Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Host UMKC Monday in Search of Fourth Straight Win
12/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 14, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Winners of three straight games, the Northwestern men's basketball team returns to action following an eight-day break as it hosts UMKC at 7 p.m. Monday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Big Ten Network is televising the game live with Mel Proctor and Greg Kelser on the call.
The contest can also be heard at 720 AM WGN and online at wgnradio.com with Dave Eanet and Bob Hildebrand.
Monday night is High School Night with free admission being offered to all high school basketball teams that pre-register. To register your team, e-mail wildcatmarketing@northwestern.edu. (Advanced purchase only.) Tickets are available for the game and can be ordered online at NUsports.com, by calling 847-491-CATS or at the arena the night of the game.
The Wildcats return from their hiatus due to final exams on the heels of a commanding 63-36 win over DePaul on Dec. 6. Kevin Coble scored a season-high 25 points in the victory while the Blue Demons connected on just 24.1 percent of their field goal attempts. NU leads the Big Ten and ranks third nationally in scoring defense, allowing an average of just 49.4 points per game. The 'Cats also rank second in the conference in turnover margin (+4.86) and scoring margin (+17.4).
Series History: This is the first meeting between Northwestern and UMKC. The Wildcats are 7-4 all-time against current members of the Summit League.
Scouting UMKC
• The Kangaroos (4-7) have one of the youngest teams in the country with just one senior and one junior on the roster. UMKC is coming off a 52-47 loss at Loyola Chicago Saturday night. Dane Brumagin, the lone senior on the Kangaroos' roster, led UMKC with 16 points, while sophomore forward Spencer Johnson contributed 14 points and 14 rebounds.
• Brumagin leads the 'Roos with an team-high average of 17.5 points per game. Sophomore Reggie Hamilton, a native of Harvey, Ill., is second on the squad with a norm of 16.5 points per contest.
• Matt Brown is in his second season as the head coach at UMKC and has a 15-28 record. He served as an assistant coach at West Virginia the previous five seasons.
Doing It With Defense
The lack of an inside presence hurt Northwestern in many ways last season, including allowing opponents to shoot 48.3 percent from the field, including 39.2 percent from 3-point range. So far this year, the Wildcats' foes have shot a combined 36.7 percent from the field and have committed an average of 16.3 turnovers per game. Northwestern has a +4.9 turnover margin so far this season. After finishing last in the country with a -10.8 rebounding margin a year ago, NU has out-rebounded six of its first seven opponents (+3.3). The 36 points scored by DePaul Dec. 6 were the fewest by the Blue Demons in a game since Jan. 29, 1949. The Wildcats rank third in scoring defense in all of NCAA Division I, allowing an average of 49.4 points per game.
A December to Remember
The month of December has been very good to the Wildcats in recent history. Northwestern has won all three of its games in the 12th month this season and went 4-0 last year. The 'Cats have come out on top in their last 11 December games and 15 of their last 16 dating back to the 2005-06 season. The lone loss was a 66-65 decision to Tennessee Tech Dec. 19, 2006 in the San Juan Shootout in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Starting Fast
Northwestern is off to a good start this season on multiple levels. The Wildcats are 6-1 for the first time since starting the 2001-02 season 7-1. NU has put itself in position to win each those games by having strong first halves. The 'Cats have had halftime leads of nine points at Butler, 16 vs. DePaul, 18 against Central Arkansas, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UC Riverside and 22 points at Brown. The lone game they have trailed at the half this season was Florida State Dec. 3. Northwestern's opponents have averaged 9.6 turnovers in the first half through seven contests.
Closing in on 1,000
A total of 26 individuals have reached the 1,000-point plateau during their Northwestern careers. That number figures to grow this season as a pair of players are approaching the milestone. Senior guard Craig Moore currently has 957 career points, while junior forward Kevin Coble has 823 points in just over two seasons. Both players were honorable mention All-Big Ten selections last season.
Up Next...
The Wildcats hit the road this Saturday as they travel to Palo Alto, Calif., to face Stanford. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. Central time.
