Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Tip Off Homestand Against Indiana Wednesday
1/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2009
NU Game Notes vs. Indiana (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern opens a stretch during which it plays six of its next seven games at home by taking on Indiana Wednesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. The contest is being televised by Big Ten Network with Wayne Larrivee and Steve Smith on the call.
The contest can be heard online at wgnradio.com with Dave Eanet.
The Wildcats (10-7, 2-5 Big Ten) saw their two-game conference win streak come to an end Saturday with a 68-59 loss at Michigan. Kevin Coble, the reigning Big Ten co-Player of the Week, placed NU with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Michael Thompson added 16 points while Craig Moore pitched in with 12.
After playing six of their first seven Big Ten games against teams in the top half of the league standings, each of the Wildcats' next three games are against teams in the second half of the leaderboard.
Series History: Indiana leads,107-42.
Last Meeting: Kevin Coble scored a career-high 37 points, but No. 15 Indiana held off Northwestern 85-82 Feb. 23, 2008 in Evanston.
Scouting Indiana
• The Hoosiers (5-13, 0-6) are seeking their first Big Ten win after dropping a close 67-63 at home Sunday against No. 21 Minnesota. Devan Dumes led Indiana with 19 points, while Malik Story added 14 off the bench.
• Dumes leads IU with an average of 12.9 points a game while freshman forward Tom Pritchard contributes 12.3 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per contest.
• Tom Crean is in his first season at Indiana after spending the previous nine seasons as the head coach at Marquette. He has a career record of 195-109.
Coble Named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week
Junior forward Kevin Coble was honored as the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Monday for his efforts against Michigan State and Michigan. Coble averaged 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals in the two games. His 31 points led NU in its 70-63 upset win at No. 7 Michigan State on Wednesday. The scoring output is the highest in Big Ten play this season and ties teammate Craig Moore's total at Brown Nov. 22. Coble followed up the performance with a solid all-around effort Saturday at Michigan, posting 21 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
Taking it Away
The Wildcats enter Wednesday's game ranked first in the Big Ten in turnover margin at +4.59. That mark goes up to +5.71 in Big Ten games. Over a three-game span Jan. 15-21, all against ranked teams, the 'Cats forced Purdue into 22 miscues, Minnesota into 19 and Michigan State into 18. NU has turned its opponents over an average of 15.7 times per game this season, with four of its foes committing over 20 turnovers in a contest.
Coble Approaches Scoring Milestone
On Wednesday, junior forward Kevin Coble stands an outstanding chance at becoming the second NU player this season and 28th overall to achieve 1,000 career point milestone. He enters the contest against Indiana just seven points away with 993 for his career. Senior guard Craig Moore reached the 1,000-point plateau when he hit a 3-pointer with 2:58 remaining in the first half against Michigan State Jan. 3. He currently sits in 22nd place on NU's scoring list with 1,085 career points. Moore is the third-leading active scorer in the Big Ten behind only Jamelle Cornley of Penn State and Raymar Morgan of Michigan State. Both Moore and Coble were honorable mention All-Big Ten selections last season.
A Historic Win
Northwestern's 70-63 victory at No. 7 Michigan State Jan. 21 was notable on many levels:
• The win was NU's first victory over a top-10 opponent since a 97-93 overtime victory over No. 8 Michigan March 12, 1994. It was the first win over a top-10 team on the road since a 71-65 win at No. 9 Minnesota Jan. 3, 1953.
• Northwestern's win snapped Michigan State's 28-game home winning streak, the third-longest streak in the nation. It also ended Michigan State's 80-game home winning streak against unranked opponents.
• NU's win was its first at the Breslin Center, and its first at Michigan State overall since a 76-69 victory in East Lansing Jan. 7, 1984.
Sharing is Caring
Of Northwestern's 392 made field goals this season, the team has assisted on 264 of them or 67.3 percent. That mark ranks fourth nationally.
Up Next...
The Wildcats remain at Welsh-Ryan Arena this Saturday as they host Wisconsin at 7 p.m. Big Ten Network is televising the game live.
