Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Host Michigan State on Senior Night
3/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 1, 2005
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EVANSTON, Ill. - Prior to tonight's game, Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody and the rest of the Wildcat program will take time to honor the seniors on this year's team, Davor Duvancic and Michael Jenkins (before you ask, Jenkins has a year of eligibility left and may indeed return next season -- however, NU is taking the approach that it is better to honor someone twice rather than never).
Northwestern vs. Michigan State
Wednesday, March 2 * 7 p.m. Central
TV: ESPN+ Local (Wayne Larrivee, play-by-play; Shon Morris, analyst)
Click here for TV clearances
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Dave Eanet, play-by-play; David Kaplan, analyst)
Both Duvancic and Jenkins are modern-day success stories. Duvancic played just 29 minutes as a freshman, scoring six points. Tonight, he will make his 23rd start of the season, and he leads the 'Cats with 70 assists while averaging 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Jenkins, meanwhile, has become a regular Rudy of the hardwood, moving into a starting role as a walk-on and playing a key role in some of the Wildcats' biggest wins of the season.
Emotions figure to be high -- they always are on Senior Night -- but the Wildcats need to remember to tend to business once the ball goes up. The job ahead of them this week has been laid out -- they need to win at least one of their last two games (tonight vs. No. 14/12 Michigan State, Saturday at Indiana) in order to finish the regular season with a winning record. That would make them eligible for postseason play, regardless of what happens in next weekend's Big Ten Tournament.
NU did a good job of keeping on task Saturday, rebounding from a discouraging loss at Illinois by jumping all over Michigan (as in a 24-2 start) and rolling to a 16-point win here at Welsh-Ryan Arena. It improved the 'Cats to 12-3 at home this season (5-2 Big Ten) which set a McGaw Hall record for NU victories in a season.
Did You Know?
• Davor Duvancic will graduate having been a part of at least 56 wins with the Northwestern program, more than any player in the program's history (the previous high four-year win total was 55, from 1930-31 to 1933-34).
• Duvancic has also been part of 24 Big Ten wins in his four seasons, the most by any Class since the Class of 1970 (25). The Class of 1969 graduated with 28 conference victories.
• Junior Vedran Vukusic needs 13 points to reach 1,000 for his college career. He is looking to become the 26th player in NU history to reach the milestone, and the 13th to do it in his third season of varsity basketball.
The Series with Michigan State
• Today marks the 107th meeting between the Wildcats and the Spartans in men's basketball; Michigan State leads the series, 70-36.
• The Spartans won the first meeting this season, 87-58, in East Lansing. Maurice Ager led four MSU players in double figures with 18 points, while Paul Davis had 17 points and nine rebounds. For NU, Mike Thompson had 16 points while Vedran Vukusic scored 12.
