Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Close Out Homestand With Ohio State Wednesday
2/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern concludes its stretch of six home games over a seven-game span Wednesday as it hosts Ohio State at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. Following Wednesday's matchup, the Wildcats conclude the regular season with four of their last five games on the road. Wednesday's game is being televised live by Big Ten Network with Tom Hamilton and Steve Smith on the call.
The game can be heard on 720 AM-WGN and online at wgnradio.com with Dave Eanet and Shon Morris.
NU has dropped three games in a row by a total of just nine points, including a 70-67 overtime loss Sunday at home to Michigan. Kevin Coble scored a team-high 23 points, including a game-tying 3-pointer with 19.7 seconds remaining in regulation to force the extra session. The Wildcats also got 17 points and eight rebounds from freshman John Shurna but were only able to convert on four of 17 attempts from behind the arc.
Series History: Ohio State leads, 111-44.
Last Meeting: Kosta Koufos scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds as Ohio State posted a 65-47 victory in Evanston Feb. 13, 2008.
Scouting Ohio State
• The Buckeyes (17-6, 7-5) are coming off a 55-50 loss at Wisconsin last Saturday despite 23 points from sophomore Evan Turner. Ohio State dropped the contest despite shooting 55.3 percent from the field compared to just 36.4 percent for the Badgers.
• Turner leads the Buckeyes in several statistical categories, including scoring (17.3), rebounding (7.4), assists (3.3) and steals (1.9). As a team, Ohio State leads the Big Ten with a .481 field goal percentage. Freshman B.J. Mullens ranks first individually, shooting .636 from the field.
• Thad Matta is in his fifth season at OSU and has a 122-41 record over that span and a 224-72 mark in nine overall seasons as a head coach.
Michigan Game Notes
The contest was Northwestern's first overtime game in over two years since it defeated Western Michigan 77-75 Dec. 9, 2006 ... Kevin Coble posted career highs of 12 free throws made and 13 attempts. The number of makes are the most by a Wildcat player in a game in Bill Carmody's nine seasons as head coach ... Michigan's 21 free throws made and 27 attempts are both highs by an NU opponent this season ... Northwestern tied a season high with 58 field goal attempts, while its 15 offensive rebounds were its second-most in a game this season behind only the 18 it had vs. Florida State Dec. 3.
Mirkovic Steps Up
Freshman forward/center Luka Mirkovic is playing the best basketball of his young collegiate career. After scoring seven and nine points in his previous two Big Ten games, Mirkovic scored a collegiate-best 14 points in the Feb. 12 contest against Illinois. It was the first time he had been inserted in the Wildcats' starting lineup. Coupled with his team season-high 12 rebounds against the Fighting Illini, it gave Northwestern its first double-double of the season. He is averaging 7.8 points and 5.3 rebounds over the last four games he has appeared in. Mirkovic missed the Feb. 15 contest vs. Michigan due to illness.
Home Cooking
Northwestern's 11 home wins so far this season are the program's most the 1982-83 team went 14-2 while playing its home contests at DePaul's Alumni Hall as Welsh-Ryan Arena was undergoing renovations. The Wildcats' four home losses this season have come by an average of 4.25 points with three of the defeats coming to ranked foes.
Moore Where That Came From
Senior guard Craig Moore became the top 3-point shooter in school history against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Nov. 19, surpassing Vedran Vukusic's (2002-06) previous career record of 212. Moore then surpassed the NU career record for 3-point attempts previously held by Winston Blake (1999-2003) against Butler Nov. 26. He has an outstanding chance to finish in the top five in Big Ten history in both categories. His 289 career makes rank in sixth place in league annals and are 10 shy of Dee Brown of Illinois (2002-06) for fifth place. Moore leads the Big Ten with an average of 3.43 made 3-pointers per game this season. A year ago, Moore set a school single-season record with 97 made 3-pointers.
Current Consecutive Games With A Made
Three-Pointer (through games of 2/16/09)
1. Josh Akognon, Cal State Fullerton - 37
2. Craig Moore, Northwestern - 35
3. Tyrone Lewis, Niagara - 31
4. Ryan Schneider, Marist - 29
Source: STATS, Inc.
Sharing is Caring
Of Northwestern's 528 made field goals this season, the team has assisted on 358 of them or 67.8 percent. That mark ranks third nationally. The Wildcats shared the wealth in their Feb. 4 win over Chicago State, assisting on 24 of 27 made field goals.
Taking it Away
The Wildcats enter Wednesday's game ranked first in the Big Ten in turnover margin at +4.43. That mark goes up to +5.08 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 five of its foes committing over 20 turnovers in a contest.
Up Next...
The Wildcats start a stretch of four out out of five games on the road to conclude the regular season Sunday as they head to Minnesota for a 6 p.m. tip.
