Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Wraps Up Homestand Against Liberty Tuesday
11/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2009
Liberty at Northwestern
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, Ill. • 5:30 p.m.
Streaming Video: BigTenNetwork.com (Rob Coons and Mark Carman)
Audio: WGN-AM 720 and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and Shon Morris)
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern continues play in the Chicago Invitational Challenge Tuesday as it welcomes Liberty to Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. prior to the women's game against DePaul at 8 p.m. The game is being video streamed live on BigTenNetwork.com and Gametracker is available at NUsports.com.
The Wildcats (2-1) are coming off a hard-fought 69-62 victory over Tennessee State on Sunday behind Michael Thompson's career-high 31 points. Thompson scored 13 of NU's final 16 points as the 'Cats finished the game on a 16-1 run to overcome an eight-point deficit with 5:26 remaining. Alex Marcotullio's 3-pointer with 2:22 left gave Northwestern the lead for good. The freshman connected on all three of his attempts from beyond the arc in the contest.
Series History: Northwestern leads, 1-0.
Last Meeting: Jason Burke scored 16 points to lead the Wildcats past Liberty 66-49 in Evanston Dec. 17, 2001.
Scouting Liberty
• Liberty is off to a 1-4 start to its season, most recently falling 91-72 Sunday at Notre Dame. The Flames shot 49.0 percent from the field against the Fighting Irish but were hurt by 19 turnovers.
• Senior guard/forward Kyle Ohman is tops on the squad with an average of 14.4 points per game. He led five Flames players in double figures with 13 points against Notre Dame and has been the team's leading scorer in four of Liberty's first five contests. Liberty's lone win so far came by an 89-53 margin against Southern Virginia Nov. 14.
• Dale Layer, a former Liberty assistant, is in his first season as the head coach of the Flames after serving as an assistant at Marquette for 2008-09. He was previously the head coach at Queens College and Colorado State.
Juice Lets Loose
Michael "Juice" Thompson's performance against Tennessee State Nov. 22 was something to remember. The junior point guard scored 21 points in the second half, including 13 of the team's final 16, to help NU rally from an eight-point deficit to defeat the Tigers 69-62. The Wildcats closed the game on a 16-1 run. Thompson's 31 points surpassed his previous career high of 24 set as a freshman at DePaul and are a season high for a Big Ten player. The 21 second-half points are the most since Craig Moore scored 24 in the first half at Brown one year earlier to the date.
Chicago Invitational Challenge
Sunday's game against Tennessee State and Tuesday's contest vs. Liberty are affiliated with the Chicago Invitational Challenge. Regardless of Northwestern's result in those two games, it will square off against Notre Dame on Friday as the Invitational moves to the UIC Pavilion. The Wildcats will then take on either Saint Louis or Iowa State the following day based upon their result against the Fighting Irish. Tennessee State and Liberty are also moving on to the UIC Pavilion this weekend and will compete in the same four-team bracket as Mississippi Valley State and Kennesaw State.
Up Next...
The Chicago Invitational Challenge moves to the UIC Pavilion Friday as Northwestern takes on Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m. The Wildcats then face either Saint Louis or Iowa State on Saturday depending on Friday's result. NU plays at 4:30 p.m. Saturday if it loses Friday or at 7 p.m. if it wins.
