Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Tip Off Big Ten Season With Wolverines
1/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2004
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EVANSTON, Ill. - As the calendar turns to a new year, NU head coach Bill Carmody and his team are still smarting from the way they ended 2003.
The Wildcats closed out nonconference play at the Sierra Providence SunClassic in El Paso, Texas, and entered the weekend with high hopes of giving Carmody his second title at this event (he won it as head coach of Princeton in 1996).
Unfortunately, a tale of two completely contrasting contests left NU winless and losers of three nonconference games in a row-a first in the Carmody era.
How different were the two games? Consider that, in Saturday's loss to Rutgers, the 'Cats nearly overcame a 13-point deficit before falling just short. In an up-and-down game, Northwestern scored 75 points-the most it has scored in a loss in the Carmody era-and took 65 shots which was a high during his tenure.
One night later, the Wildcats were completely stagnant against an aggressive series of zone defenses by Mississippi Valley State. As a result, the Delta Devils became the first team to beat a Carmody-led NU squad despite scoring fewer than 50 points. Northwestern took less than a third fewer shots than they did the previous night (42), and of those 26 came from three-point land (62 percent).
With 10 days off since that tournament, NU has had time to fix things-and the tools are there to work with. Senior Jitim Young, a third-team All-Big Ten selection last year, has been the rock Carmody expected him to be this season, leading the 'Cats in scoring, rebounding and just about every other offensive category.
Vedran Vukusic was a question mark to everyone but Carmody entering the season, but he has answered the bell in a major way. Vukusic-who missed last year because of shoulder surgery, after a chronic problem two years ago as a freshman-has scored 20 or more points in four of the last five games; most recently, he fell just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds vs. MVSU.
T.J. Parker and Mohamed Hachad struggled of late, but both are veteran players who can be expected to pick up their play now that the Big Ten season is here. And Northwestern got a nice lift off the bench from Evan Seacat; the sophomore scored 25 points in El Paso, and has shown a noticeable burst in confidence when he is on the floor.
At center, Davor Duvancic has started every game this season and shown glimpses of productivity. Freshman Vince Scott, like Seacat, seems to be improving with every game. And do not be surprised if you see redshirt freshman Ivan Tolic get minutes tonight.
GAME 12
Northwestern (5-6, 0-0 Big Ten) at Michigan (9-2, 0-0 Big Ten)
Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2004 * 7 p.m. EST
Crisler Arena (13,751) * Ann Arbor, Mich.
THE COACHES:
Northwestern: Bill Carmody, 4th season at NU (44-55); 8th season overall (136-80)
Michigan: Tommy Amaker, 3rd season at Michigan (37-33); 7th season overall (105-88)
TV: ESPN+ Local (Wayne Larrivee, play-by-play; Shon Morris, analyst)
RADIO: WGN Radio 720 AM (Dave Eanet, play-by-play; Bob Hildebrand, analyst)
The Fun Fact
The Michigan game will be head coach Bill Carmody's 100th game at Northwestern. Some notes on the first century...
* He is the 10th Wildcat coach to reach the milestone; the previous nine went 4-5 in their respective 100th games.
* Carmody's 44-55 mark is the third-best among NU coaches who reached 100 career games; he is behind only Arthur Lonborg (73-26) and William Rohr (54-45).
* Carmody won the 100th game he coached at Princeton, 51-41, vs. Holy Cross on Dec. 31, 1999.
Northwestern vs. Michigan
* The Wildcats and the Wolverines are meeting for the 145th time, with Michigan holding a 94-50 lead in the series.
* Michigan has won the last two meetings, 77-70 last year in Evanston and 72-51 at the 2002 Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
* NU and Michigan did not play each other in Ann Arbor last year.
* NU head coach Bill Carmody is 2-3 all-time against the Wolverines, but he is 2-0 at Crisler Arena (75-70 win in 2001, 58-54 win in 2002). Prior to his arrival, NU had not won in Ann Arbor since 1981.
The Two at the Top
Tonight's game pits the two active players who lead the Big Ten in career scoring (all games). Michigan's Bernard Robinson Jr. is atop the board with 1,245 points, while Northwestern's Jitim Young is second with 1,212 points.
Bernard Robinson Jr., Michigan 1,245
Jitim Young, NU 1,212
Michael Bauer, Minnesota 1,019
Ben Johnson, Minnesota/NU 991
Devin Harris, Wisconsin 988
Chris Hill, Michigan State 981
Glen Worley, Iowa 893
Kenneth Lowe, Purdue 892
A Look at the Big Ten Slate
NU begins with two road games (at Michigan, at Iowa), but then plays its next 12 in a home-away format before finishing the season with two home games (Iowa, Michigan).
