Northwestern University Athletics
Road Contest at Illinois Next Up For Northwestern
2/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Feb. 18, 2007 -- 2 p.m. CT
Northwestern (12-13, 2-10) at Illinois (18-9, 6-6)
Assembly Hall (16,618)
Champaign, Ill.
Radio -- WGN 720 AM (Dave Eanet and Bob Hildebrand)
Television -- ESPN Plus Local, WCIU in Chicago (Wayne Larrivee and Shon Morris)
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern (12-13, 2-10) travels down Interstate 57 this weekend for a contest with Illinois at 2 p.m. CT Sunday. The Wildcats are coming off an eight-point loss (66-58) at Iowa Thursday night despite 17 points from Tim Doyle and a second-straight double-double from freshman Kevin Coble. NU had its chances, but missed opportunities late in the game allowed Iowa to pull out the win. Coble is making a strong case for Big Ten All-Freshmen honors this season and leads the team with 12.8 ppg -- third best among Big Ten freshmen.
Illinois, meanwhile, also is fighting for its postseason lives. They have won four of its last six, but have not played in eight days -- a 65-61 loss at Indiana on Feb. 10. Warren Carter and Shaun Pruitt lead the Illini offensively with 13.2 and 11.3 ppg, respectively. Illinois ranks fourth in the Big Ten in rebounding with 35.4 per game and rank first in offensive rebounds with 13.1 per game.
Coble Among Top NU Freshmen
With his 12.8 ppg average, Kevin Coble is on pace to become just the fifth true-freshman to lead the Wildcats in scoring since the 1972-73 season when freshman became eligible for varsity competition. Ben Johnson was the last Wildcat to do it in 2000 when he averaged 11.6 ppg. Cedric Neloms also did it in 1992 with 14.4 ppg, Jim Stack in 1980 with 12.9 and Billy McKinney -- Northwestern's all-time leading scorer -- with 15.8 ppg in 1974. Coble is one of the leading candidates for Big Ten All-Freshman honors. He is averaging 15.6 points over the last five games. He has scored in double-figures 16 times and has four games with 20 or more points. Among conference newcomers, he ranks third in scoring (12.8), fourth in rebounding (5.1), fourth in FG percentage (.508) and third in 3FG percentage (.393). Is sixth in the Big Ten overall in FG percentage and 15th in scoring. His perfect 5-of-5 shooting performance from behind the arc against Utah in December is tied for the best 3FG shooting performance in the Big Ten this season among all players. He averaged 20.3 ppg in three games at the San Juan Shootout and was named to the all-tournament team for his efforts. Before an ankle injury, Coble averaged just 5.7 points and shot 27 percent in his first three league games against Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State.
Back-to-Back Double-Doubles
With 14 points and 11 rebounds in the road loss to Iowa, Kevin Coble became the first Wildcat since Jitim Young in 2003 to record back-to-back double-doubles. He had 16 points and 10 boards against the Nittany Lions on Feb. 10. Young had 23 and 12 against Indiana on Feb. 5, 2003 and 25 and 10 three days later against Wisconsin. He almost pulled the trifecta with 12 points and nine rebounds the next game against Purdue.
Record-Setting Pace
With 126 assists, senior Tim Doyle is on pace to break Northwestern's single-season record for assists which currently stands at 154 (Patrick Baldwin, 1994). With his 5.04 apg average, he is on pace for 158 by season's end. Last year he became just the sixth player in Northwestern history to record at least 200 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists in the same season. He needs 14 rebounds to duplicate that feat again this season.
He Can Score Too
In addition to Coble, Tim Doyle has been forced to pick up some of the scoring slack of late and is averaging 14.5 points and shooting 57 percent over the last six games. He scored 30 points in two home games against No. 5 Ohio State and Minnesota, going 13-of-24 from the field in those two games with 10 assists. He scored nine in the road loss at Wisconsin, 16 in the home loss to Illinois and another 15 in the win over Penn State. He then led the the Wildcats with 17 in the close loss to Iowa on the road.
Last Time Out
Northwestern had its chances to notch another last-minute comeback against Iowa, but misses from both the foul line and the field cost the Wildcats, who dropped a 66-58 decision Thursday night. Despite a forgettable night from the floor, Adam Haluska's touch from the free-throw line, including four straight in the final 1:07, was enough to help the Hawkeyes withstand yet another Wildcat comeback. Tim Doyle led Northwestern with 17 points and Kevin Coble added his second-straight double-double with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. The Wildcats, who were coming off a home victory over Penn State, dominated inside, flustering the Hawkeyes with their ability to convert wide open backdoor passes in the paint. But Northwestern struggled from the perimeter, and hit just 15.8 percent from behind the 3-point stripe. Haluska hit six-straight in the early minutes of the second half to give Iowa some breathing room. Minutes later he hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, seemingly putting Iowa in control 49-38 with 11:19 remaining. Northwestern, however, fought back behind Coble and 3-pointer from Vince Scott to cut the lead to 57-54 with 3:45 remaining. But Northwestern scored on just two of its final nine possessions and missed fired on three front ends of a one-and-one in the final 4:18. Iowa put the game away by sinking 7-of-9 from the line in final 1:07.
Advantage 'Cats in Close Games
Even with one of the youngest teams in the league, Northwestern once again showed its ability to keep its cool in tight games in the two-point win over Penn State on Saturday. So far this season, NU is 5-1 in games decided by two points or less and 21-6 all-time under Carmody.
'Cats Rank Second in NCAA's in Assist/FG Ratio
Northwestern is ranked No. 2 among all Division I teams in assist-to-field goal ratio, according to the latest statistical release Feb. 8. The Wildcats have assisted on 382-of-530 makes (.720), more than 70 percent of their baskets. In the win over Northwestern State on New Year's Eve, the Wildcats assisted on 27-of-34 field goals, the most assists in the Carmody era. They trail only Sam Houston State who has a .745 ratio.
About Illinois
