Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Welcomes Brown to Welsh-Ryan Arena Saturday
11/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2007
NU Men's Basketball Game Notes vs. Brown
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern tries for its second consecutive win as it hosts Brown at Welsh-Ryan Arena Saturday. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. The contest will be televised live by Big Ten Network with Dave Revsine and Tim Doyle on the call.
The game can also be heard on WGN Radio (720 AM) with Dave Eanet and Shon Morris, as well as on WNUR (89.3 FM).
Series History: Northwestern leads, 3-1
Last Meeting: The two teams met in Evanston Nov. 21 of last season with NU posting a 64-40 victory. Tim Doyle led the Wildcats with 17 points and eight assists.
The Wildcats are coming off a convincing 95-63 home victory over Division III opponent Benedictine (Ill.) Tuesday evening. NU's point total was its highest in over 13 years. Northwestern shot 61.0 percent from the field and handed out 32 assists on 36 made field goals.
Jeff Ryan led the way with a career-best 20-point performance, while Craig Moore and Mike Capocci both had solid all-around games. Moore collected 19 points and seven rebounds, while Capocci had 12 points, seven steals, six assists and five rebounds.
Brown will be playing its first game in 10 days after suffering a 75-61 loss at the hands of Rhode Island Nov. 14. The Bears are coached by former Northwestern assistant coach Craig Robinson.
Last Time Out
Craig Moore had 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists to lead Northwestern to a 95-63 rout over Benedictine (Ill.). Jeff Ryan scored a team- and career-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting for the Wildcats. Freshman Michael Thompson posted a career-best seven assists. Jason Okrzesik had a career-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting for the Wildcats. Freshman Mike Capocci added career-highs with 12 points, seven steals and six assists as the Wildcats hit 61 percent of their shots and were 10-for-23 on 3-pointers. Northwestern started strong and took a 18-3 lead on Okrzesik's 3-pointer with 12:46 left in the first half. Okrzesik connected on all five of his first-half shot attempts, including three 3-pointers, while Moore made five shots from beyond the arc prior to the intermission. The teams combined to hit 18 3-pointers in the first half, as the Wildcats took a 52-30 lead into the break. Northwestern opened the second half on a 16-3 run and took the biggest lead of the game, 79-40, with 9:59 remaining.
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 Nov. 15. 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 Nov. 17 against DePaul as he tallied a game-high 24 points. He handed out a team-high seven assists in Tuesday's victory over Benedictine.
Offensive Explosion
Northwestern's performance in Tuesday's win over Benedictine was one for the recordbooks. The Wildcats set bests under eighth-year head coach Bill Carmody in points (95), field goals made (36) and assists (32). The point total was NU's highest since a 97-93 overtime win over Michigan March 12, 1994, while the 32 assists set a new Welsh-Ryan Arena record. Meanwhile, freshman Mike Capocci's seven steals rank as a tie for the fifth most in a game in school history.
Scouting Brown
• Head coach Craig Robinson's sister, Michelle, is the wife of U.S. Senator from Illinois and Presidential candidate Barack Obama.
•The Bears have not played since falling at home against Rhode Island 75-61 Nov. 14. Junior Scott Friske led the Bears with 13 points.
•Brown has already faced on Big Ten school on the road this season, falling at Michigan 72-57 Nov. 11. Damon Huffman paced three Bears players in double figures with 17 points.
•The Bears' lone victory over Northwestern in the series came Jan. 2, 1996 in Evanston when they defeated the Wildcats 60-56.
•Brown's roster features four Chicagoland area natives in freshmen Jelani Floyd (Chicago), Sean Kane (Long Grove), Garrett Leffelman (Naperville) and Peter Sullivan (Wilmette). Sullivan was a high school teammate of NU's Matt Steger at Loyola Academy.
Up Next...
NU participates in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge next Tuesday as it travels to Virginia. The 'Cats defeated Miami (Fla.) 61-59 at home in last year's Challenge.
