Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Travel to Meet Boilermakers
2/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2004
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EVANSTON, Ill. - According to Northwestern senior Jitim Young, there has been a noticeable change in attitude since he -- and Wildcat head coach Bill Carmody -- came on board.
Not at Northwestern, necessarily; he is talking about the Wildcats' opponents.
"Teams play us so much differently than they did when I first came in as a freshman," said Young following Northwestern's 69-51 dismantling of nationally ranked Wisconsin Saturday. "The respect, and just the mood of the game, it feels so much different.
"This year we have played high-caliber teams, and they really respect us," he continued. "That says a lot about the work ethic the guys have and the great job the coaching staff is doing with us."
Respect is a two-way street, of course -- you have to earn it as much as you give it. The Wildcats have certainly done their part, especially this season. They boast a 2-0 record against nationally ranked teams, and Saturday's 18-point win was NU's largest of the season; not bad, considering the Badgers came to Evanston ranked 11th in the coaches poll.
However, the next step in gaining the complete respect of the basketball world -- both in the Big Ten and nationally -- begins tonight with a consistent performance on the road.
The Wildcats are not exactly patsies on the road; they already own one conference win on enemy turf (77-68 at Iowa on Jan. 10). In addition, two weeks ago, the 'Cats fell in overtime at Penn State; last week, they were down just three points at Ohio State with two minutes remaining before falling 72-64.
However, Carmody knows that in order for his team to break into the upper half of the conference -- "head north," as he likes to say -- they need to win those types of games.
"The thing that concerns me the most heading into this game with Purdue is that the last two weeks, we have not played well on the road in a midweek game," he said. "We need to change that."
A win today would go a long way toward Northwestern's possible ascension. Following this contest, the Wildcats are home for four of their last six conference contests. And while the two road games are certainly daunting -- at 7-2 Michigan State (Feb. 21) and 6-3 Illinois (Feb. 28) -- the home games come against teams packed into the middle of the standings with the 'Cats.
"You are always going to have ifs and buts, and we do right now," said Carmody. "I have been saying to the guys for a couple of weeks that there is a logjam in the standings, and some teams will start going north and some will go south. Obviously, we want to be one of the teams going north.
"The win against Wisconsin was a good start to the second half of the Big Ten season, but now how do we respond? It would be big for us to get to .500 heading into another home game Saturday."
Tonight's game represents the last of four in a row that Northwestern plays against the Big Ten teams they will meet just once this season -- the 'Cats won home games (of course) against Minnesota and Wisconsin and lost on the road (of course) to Ohio State.
GAME 21
Northwestern (9-11, 4-5 Big Ten) at Purdue (15-7, 5-4 Big Ten)
Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2004 * 8 p.m. EST
Mackey Arena (14,123) * West Lafayette, Ind.
The Coaches
Northwestern: Bill Carmody, 4th season at NU (48-60); 8th season overall (140-85)
Purdue: Gene Keady, 24th season at Purdue (503-242); 26th season overall (541-261)
TV: ESPN Regional (Wayne Larrivee, play-by-play; Shon Morris, analyst)
RADIO: WGN Radio 720 AM (Dave Eanet, play-by-play; David Kaplan, analyst)
The Fun Fact
A win today would be NU's second Big Ten road win of the season, matching a high in the Bill Carmody era; the 'Cats also had two in 2002. However, a win would also put Northwestern at 5-5 in the conference; the last time that happened was 1999, when the 'Cats were 6-4 after 10 Big Ten contests.
Northwestern vs. Purdue
* The Wildcats and the Boilermakers are meeting for the 151st time, with Purdue leading the all-time series 113-37. This is the only meeting this season between these two teams.
* The Wildcats have won two of the last three in this series, both of them in Evanston; last year the teams split, with Purdue winning here in West Lafayette (82-68) and NU winning in Evanston (78-67).
* NU head coach Bill Carmody is 2-4 against the Boilers.
