Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Host Chicago State in Non-Conference Tilt Wednesday
2/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2009
NU Game Notes vs. Chicago State (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern steps outside Big Ten play for the final time during the regular season as it hosts Chicago State at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The contest is being video-streamed live at BigTenNetwork.com.
The contest can also be heard on 720 AM-WGN and online at wgnradio.com with Dave Eanet and David Kaplan. WNUR, 89.3 FM, is also carrying the contest.
The Wildcats have won four of their last five entering the contest against the Cougars, including a 66-63 victory Saturday over Wisconsin. Craig Moore paced NU with 26 points, including hitting six straight free throws over the final 15.6 seconds of play to seal the win. Northwestern shot 57.1 percent from the field in the contest, its second-best field goal percentage in a game this season.
Series History: Northwestern leads, 7-0.
Last Meeting: Kevin Coble had 19 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists and Craig Moore scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half as Northwestern broke away from Chicago State after the break to post a 65-47 victory Jan. 16, 2008 in Chicago.
Scouting Chicago State
• David Holston scored 22 points as the Cougars (12-11) posted an 85-69 home win over NJIT last Saturday. Carl Montgomery added 18 points. Two days earlier, Chicago State dropped a 123-121 four-overtime decision to Utah Valley State despite 41 points by Holston and 40 by John Cantrell.
• Holston ranks third in the country with an average of 26.4 points per game. He's first in the nation with a norm of 4.8 made 3-pointers per game, hitting 111 of 295 shots from beyond the arc this season. He's also fourth in steals at 3.2 per game. Cantrell contributes 18.7 points per contest.
• Benjy Taylor has a 23-28 record in two seasons as the head coach at Chicago State.
Wisconsin Game Notes
For the first time in the last 23 meetings between Northwestern and Wisconsin, the losing team did not score less than 60 points ... The Wildcats won their fourth Big Ten game over a five-game stretch for the first time since the 2003-04 season. It's also the first time NU has won three straight Big Ten home games since that same season ... The 35 field goal attempts by Northwestern and the 38 by Wisconsin are season lows for both teams ... The Wildcats' .571 field goal percentage (20-35) is its second-best effort of the season, trailing only a .609 (28-46) performance in a season-opening win over Central Arkansas ... Craig Moore scored 26 points in the game and in the process jumped up four spots to 18th place on NU's career scoring list with 1,132 points.
Hot at Home
Northwestern's 10-2 home record entering Wednesday night's contest ranks as a tie for the team's best home mark through 12 games in Bill Carmody's nine seasons as head coach. The Wildcats also started out 10-2 at home in the 2003-04 and 2001-02 seasons. Prior to that, the last time NU started a season with at least 10 wins in their first 12 "home" games was the 1982-83 campaign when it played its home contests at DePaul's Alumni Hall while Welsh-Ryan Arena was undergoing renovations. Northwestern is limiting its opponents to 40.5 percent shooting from the floor while forcing an average of 17.3 turnovers per game at home in 2008-09.
Sharing is Caring
Of Northwestern's 438 made field goals this season, the team has assisted on 296 of them or 67.6 percent. That mark ranks fourth nationally.
Up Next...
The Wildcats return to Big Ten play Saturday as they travel to Iowa for a 5 p.m. tip.
