Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Close Out Regular Season in Iowa City
3/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2003
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EVANSTON, Ill. - Though it is Senior Day at Carver-Hawkeye Arena for Hawkeye seniors Josh Kimm and Chauncey Leslie, there is a Northwestern player who will enter this game full of emotion, as well -- Aaron Jennings.
The Wildcats' senior center will play his final regular-season game in his home state, capping off an emotional week that began Wednesday night when he played his final home game at NU.
Jennings struggled against Ohio State, scoring just four points and shooting 1-of-9 from the field. However, NU head coach Bill Carmody acknowledged that different players react in a variety of ways to these events, and he is confident his big man will come back strong today.
"Aaron Jennings struggled on Wednesday, but that happens-some seniors respond well on Senior Night, and it takes an emotional toll on others," said Carmody. "Now he has a homecoming, and again the question is how he will respond; last week, Brandon Watkins of Penn State had a homecoming at our place and dropped 31 points on us. I feel confident Aaron will have a solid game today; he has a history of playing well against Iowa."
Carmody is right-Jennings has averaged a solid 11.3 ppg in his last three outings against the Hawkeyes, including a 16-point performance earlier this season.
Northwestern is firmly entrenched as the 10th seed for next week's Big Ten Tournament; however, the Wildcats' opponent (the seventh seed) still is not know for Thursday's first-round game.
GAME 27 -- Northwestern (11-15, 3-12) at Iowa (14-12, 6-9)
Date/Time: Saturday, March 8, 2003/1:30 p.m. CST
Site: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, Iowa)
Capacity: 15,500
Television: ESPN Plus (WCIU in Chicago)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (also on wgnradio.com)
(Dave Eanet, PBP; Bob Hildebrand, analyst)
The Fun Fact: Not so much fun today as it is interesting-the Wildcats and the Hawkeyes began this Big Ten season by facing off with each other in Evanston, exactly two months ago (Jan. 8). Today, they meet in Iowa City to close the Big Ten season. In case you forgot, Iowa won the first game, 68-63.
