Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Will Host Nittany Lions Saturday
2/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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EVANSTON, Ill. - February may be the shortest month on the calendar, but it was certainly an eventful one for the Northwestern men's basketball program.
The Wildcats gained their first two Big Ten wins of the season (Feb. 5 vs. Indiana; Feb. 12 vs. Purdue), setting the table for a potentially lucrative month. However, the last two outings followed a similar pattern-against Minnesota on Feb. 19, the Wildcats were behind by 27 early in the second half before staging a furious rally that brought them within five points before the Gophers pulled away. Last Saturday at the United Center, NU allowed 15th-ranked Illinois to jump out to a 31-13 advantage before clawing back within 59-55 with just a few minutes left. Once again, though, the 'Cats did not have enough in the tank to get over the hump.
That Illinois game culminated a stretch in which NU played nine straight games-a heavy load when you consider that the Wildcats do not go deep into their bench. With a week to rest and reload, the hope is that the team is ready to punctuate this season with an exclamation point in the final two weeks.
Today's game begins the final push, as Northwestern hosts Penn State. After this, the 'Cats are home one final time Wednesday night against Ohio State, then it is off to Iowa next Saturday for the regular-season finale.
The Big Ten Tournament, amazingly, is just 12 days away. That will be played at the United Center after moving to Indianapolis for the first time last year.
GAME 25 -- Northwestern (10-14, 2-11) vs. Penn State (6-18, 1-12)
Date/Time: Saturday, March 1, 2003/1 p.m. CST
Site: Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston)
Capacity: 8,117
Television: ESPN
(Dave Strader, PBP; Bucky Waters, analyst)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (also on wgnradio.com)
(Dave Eanet, PBP; Bob Hildebrand, analyst)
The Fun Fact: NU is going for its third straight win over Penn State today; the last time the Wildcats won three in a row against a Big Ten opponent was during the 1999 season, when they swept two regular-season contests and then took a Big Ten Tournament game against ... Penn State.
