Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Head to Columbus
2/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2004
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EVANSTON, Ill. - Hang around Northwestern men's basketball coach Bill Carmody long enough, and you will eventually hear his theory about the "vicissitudes of life."
vicissitude, n.: 1. Any change or variation in something; 2. An alteration or variation in fortune.
Certainly last week carried an alteration in the Wildcats' on-court fortunes. Weather problems forced Northwestern to begin the week with a day trip to Penn State, of all places, and the return ride home proved extra bumpy following the Nittany Lions' 63-61 overtime win. The loss extended the Wildcats' skein to three games.
Three days later, however, the streak was snapped in fine fashion when the 'Cats knocked off Minnesota, 61-47. Senior Jitim Young, in particular, stood out; the NU captain scored a career-high 31 points, 26 of them in the second half as the 'Cats overcame a six-point deficit early in the second stanza to win going away.
The win lifted Northwestern to 3-4 in the conference as it heads into Wednesday night's game at Ohio State, a game that signals the midway point of the Big Ten season for both teams. NU's three conference wins already matches the total number of Big Ten victories they had total last season.
Still, Northwestern boasts a team with enough youth that such weeks, while not welcome, can be expected. Just look at the lineup after Young-the most experienced players in terms of minutes are sophomore guards T.J. Parker and Mohamed Hachad. Vedran Vukusic is also a sophomore, but he is still getting his first real whiff of Big Ten play after missing most of the 2002 conference season with one shoulder injury and all of 2002-03 with another should injury that redshirted him. In the middle, Ivan Tolic is a redshirt freshman who gets more comfortable with every game but has still played fewer than 150 minutes in his career.
Even the three players who come off the bench -- junior Davor Duvancic, sophomore Evan Seacat and freshman Vince Scott -- are seeing quality minutes for the first time in their collegiate careers this season.
NU has proven itself at home; the 'Cats are 6-2 overall this season including 2-1 in Big Ten play, highlighted by a 10-point defeat of then-No. 25 Illinois. However, it is on the road where Carmody believes a team proves its mettle. And so it is that the Wildcats enter tonight's game with the Buckeyes looking to win their second Big Ten road game-that would match a best in the Carmody era (with the 2001-02 team).
Following this game, Northwestern is home to face two-time defending champion Wisconsin Saturday, then the 'Cats close out play against the four teams they meet once by going to Purdue next Wednesday.
GAME 19
Northwestern (8-10, 3-4 Big Ten) at Ohio State (10-10, 2-5 Big Ten)
Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2004 * 8 p.m. EST
Value City Arena (19,100) * Columbus, Ohio
The Coaches
Northwestern: Bill Carmody, 4th season at NU (47-59); 8th season overall (139-84)
Ohio State: Jim O'Brien, 7th season at OSU (129-82); 22nd season overall (364-299)
TV: ESPN Regional (Mike Gleason, play-by-play; Shon Morris, analyst)
RADIO: WGN Radio 720 AM (Dave Eanet, play-by-play; Bob Hildebrand, analyst)
The Fun Fact
NU has finished each of the last three games with 61 points. The last time that happened during the course of a season was back in 1929-30, when the 'Cats scored 30 in each of their first three games-vs. Cornell of Iowa (a 30-14 win) and Pittsburgh (a 38-30 loss), and at Notre Dame (a 30-28 OT win). The only other time it happened in NU history was during the 1926-27 season, when the 'Cats scored 24 points in consecutive losses to Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota. NU has never scored the same number of points in four straight games.
Northwestern vs. Ohio State
* The Wildcats and the Buckeyes are meeting for the 148th time, with Ohio State leading the series 103-44. This is the only regular-season meeting between these teams this year.
* OSU has won nine in a row in the series; last year, the Buckeyes defeated NU 65-52 here in Columbus and 52-48 in Evanston.
* Northwestern's last win in Columbus came Feb. 24, 1977 (83-72); the Wildcats have lost 24 in a row here since then.
* NU head coach Bill Carmody is 0-6 against Ohio State; the Buckeyes are the only Big Ten team that Carmody does not have a win against.
Among the Active Leaders...
Thanks to his big game Saturday, NU's Jitim Young moved ahead of Michigan's Bernard Robinson Jr. to become the Big Ten's leading active scorer (all games) ...
1. Jitim Young, NU 1,335
2. Bernard Robinson Jr., Michigan 1,329
3. Devin Harris, Wisconsin 1,100
4. Michael Bauer, Minnesota 1,085
5. Chris Hill, MSU 1,081
6. Ben Johnson, Minnesota/NU 1,067
7. Kenneth Lowe, Purdue 976
8. Glen Worley, Iowa 970
