Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats and Golden Gophers Clash at Welsh-Ryan Arena Sunday
2/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2010
Minnesota at Northwestern
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, Ill. • 4 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network (Wayne Larrivee and Shon Morris)
Audio: WCPT 92.5, 92.7 and 99.9 FM and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and Sterling Williams)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 90 and XM 196
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern looks to match the school record for home wins and regular-season wins Sunday as it hosts Minnesota at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. with Big Ten Network providing live television coverage. The Wildcats posted 17 regular-season wins in 1982-83 and again in 2008-09 while also notching 13 home wins a year ago.
NU (16-8, 5-7 Big Ten) is trying to bounce back from a 78-65 loss at Iowa Wednesday night. The 'Cats dug themselves an early deficit they were unable to come back from as Iowa was a red-hot 12-for-24 from 3-point range in the contest. Michael Thompson paced Northwestern with 20 points while John Shurna added 16.
Both teams Sunday are in search of a much-needed win to build their postseason resumes. Minnesota enters play this weekend in sixth place in the conference standings, while Northwestern is a half-game back of the Golden Gophers in seventh place.
First Meeting: Minnesota used clutch 3-point shooting from Blake Hoffarber late as the Gophers held off Northwestern 65-61 Jan. 26 in Minneapolis.
Scouting Minnesota
• Minnesota (14-9, 5-6 Big Ten) has dropped five of its last seven contest since opening conference play 3-1. The Golden Gophers dropped a 71-63 decision at home to Michigan Thursday night. Blake Hoffarber led Minnesota with 16 points.
• Lawrence Westbrook paces the Golden Gophers with an average of 13.0 points per game. Hoffarber contributes 11.7 points per contest and leads the Big Ten with a .500 3-point field goal percentage.
• Tubby Smith is in his third season at Minnesota and his 19th 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 17.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in 2009-10. He ranks fourth in the Big Ten in scoring and seventh in rebounding. The 10.4 point-per-game boost is the largest increase of any Big Ten player from last season to this season. He scored at least 20 points in five straight games from Dec. 19-Jan. 7. After twice scoring 29 points in a game this season, he established a new career high with 31 points at fifth-ranked Michigan State Jan. 30. Shurna averaged 30.0 points per game in his two contests against the Spartans this season.
30-30 Vision
By virtue of John's Shurna's 31-point effort at Michigan State Jan. 30, Northwestern joined Oklahoma and Lipscomb the only three schools this season to have three different players score at least 30 points in a game. Michael Thompson scored 31 vs. Tennessee State Nov. 22 and Drew Crawford tallied 35 against North Carolina A&T Dec. 13.
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 lead the Big Ten and rank third in the nation with a 1.53 assist-to-turnover ratio, having handed out 401 assists while committing only 263 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
At 16-8, Northwestern is one win shy of matching the school record for regular season wins. The 1982-83 and 2008-09 squads each posted 17 regular-season victories. NU has never before had 16 wins through its first 23 games. 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.
Bombs Away!
The Wildcats lead the Big Ten and are sixth nationally with an average 9.25 3-point makes per game, while also ranking sixth in the nation with 25.3 3-point attempts per game. Northwestern's 20 3-point makes and 47 3-point attempts in the win over North Carolina A&T Dec. 13 both established new Big Ten records. NU matched the attempts record with 47 against Illinois Dec. 30. The 20 makes bested the previous conference mark of 18 set by Ohio State against LSU Jan. 15, 2005, while the attempt total topped Michigan's total of 42 against Florida Gulf Coast Dec. 22, 2008. The previous school records were 15 makes vs. Arkansas State Dec. 3, 2007 and 36 tries at Ohio State Feb. 1, 2003.
Helping Hand
Northwestern is well known for playing "team" offense and that's reflected in the statistics. The Wildcats have assisted on 73.8 percent of their field goals this season, posting 401 assists on their 552 made baskets. The percentage ranks second in the nation. In fact, NU has ranked in the top five nationally in assist percentage each of Bill Carmody's 10 seasons as head coach.
Success Under Carmody
Northwestern's next Big Ten win this season will be its sixth. In head coach Bill Carmody's first nine seasons in Evanston, the Wildcats recorded at least six Big Ten victories five times. The program totaled six or more conference wins just five times in the previous 31 years prior to Carmody's arrival. NU's seven-game increase in conference wins from the 2007-08 to the 2008-09 season is the biggest jump since Minnesota went from three league wins in 2003-04 to 10 the following campaign.
Marathon Man
There is no questioning Michael Thompson's importance to the Wildcats. Not when you consider that he has played 38 or more minutes in 16 of Northwestern's first 24 contests this season. Thompson leads the Big Ten and is fourth nationally with an average of 37.8 minutes per game. Despite playing as many minutes as he does, the NU floor general has committed either one or no turnovers in 11 of the team's 24 games and sports a 2.51 assist-to-turnover ratio. In Big Ten play, his assist-to-turnover ratio goes up to 2.68 (51 assists, 19 turnovers in 459 minutes played). Northwestern is 13-3 when Thompson scores in double figures and is 3-5 when he doesn't.
Crawford's Contributions
Freshman Drew Crawford stepped into the Northwestern starting lineup from the opening game of the season and has paid immediate dividends. He had a memorable performance in a win over North Carolina A&T Dec. 13. His 35 points set a Northwestern freshman record, besting the 30 Billy McKinney had against Illinois Feb. 16, 1974. It is the second-highest point total by any freshman in the country this season. Crawford's eight 3-pointers in the contest were one shy of the school record of nine set by Craig Moore against Brown Nov. 22, 2008. He was named Big Ten Player of the Week for his efforts, the first NU freshman ever to earn the honor. Crawford leads all Big Ten freshmen with an average of 12.7 points per game in conference play. He is one of just four freshmen in BCS conferences who are averaging at least 11.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
Player, School -Points, Rebounds, Assists
Alec Burks, Colorado - 16.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.7 apg
Xavier Henry, Kansas - 13.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.9 apg
Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati - 11.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.6 apg
Drew Crawford, NU - 11.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.8 apg
Up Next...
Northwestern remains at home Wednesday as it takes on Penn State. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
