Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Squares Off Against No. 6 Purdue Saturday
1/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2010
#6 Purdue at Northwestern
Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, Ill. • 4:30 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network (Wayne Larrivee and Shon Morris)
Audio: WGN-AM 720 and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and David Kaplan)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 91 and XM 196
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern plays its fourth home game against a ranked opponent this season Saturday as it faces No. 6 Purdue at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. The contest is sold out and is being televised live by Big Ten Network.
The game is a sellout and fans are encouraged to arrive early. Doors to Welsh-Ryan Arena open at 3 p.m.
CTA, Metra, and Pace all provide service to Welsh-Ryan Arena. The CTA Purple Line from downtown Chicago stops at Central Street where you may connect to the #201 CTA bus that stops a block from the arena or walk three blocks west on Central Street to the stadium.
The Metra Union Pacific North Line from downtown Chicago and Kenosha, Wis., stops at Central Street where you may also connect to the #201 CTA bus that stops a block from the arena or walk three blocks east on Central to the stadium.
Pace route #213 runs along Green Bay Road and connects with five other Pace routes, and also stops at Central Street.
It is the second consecutive home contest against a ranked foe for the Wildcats (12-4, 1-3 Big Ten) after dropping a 60-50 decision to 13th-ranked Wisconsin Wednesday night. NU held a 48-46 lead with 5:28 remaining before the Badgers ended the game on a 14-2 run. John Shurna led Northwestern with 15 points, while Jeremy Nash added 13 and Luka Mirkovic contributed eight points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Saturday's contest features the top three leading scorers in Big Ten play so far this season. Shurna and Purdue's Robbie Hummel and E'Twaun Moore are each averaging 20.5 points per game through four league contests. Hummel scored a career-high 35 points vs. Ohio State Tuesday night.
Last Season: Both teams won on the other's home court last season. Purdue rallied back for a 63-61 win Jan. 15 in Evanston before the Wildcats posted a 64-61 victory March 4 in West Lafayette. The squads have split their last 14 meetings.
Scouting Purdue
• Purdue (14-2, 2-2 Big Ten) is looking to snap a two-game skid after winning its first 14 games this season. Following a loss at Wisconsin last Saturday, the Boilermakers saw visiting Ohio State rally back for a 70-66 win Tuesday night. Robbie Hummel scored 29 of his game-high 35 points in the first half in the loss to the Buckeyes.
• E'Twaun Moore leads Purdue with an average of 17.1 points per game. Hummel ranks second on the team with a norm of 16.4 points and first with 7.1 rebounds per contest. The Boilermakers rank first in the Big Ten with a +5.94 turnover margin, forcing 17.6 turnovers per game while committing an average of 11.7 per contest.
• Matt Painter is in his fifth season at Purdue and his sixth season overall as a collegiate head coach.
Shurna Takes Charge
To say that John Shurna has elevated his game this season would be an understatement. After posting norms of 7.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game as a freshman, Shurna has raised those averages to 17.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in 2009-10. Both averages rank third in the Big Ten. The 10.1 point-per-game boost is the largest increase of any Big Ten player from last season to this season. Shurna is tied for the Big Ten lead with an average of 20.5 points per game in Big Ten play. He scored at least 20 points in five straight games from Dec. 19-Jan. 7, including scoring a career-high 29 points against Central Connecticut State Dec. 22 and again vs. Michigan State Jan. 2.
Spreading the Wealth
Northwestern is well known for sharing the basketball while protecting it from the opposition at the same time. That's the case again this season. The Wildcats rank third in the nation with a 1.56 assist-to-turnover ratio, having handed out 274 assists while committing only 176 turnovers. In its Dec. 30 overtime contest against Illinois, Northwestern handed out 21 assists while turning the ball over just three times. The three turnovers tied a low in the Carmody era and none of them came over the final 35 minutes of play.
So Far, So Good
Northwestern's 12-4 record marks the best 16-game start to a season during the Carmody era and is the best since the 1945-46 campaign. The Wildcats have started 7-1 in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. NU earned five wins in the month of November this season for the first time ever. Northwestern's nine-game win streak which was snapped Dec. 30 at Illinois was its longest since the 1993-94 squad opened its season with nine straight victories. The Wildcats 10 wins prior to the new year tied the 2006-07 team for the school record for most victories before Jan. 1.
Mirkovic Contributes in the Post
Sophomore center Luka Mirkovic has given the Wildcats key contributions in the post the last three games. Over that span, the native of Belgrade, Serbia, is averaging 10.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. After posting his second career double-double (11 pts., 11 reb.) in a win over Texas-Pan American Jan. 7, Mirkovic had another solid all-around game in Sunday's victory at Michigan, notching 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists. In Big Ten play, Mirkovic ranks fourth in the conference with an average of 8.0 rebounds per game.
Freshmen Sharp-Shooters
Northwestern was looking for a long-range threat to replace the graduated Craig Moore and freshmen Alex Marcotullio and Drew Crawford have made solid contributions from beyond the arch in his stead. Crawford has hit 27 triples and is 10th in the Big Ten with a .391 3-point percentage, while Marcotullio has 26 makes and is 14th with a .377 percentage from 3-point range.
Up Next...
Northwestern heads out on the road next Tuesday as it travels to Ohio State. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT.
