Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Will Battle Gophers Wednesday Night
2/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2003
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EVANSTON, Ill. - A quick look at the Big Ten standings reveals a glut at the top; with every team still needing to play five or six games-many against each other-the top teams already have three losses, and the top eight are separated by just three losses.
One of the themes that has emerged during this conference season is the success teams are having at home. Five teams entered the week unbeaten on their home floor in Big Ten play, and overall teams are 45-14 (.763 win percentage) at home. More amazing, every Big Ten team owned a road record below .500 as the week began.
Northwestern has gotten in the spirit of the season in recent weeks; prior to Saturday's game at Michigan State, the Wildcats were home for three in a row (kicking off a stretch in which they play six of eight games at home). NU beat Indiana and Big Ten co-frontrunner Purdue in that three-game run.
What is NU's secret to success at Welsh-Ryan Arena? Coach Carmody has a theory-which he admits is just that.
"I think, in our case, one factor is that we are getting better, higher-percentage shots," he said. "Maybe that is because we are more familiar with our arena, and when we run our plays we are running them on the court where we run them every day.
"However, if there is someone who wants to shoot that theory out the window I will listen to what they have to say."
GAME 23 -- Northwestern (10-12, 2-9) vs. Minnesota (14-7, 6-4)
Date/Time: Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2003/7 p.m. CST
Site: Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston)
Capacity: 8,117
Television: ESPN Plus
(Wayne Larrivee, PBP; Shon Morris, analyst)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (also on wgnradio.com)
(Dave Eanet, PBP; David Kaplan, analyst)
The Fun Fact: Wednesday's game pits the two players who, according to Stats, Inc., lead the nation in three-pointers made by players 6-foot-11 or taller. Minnesota's Rick Rickert leads that category with 28 treys, while NU's Aaron Jennings is right behind him with 27 hits beyond the arc.
