Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Wrap Up Home Stretch Against Nittany Lions Wednesday
2/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2010
Penn State at Northwestern
Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, Ill. • 7:30 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network (Wayne Larrivee, Tim Doyle and Jon Crispin)
Audio: WGN_AM 720 and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and David Kaplan)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 90 and XM 196
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. - Winners of three of its last four games, Northwestern returns to action Wednesday night as it hosts Penn State at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. with Big Ten Network providing live television coverage.
The contest wraps up a stretch during which the Wildcats will have played four out of five games at home. Three of NU's four remaining Big Ten games will be played away from Evanston.
Northwestern is coming off an emotional 77-74 overtime victory at home over Minnesota on Sunday. The Wildcats rallied back from down 13 points with eight minutes remaining to force the extra session and eventually earn the win. John Shurna scored a game-high 22 points, while Drew Crawford added 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Junior point guard Michael Thompson comes into the contest against the Nittany Lions 12 points shy of joining the 1,000 career point club.
Last Season: Northwestern led by as many as 11 early in the second half, but host Penn State rallied back for a 61-57 in the Big Ten opener for both teams Dec. 31, 2008.
Scouting Penn State
• Penn State (8-16, 0-12 Big Ten) has dropped six of its Big Ten games by six points or less and the Nittany Lions have held a lead with under five minutes remaining in five of the losses.
• Penn State is coming off a 65-54 home loss to Michigan State Saturday despite getting 30 points from Talor Battle. The junior guard leads the Big Ten with an average of 19.5 points per game and has scored at least 30 points four times.
•Ed DeChellis is in his seventh season as the head coach at Penn State. A year ago, he led the Nittany Lions to the NIT title and was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year.
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 17.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in 2009-10. He ranks fourth in the Big Ten in scoring and seventh in rebounding. The 10.5 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 sixth in the nation with a 1.52 assist-to-turnover ratio, having handed out 419 assists while committing only 276 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 17-8, Northwestern has matched the school record for regular season wins. The 1982-83 and 2008-09 squads each posted 17 regular-season victories. 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.
Post Presence
Sophomore center Luka Mirkovic has given the Wildcats key contributions as of late. Beginning with a double-double (11 pts., 11 reb.) in a win over Texas-Pan American Jan. 7, the native of Belgrade, Serbia, is averaging 9.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game over a 10-game span. Mirkovic has a total of three double-doubles the season, posting a career-high 16 points and 10 boards in a win over No. 6 Purdue Jan. 16, and 11 points and 10 boards in a victory over Minnesota Feb. 14. His 14 boards at Minnesota Jan. 26 matched a high for an individual during the Carmody era at Northwestern. Mirkovic ranks 11th in the conference with an average of 6.0 rebounds per game.
Bombs Away!
The Wildcats lead the Big Ten and are fourth nationally with an average 9.40 3-point makes and 25.7 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 72.7 percent of their field goals this season, posting 419 assists on their 576 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 has reached six Big Ten wins for the sixth time in Bill Carmody's first 10 seasons as head coach. 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 17 of Northwestern's first 25 contests this season. Thompson leads the Big Ten and is third 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 11 times this season and sports a 2.50 assist-to-turnover ratio. In Big Ten play, his assist-to-turnover ratio goes up to 2.64 (58 assists, 22 turnovers in 498 minutes played). Northwestern is 14-3 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 13.1 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 - 13.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.8 apg
Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati - 12.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.5 apg
Drew Crawford, NU - 11.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.9 apg
Home Sweet Home
After setting a program best with 13 home wins in 2008-09, the Wildcats have matched that total this season with three home games still remaining. NU's lone nonconference road game was at N.C. State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Northwestern is 13-3 at home so far this season with the three losses coming to nationally ranked opponents Butler Nov. 18, Michigan State Jan. 2 and Wisconsin Jan. 13.
Nash Becomes All-Around Threat
Senior guard Jeremy Nash was always known as a defensive standout, but he has blossomed into a solid all-around player in his first season as a starter. He made the most of his second career start in NU's season-opening win against Northern Illinois Nov. 13, scoring 20 points. Nash had scored in double figures just four times in 77 games played over his first three seasons, but has done so 10 times this year. He posted a career-best 22-point performance in a win over Illinois Jan. 23. Entering this season, his career high was 12 points at Indiana Feb. 3, 2008. Nash was named to the all-tournament team for his efforts in the Chicago Invitational Challenge and leads the Wildcats and ranks seventh in the Big Ten with an average of 1.60 steals per game. He's also second on the team and seventh in the Big Ten with a .808 free throw percentage (59-73). After averaging 3.1 points per game through his first three seasons, Nash is averaging 8.9 points per game in 2009-10.
Up Next...
Northwestern heads out on the road this weekend as it travels to 14th-ranked Wisconsin. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. Sunday.
