Northwestern University Athletics
'Cats and 'Dogs Battle at Hinkle Fieldhouse Saturday
12/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Northwestern (5-2) at #23/RV Butler (6-1) |
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| Date | Saturday, Dec. 6 | 3:30 p.m. CT |
| Location | Hinkle Fieldhouse | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| Watch | FOX (Tim Brando and Jim Jackson) |
| Listen | 720 AM WGN, 87.7 FM The Game and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and Jason Okrzesik) |
| Live Stats | ButlerSports.com |
| Social Media | @NUMensBball  | Facebook  | @numensbball  |
| Game Notes | Northwestern | Butler |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern gets its first shot at a ranked opponent this season as it travels to Indianapolis to face No. 23 Butler at 3:30 p.m. CT Saturday.
The contest is being televised nationally on FOX.
Northwestern was unable to overcome a slow start in dropping a 66-58 home decision to Georgia Tech on Wednesday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The 'Cats fell into an early 18-point deficit only to get within one with a minute remaining but couldn't make it all the way back. Alex Olah led NU with 19 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
Saturday's game is a homecoming for Bryant McIntosh. The freshman guard led Greensburg High to a 54-2 record and back-to-back Indiana 3A state championships as a junior and senior. In addition, Olah played his final two prep season at Traders Point Christian Academy in Whitestown, Ind., after relocating from his native Romania.
It hasn't taken McIntosh long to establish himself as one of the top distributors in the Big Ten. He enters play this weekend ranked sixth in the league with an average of 5.0 assists per game. McIntosh has twice handed out a season-high 7 assists: vs. Elon (Nov. 22), vs. Georgia Tech (Dec. 3).
Northwestern holds a 16-9 edge in the all-time series with Butler. The last times the teams met in Indianapolis, the Bulldogs pulled out a 57-53 win on Nov. 28, 2008. Butler is Northwestern's fifth most often played nonconference opponent behind Notre Dame (88 meetings), DePaul (30), Marquette (28) and Western Michigan (27).
Northwestern has not allowed an opponent to score 70 points in a game since Feb. 19 of last season. It's the furthest date back of any active streak in the nation. The stretch spans 13 straight games which is the second-longest total in the nation behind only Virginia (14).
Scouting Butler
• The Bulldogs rolled to a 77-54 victory at Indiana State on Wednesday as Kellen Dunham and Roosevelt Jones led the way with 14 points apiece.
• Dunham paces Butler with an average of 16.4 points per game while shooting .450 from 3-point range. Kameron Woods leads the squad with an average of 9.1 rebounds per contest. Butler has been on of the top surprises in the nation this season. The Bulldogs were picked to finished seventh in the Big East but have already beaten the likes of North Carolina and Georgetown to earn a top-25 national ranking.
• Chris Holtmann is serving as the team's interim head coach while Brandon Miller takes a leave of absence from the squad. Holtmann is in his second season on the Butler staff and was previously the head coach at Gardner-Webb for three seasons.
UP NEXT...
Northwestern takes the next week off for final exams before returning to action Dec. 14 at home against Mississippi Valley State. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. with Big Ten Network providing live television coverage.
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