Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Hosts Iowa Thursday in Big Ten Home Finale
2/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2010
Iowa at Northwestern
Thurday, Feb. 25, 2010
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, Ill. • 6 p.m.
TV: ESPN (Bob Wischusen and Stephen Bardo)
Audio: WGN-AM 720 and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and Bob Hildebrand)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 90 and XM 196
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern plays its final Big Ten home game of the season Thursday as it welcomes Iowa to Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. with ESPN providing live television coverage. It is the second straight season that the Wildcats have hosted the Hawkeyes in their conference home finale.
NU (17-10, 6-9 Big Ten) also hosts Chicago State in a nonconference matchup next Wednesday. That contest will serve as Senior Night and Northwestern's regular-season finale.
The Wildcats played toe-to-toe with 14th-ranked Wisconsin at the Kohl Center Sunday but came up just short, falling 70-63. Northwestern had the ball down two with a minute to go but was unable to convert. Sophomore forward John Shurna was stellar in defeat, scoring a game-high 26 points.
He ranks second to only Ohio State's Evan Turner in scoring in conference play, averaging 19.5 points per game. Shurna has scored at least 20 points in a game 11 times this season, including six times against Big Ten opponents.
First Meeting: Iowa jumped out to a 10-2 lead and never trailed in defeating Northwestern 78-65 Feb. 10 in Iowa City. Michael Thompson led NU with 20 points.
Scouting Iowa
• Iowa (9-18, 3-11 Big Ten) has been off since suffering an 80-78 overtime loss at home to Michigan Feb. 16. Aaron Fuller paced the Hawkeyes with 30 points and 13 rebounds. Matt Gatens added 21 points.
• Gatens, a sophomore guard, leads the team with an average of 12.1 points per game, while Fuller is close contributes 9.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest. Fuller is first in Big Ten play with 8.4 boards per game.
• Todd Lickliter is in his third season at Iowa (37-54)and ninth season overall (168-115) as a collegiate head coach.
Seeking History
Northwestern would establish a pair of noteworthy records with a victory Thursday night. A win would be the Wildcats' 18th this season and would break the school regular-season record. NU posted 17 regular-season wins in 1982-83 and again last season. At 13-4 at home this season, Northwestern's next victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena would set another school record. The 'Cats posted 13 home wins during the 2008-09 campaign. NU's 34 combined wins over the last two seasons have already established a school best for consecutive seasons.
Cardiac 'Cats
Northwestern has proven this season that it isn't over until it's over. The Wildcats first displayed their comeback potential Nov. 22 against Tennessee State. Trailing by eight with 5:26 remaining, NU ended the game on a 16-1 run to earn a 69-62 win. In a Jan. 10 contest at Michigan, Northwestern found itself facing a 17-point first-half deficit. However, Drew Crawford sparked the comeback as the 'Cats rallied for a 68-62 victory. Minnesota was victim to NU's heroics Feb. 14. The Gophers led by 13 with eight minutes remaining before the Wildcats used a 20-4 run to help force overtime before eventually winning 77-74. Northwestern nearly turned the trick again at Wisconsin last Sunday. Trailing by 14 at the half, the Wildcats rallied back to within a point before coming up just short.
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 18.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in 2009-10. He ranks fourth in the Big Ten in scoring and 10th in rebounding. The 10.8 point-per-game boost is the largest increase of any Big Ten player from last season to this season, is the ninth largest nationally and is the third-best of any player in a BCS conference. He scored at least 20 points in five straight games from Dec. 19-Jan. 7 and 11 times overall this season. 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 fourth in the nation with a 1.53 assist-to-turnover ratio, having handed out 444 assists while committing only 291 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
With 17 wins this season, NU has matched the school record for regular season victories. The 1982-83 and 2008-09 squads each posted 17 regular-season wins. 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 fifth nationally with averages of 9.22 3-point makes and 25.4 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. The 20 makes are tied for the most by any team in the nation this season. 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 71.0 percent of their field goals this season, posting 444 assists on their 625 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 NU. Not when you consider that he has played 38 or more minutes in 18 of Northwestern's first 27 contests this season. He leads the Big Ten and is third nationally with an average of 37.9 minutes per game. Despite playing as many minutes as he does, the NU floor general has committed either one or no turnovers 12 times this season and sports a 2.57 assist-to-turnover ratio. In Big Ten play, his assist-to-turnover ratio goes up to 2.77 (61 assists, 22 turnovers in 538 minutes played). Northwestern is 14-4 when Thompson scores in double figures and is 3-5 when he doesn't. He became the 29th member of NU's 1,000-point club Feb. 17 vs. Penn State.
Up Next...
Northwestern hits the road Sunday as it travels to Penn State. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. Central time.
