Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Trek to Indiana This Weekend
1/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 16, 2004
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EVANSTON, Ill. - One week ago, Northwestern men's basketball coach Bill Carmody arrived with his team at Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena wondering if there were any answers to the recent poor play of his team. The Wildcats were on a four-game losing skid, the most recent being a 24-point shellacking at the hands of Michigan.
What a difference a week makes.
The Wildcats walk into Assembly Hall today brimming with confidence, thanks to a monumental week in the history of the program. A pair of Big Ten wins-last Saturday in Iowa City, and then Wednesday against 25th-ranked Illinois-coupled with the arrival of Mike Thompson from Duke, has given Carmody's program a shot in the arm.
The enthusiasm is tempered somewhat by the injury suffered Wednesday by Vedran Vukusic. The sophomore-who is second on the team in scoring and rebounding and leads the team in three-point shooting-suffered a hyperextension of his left knee during the first half of the Illinois game; he did not make the trip for today's game.
Nevertheless, the Wildcats proved that they could do the job even without him on the court. In fact, Wednesday they made a major statement, outscoring the Illini 41-22 in the second half with Vukusic watching from the bench. One of Vukusic's two Croatian countrymen on the squad, Davor Duvancic, especially picked up the slack; the junior went for a career-high 22 points, 17 of which came after the break.
Northwestern has done a good job of playing the type of offensive basketball that Carmody feels is key to success:
Balanced Attack: Never mind that in each of the last two games the Wildcats have had four players in double figures, with a fifth player scoring eight points. In the Iowa game, five different players took eight or more shots, and no one had more than 12; against Illinois, five players had seven or more, and no one had more than 11. Also against the Hawkeyes, six of the eight guys who played had two or more assists, while seven of the eight players who saw more than a minute of action against the Illini had at least one assist.
Shot Distribution: NU, as has been the case in recent years, was judicious in its shot selection-the 'Cats took 55 vs. Iowa and 48 against Illinois. Of those, 42 came from beyond the arc, giving the team a nice inside-outside distribution. The result was 51.1 percent shooting from the field.
Value the Ball: The Wildcats had just three turnovers against Illinois; in the last week NU's assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.5 (37/15) and its turnover margin is +6.0.
The result of Northwestern's heady play is a 2-1 start, the Wildcats' best since 1999-in fact, this is the first time since he arrived in Evanston that Carmody does not walk onto the floor prior to his fourth Big Ten game looking for his first win. NU has started each of the last three seasons 0-3 in conference play.
GAME 15
Northwestern (7-7, 2-1 Big Ten) at Indiana (7-6, 1-1 Big Ten)
Saturday, Jan. 17, 2004 * 2 p.m. EST
Assembly Hall (17,456) * Bloomington, Ind.
THE COACHES:
Northwestern: Bill Carmody, 4th season at NU (46-56); 8th season overall (138-81)
Indiana: Mike Davis, 3rd season at Indiana (74-44); same overall
TV: ESPN Regional (Tom Hamilton, play-by-play; Bob Ford, analyst)
RADIO: WGN Radio 720 AM (Dave Eanet, play-by-play; Bob Hildebrand, analyst)
The Fun Fact
Northwestern has reached the 70-point barrier in each of the last two games, the first time the 'Cats have hit that plateau in consecutive Big Ten games since 1996 (74 vs. Penn State on Jan. 13, 71 at Ohio State on Jan. 17). NU has reached the 70-point mark five times in the last eight games and six times overall this season.
The Series With Indiana
* The Wildcats and the Hoosiers are meeting for the 143rd time, with Indiana leading the series 102-40.
* These teams split last year's games-Indiana won here in Bloomington on Jan. 15 (71-57), while NU won in Evanston on Feb. 5 (74-61). Prior to last year's win, the last time the Wildcats defeated the Hoosiers was Jan. 11, 1988 (66-64).
* NU head coach Bill Carmody is 1-4 against the Hoosiers.
* The last time NU won consecutive games in the series was 1968; that was also the last time the 'Cats won in Bloomington. NU has never won in Assembly Hall.
