Northwestern University Athletics
Big Ten Slate Opens Tuesday for Wildcats at Rutgers
12/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Northwestern (9-4) at Rutgers (8-5) |
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| Date | Tuesday, Dec. 30 | 11 a.m. CT |
| Location | Rutgers Athletic Center | Piscataway, N.J. |
| Watch | ESPNU and WatchESPN (Doug Sherman and Craig Robinson) |
| Listen | 720 WGN and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and Joey Meyer); Sirius 92, XM 195 |
| Live Stats | Gametracker |
| Social Media | @NUMensBball  | Facebook  | @numensbball  |
| Game Notes | Northwestern | Rutgers |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern tips off its 2014-15 Big Ten season Tuesday as it travels to take on conference newcomer Rutgers at 11 a.m. Central time. The contest is being televised live by ESPNU.
The Wildcats closed out the nonconference portion of their season with a 9-4 record, closing with three consecutive victories. The winning streak includes a 76-55 home win over Northern Kentucky on Saturday. Tre Demps tied a career high with 23 points to lead all scorers. Northwestern used a 24-4 run spanning both halves to turn a two-point deficit into an 18-point lead.
The Wildcats finished a perfect 18-for-18 from the free throw line in Saturday's win over the Norse. The effort marked the third-best single-game performance in school history, trailing only a 24-for-24 performance vs. Michigan State Jan. 27, 1977 and a 23-for-23 effort vs. Minnesota Feb. 20, 1986.
Demps paces a balanced Northwestern scoring attack with an average of 11.5 points per game, while freshman Bryant McIntosh is close behind at 11.3 points per contest. Alex Olah contributes 11.0 points and a team-leading 7.3 rebounds per game.
Prior to allowing 80 points to Central Michigan on Dec. 17, Northwestern hadn't allowed an opponent to score 70 points in a game over a span of 15 straight contests. At the time, it was the longest such streak in the nation. Since the Chippewas' output, the Wildcats have allowed an average of just 54.0 points per game over the last three contests with those three foes posting a combined .339 field goal percentage (53-156). The .171 first-half field goal percentage (6-35) by UIC on Dec. 22 was the lowest by a Northwestern opponent in a half since Seton Hall shot .167 (5-30) in the second half on Dec. 18, 2005.
Northwestern leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 4-1. The Wildcats won the lone previous meeting in Piscataway 75-69 on Dec. 5, 1989. Three of the meetings between the schools have been played at a neutral site, including the most recent matchup on Dec. 27, 2003, an 80-75 Rutgers win in El Paso, Texas.
Scouting Rutgers
• The Scarlet Knights got a basket from Myles Mack as time expired to earn a 59-58 win at Monmouth on Sunday. Mack scored a game-high 16 points in the contest.
• Mack paces Rutgers with averages of 13.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals per contest with the latter mark ranking fourth in the Big Ten. Kadeem Jack contributes 13.1 points and a team-leading 6.7 rebounds per game.
• Eddie Jordan has a 20-26 record in his second season as the head coach at his alma mater.
UP NEXT...
The Wildcats open their Big Ten home slate on Sunday, Jan. 4 when they take on Wisconsin. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tickets are available at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE.
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