Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats, No. 11 Badgers Set to Go Saturday
2/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2004
NU-Wisconsin Game Notes in PDF Format
NU Player Bios in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
EVANSTON, Ill. -- When head coach Bill Carmody came to Northwestern, he had a goal in mind that he thought would lead to the Wildcats' success in the Big Ten.
Win all of your home games, and split on the road.
Not bad math, if you think about it. The combination would lead to a 12-4 conference record -- the exact record last year's regular-season champion, Wisconsin, had. Two years ago, that would have broken a four-way logjam -- four teams tied for the title with 11-5 marks.
Defending the home court is always the goal of every coach, but in Carmody's case it was reasonable to shoot for. When he arrived in Evanston, the Wildcats were mired in a long conference losing streak, one that would eventually reach 32 games before a win over nationally ranked Iowa on Feb. 10, 2001.
Consider this, though: during that 32-game losing streak, the 'Cats were 0-15 here at Welsh-Ryan Arena. If you include the win over the Hawkeyes, Northwestern has since gone 12-10 at home against Big Ten opponents. That is a pretty dramatic turnaround. That includes four victories against ranked teams, the most recent coming Jan. 14 when the 'Cats knocked off 25th-ranked Illinois in front of a raucous Welsh-Ryan crowd. You can expect a similar atmosphere today -- as of Friday, the game was expected to be a sellout.
This year's Northwestern team has certainly held onto its home-court advantage. The 'Cats are 6-2, including 2-1 in Big Ten play.
Certainly the Wildcats face their toughest foe of the season today. In addition to its lofty national ranking, Wisconsin is where the 'Cats want to be. Under Bo Ryan, the Badgers -- two-time defending Big Ten champions -- have become nearly unbeatable at home and are nearly a .500 team on the road (time will tell if that holds up again in 2004; today begins a stretch where Wisconsin is away for six of nine games). For Northwestern to add another chapter to its cookbook of home success, it will likely have to look back at some old recipes.
Illinois: This game was a textbook example of what Carmody envisions when he wants basketball played right. His team got open looks and made them (they shot 50 percent from the field); there was a nice balance between the inside and the outside games (NU took 22 three-pointers out of 48 shots, but had 32 points in the paint); the scoring came from lots of places (four NU players were in double figures, and another had eight); and the 'Cats protected the ball (three turnovers, tied for a low in the Carmody era).
Minnesota: A few differences leading to the same result -- a win. The Wildcats' shooting was not quite there (40.7 percent), and the scoring was less balanced. However, sometimes a player can will his team to a win, and that was the case against the Gophers. Senior Jitim Young scored 26 of his 31 points in the second half, putting together individual runs where he scored 12 straight and 19 of NU's 21 points. One tenet that held common to the Illinois game? Turnovers. The 'Cats turned the ball over just four times, as opposed to Minnesota which had 17. The result was a 19-2 NU edge in points off turnovers.
GAME 20
Northwestern (8-11, 3-5 Big Ten) vs. #14/11 Wisconsin (15-3, 6-1 Big Ten)
Saturday, Feb. 7, 2004 * 1:30 p.m. CST
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) * Evanston, Ill.
The Coaches
Northwestern: Bill Carmody, 4th season at NU (47-60); 8th season overall (139-85)
Wisconsin: Bo Ryan, 3rd season at UW (58-24); 19th season overall (441-127)
TV: ESPN Regional (Wayne Larrivee, play-by-play; Bob Ford, analyst)
RADIO: WGN Radio 720 AM (Dave Eanet, play-by-play; Bob Hildebrand, analyst)
The Fun Fact
In three Big Ten home games to date, NU has outscored its opponents by an average of 14.0 points in the second half. The Wildcats outscored Illinois 41-22 on Jan. 14; Michigan State 36-31 on Jan. 21; and Minnesota 39-21 last Saturday.
Northwestern vs. Wisconsin
* The Wildcats and the Badgers are meeting for the 159th time, with Wisconsin holding a 100-58 lead in the series.
* This is the only meeting this season between these two teams.
* The Badgers have won three in a row in the series; last year they defeated Northwestern 69-50 in Madison and 74-59 here in Evanston.
* NU head coach Bill Carmody is 1-4 against the Badgers; the lone win came 69-60 during the 2002 season.
