Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Seeks Season Sweep of Minnesota Sunday
2/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2009
NU Game Notes vs. Minnesota (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern opens a stretch during which it plays four of its last five games of the regular season on the road Sunday as it travels to Minnesota to face the Golden Gophers. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. Big Ten Network is televising the game live with Craig Coshun and Tim McCormick on the call.
Sunday's contest can be heard on 560 AM, WIND and online at wgnradio.com with Dave Eanet.
The Wildcats earned a much-needed win Wednesday as they defeated Ohio State at home, 72-69. NU rallied back from a 12-point second-half deficit before winning it on a 3-pointer by freshman John Shurna with 3.3 seconds remaining. Kevin Coble led Northwestern with 26 points, while Craig Moore chipped in with 23, including hitting seven shots from beyond the arc.
Series History: Minnesota leads, 97-58. Northwestern has won three of its last four games at Williams Arena.
Last Meeting: Craig Moore scored 22 points as the Wildcats took down No. 18 Minnesota 74-65 in Evanston Jan. 18.
Scouting Minnesota
• The Golden Gophers (19-7, 7-7) have tailed off a bit since starting the season 16-1, dropping six of their last nine contests. Minnesota has lost its last four road games but is 14-2 at home this season.
• Junior guard Lawrence Westbrook is the lone Gopher player averaging double figures in scoring, posting a norm of 12.3 points per game. Junior forward Damian Johnson contributes 9.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest.
• Tubby Smith is in his second season at Minnesota where he has a 39-21 record. He is 426-166 in 18 overall seasons as a head coach, including stints at Kentucky, Georgia and Tulsa.
Ohio State Game Notes
Kevin Coble (26) and Craig Moore (23) combined for 49 points in the contest, the most by a Wildcat duo in a game since Coble (37) and Michael Thompson (15) combined for 52 against Indiana Feb. 23, 2008 ... Moore's seven 3-point makes are his second-highest total in a game this season, trailing only the school-record nine he made at Brown Nov. 22 ... Moore extended his streak of consecutive games with a made 3-pointer to 36--the second-longest current streak in the country--and raised his career total to 296, just three behind Illinois' Dee Brown for fifth place in Big Ten history ... With the win, Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody has now defeated all 10 other Big Ten schools ... Moore passed Todd Leslie (1990-94) and Patrick Baldwin (1991-94) to move into 13th place on the school's career list with 1,208 points.
Triple Threats
Northwestern ranks first in the Big Ten and amnong the nation's leaders with a .391 3-point field goal percentage. Penn State is second in the conference at .374. Individually, Craig Moore ranks fifth (.426), Michael Thompson is seventh (.414) and Kevin Coble is 14th (.379).
Protecting the Rock
Northwestern has handed out 379 assists while committing just 268 turnovers this year for an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.41. The mark ranks second in the Big Ten (Illinois, 1.44) and ninth nationally in the category through games played Sunday. The Wildcats ranked third in the country last season with a 1.43 team assist-to-turnover ratio.
Sharing is Caring
Of Northwestern's 555 made field goals this season, the team has assisted on 379 of them or 68.3 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 Sunday's game ranked first in the Big Ten in turnover margin at +4.46. 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 15.6 times per game this season, with five of its foes committing over 20 turnovers in a contest.
Up Next...
The Wildcats remain on the road Wednesday as they travel to Indiana for a 5:30 p.m. Central time tip. Big Ten Network is televising the contest.
