Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Host Benedictine Tuesday Evening
11/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 19, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern takes its third shot at its first win of the season Tuesday evening as it hosts local foe Benedictine (Ill.) at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. The contest can be seen live on BigTenNetwork.com.
There will not be a radio broadcast of the contest.
Promotions: Student-Athlete Advisory Food Drive - $5 admission and an ESPN Zone game card as well as the chance to win dinner with assistant coach Tavaras Hardy for all fans who donate a non-perishable food item. Also, Wildside t-shirts for Northwestern students.
The matchup marks the third consecutive season in which the Wildcats are facing an NCAA Division III opponent. Last year, NU survived a scare from Wheaton (Ill.), topping the Thunder 41-39. This will be the first meeting between NU and the Eagles.
Northwestern has been led so far this season by freshman point guard Michael Thompson who is averaging 20.0 points per game, including scoring a game-high 24 points in a tight 54-53 loss at DePaul Saturday. Junior guard Craig Moore is second in scoring at 9.0 points per contest and had a solid all-around performance in Saturday's game, posting 9 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds.
The game against the Eagles opens a stretch during which the Wildcats will play six of their next eight games at home. NU will also host Brown this Saturday before heading to Virginia for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge next Tuesday.
Last Time Out
Draelon Burns hit a short lean-in, go-ahead basket from the lane with 6.4 seconds left, and DePaul's Karron Clarke blocked a last-second shot attempt Saturday as the Blue Demons beat Northwestern 54-53 at Allstate Arena. Sterling Williams had a chance to win it for the Wildcats, but couldn't convert his driving shot right before the buzzer as Clarke got a piece of the ball. NU took a 53-52 lead with 47.8 seconds left when Jason Okrzesik banked in a 3-pointer. After a timeout, Burns missed a shot, but DePaul retained possession when the ball went off Northwestern during a scramble for the rebound with 16 seconds left. Given another chance, Burns converted. Freshman Michael Thompson led Northwestern with 24 points before fouling out with 3:19 to go. DePaul led by as many as eight in the first half before the Wildcats used an 18-3 run that spanned both halves to take their biggest lead of the contest at 33-26 two minutes into the second stanza.
Scouting Benedictine
• Benedictine competes at the NCAA Division III level and is a member of the Northern Athletics Conference.
• The Eagles are coming off a 73-57 loss to Wheaton last Saturday. Incidentally, Wheaton was the last Division III opponent to face the Wildcats as it fell to NU 41-39 Dec. 14, 2006.
• Junior guard Jared Bailey leads the Eagles with an average of 13.5 points per game so far this season, while sophomore guard Michael Fahey has come off the bench to average 13.0 points per game.
• The Eagles have recent experience facing Division I opposition. Benedictine opened the 2005-06 season with an exhibition game versus Northern Illinois. During the 2004-05 campaign, the team faced both Eastern Illinois and Loyola in the regular season. The Eagles lost both contests, falling to EIU, 86-62, and to the Ramblers, 74-59.
The Juice is Loose
Freshman point guard Michael "Juice" Thompson has enjoyed an as impressive start to a collegiate career as any Northwestern player in recent memory. Thompson scored 16 points, all in the second half, against No. 20 Stanford in his collegiate debut last Thursday. It was the most points by a Wildcat player in his first college game since Vedran Vukusic also had 16 points in the 2001 season opener. Current NU assistant coach Tavaras Hardy also had 16 points in his first game to open the 1998 campaign. Thompson showed his debut was a sign of things to come Saturday against DePaul as he tallied a game-high 24 points.
Big Ten's Big Start
The Big Ten Conference has gotten the 2007-08 season off to a hot start. The conference's schools combined to win each of their first 13 games and the league was 21-3 overall entering the day Monday. Two of the three losses have come to ranked teams, as Michigan fell to No. 5 Georgetown and the Wildcats were defeated by No. 20 Stanford.
Up Next...
Northwestern returns to action following the Thanksgiving holiday at 11 a.m. Saturday as it hosts Brown at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Bears, who are coached by former Wildcat assistant coach Craig Robinson, fell to NU 64-40 last season in Evanston.
