other than Jitim Young had back-to-back 20-point games at Northwestern was Winston Blake in February 2002 (23 vs. Wisconsin, 25 at Ohio State).
* No NU player has had three consecutive 20-point games in the Carmody era.
* Vukusic hit a career-best five three-pointers, the most by an NU player since T.J. Parker knocked down five vs. Fordham almost a year ago (Dec. 22).
* Vukusic is 9-of-16 from beyond the arc (56.3 percent) in the last two games.
* Vukusic played the full 40 minutes for the first time in his career.
* Parker's game-winning shot was the second of his career; he also hit a layup in the waning seconds last year when NU defeated Bowling Green 62-60.
* Parker had eight assists, a career high.
* Jitim Young fell one rebound shy of a double-double for the second time this season (he had 12 points). It also happened at Florida State.
* Ivan Tolic saw action for just the second time this season, playing four minutes. Tolic redshirted last year with knee problems.
And notes in general...
* The starting five of Parker, Hachad, Young, Vukusic and Duvancic has accounted for 88.1 percent of NU's scoring this season.
* Of the 61 bench points scored this season, Evan Seacat has 46 of them. After going scoreless at Bowling Green--snapping a five-game streak during which he averaged 8.0 ppg--Seacat had six points Wednesday vs. ASU on two treys.
* For his career, Young has 14 20-point games, the most since Evan Eschmeyer had 34 from 1995-99.
* For the season, Young has made 39 free throws, which is 11 more than any other NU player has attempted. Young's 58 free-throw attempts are more than double Vukusic, who is second on the team with 28 attempts.
* Young has 17 offensive rebounds this season; the rest of the NU players have combined for 27 this season. Mohamed Hachad (9) is second on the team in that category.
* Six of NU's seven regulars--the starting five plus Seacat--have hit two or more three-pointers in at least one game this season, and five have hit three in a game at least once. The only player among the six not to have three treys in a game? Parker, who led the team with 41 last season.
* Talk about equal opportunity offense--no player in the NU lineup averages more than 11 shots per game. Young leads the team (10.1), followed by Vukusic (9.7), Parker (8.8), Hachad (6.3), Duvancic (5.4) and Seacat (4.5).
