Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Host Hoosiers at Sold-Out Welsh-Ryan Arena
2/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern plays its sixth ranked opponent in its last 11 games Saturday night as No. 15 Indiana comes to Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. The contest is sold out. Big Ten Network will provide television coverage with Wayne Larrivee and Shon Morris on the call.
The game can also be heard on WGN Radio (720 AM) with Dave Eanet and Bob Hildebrand.
Series History: Indiana leads, 106-42
Last Meeting: Northwestern gave Indiana all it could handle in the first meeting between the teams Feb. 3 in Bloomington. The Wildcats trailed by just two, 52-50, with under 12 minutes to go before the hosts used a late run to stretch out their lead. Eric Gordon scored a game-high 29 points for IU.
Last Time Out
Craig Moore posted his first career double-double, recording 15 points and 11 rebounds, but Northwestern suffered a painstaking 53-51 loss to Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Tuesday night. After a first half in which both offenses stuggled, the Wildcats took a 17-15 lead into the break. Led by six points by Moore and five apiece by Jason Okrzesik and Kevin Coble, the Wildcats opened the second half on a 19-7 run to take their largest lead of the contest at 36-22 with 12:25 remaining. However, Iowa finally discovered its offense. The Hawkeyes used the tandem of Cyrus Tate and Tony Freeman to storm back and go ahead 45-41 with 5:17 to go. Trailing by two late, Moore missed just short on a 3-point attempt and Tate was fouled with 9.6 seconds remaining. However, he missed both free throw attempts and NU got another shot at the tie or the win. But Moore's 3-point try fell short again and Iowa escaped with the victory.
Moore, Thompson Chase History
Point guard Michael Thompson achieved a Northwestern freshman record Tuesday at Iowa when he raised his season assist total to 107. The mark surpasses the previous record of 106 set by Patrick Baldwin during the 1990-91 season. Meanwhile, junior Craig Moore is within reach of a pair of single-season records. His 77 made 3-pointers this season are tied for the third-highest season total in school history and are just nine behind the record of 86 set by Sean Wink in 1997-98. His 200 attempts are the second most in a season, just 21 behind Winston Blake's record total of 221 set in 2000-01.
Scouting Indiana
• Indiana (22-4) enters the game just one game back in the win column behind Purdue and Wisconsin for first place in the Big Ten standings.
• The Hoosiers knocked the Boilermakers out of their solo first-place standing Tuesday with a 77-68 victory in Bloomington. Eric Gordon paced Indiana with 22 points while D.J. White added 19 points and 15 rebounds.
• Gordon sits atop the Big Ten with an average of 21.7 points per game, while White is first in the conference with 10.4 rebounds per contest and a .620 field goal percentage. White is also second with a norm of 17.2 points per game.
• Indiana is first in the Big Ten with a team free throw percentage of .764 and an average of 76.2 points per game. The Hoosiers are also second with a +7.5 rebound margin.
Up Next...
Northwestern hits the road next week for the final time during the regular season when it plays at Michigan on Tuesday. Tip-off is 8 p.m. with Big Ten Network providing television coverage.
