Wildcats Host Fairfield, Columbia as Part of CBE Hall of Fame Classic

11/17/2015 2:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball

NU opens a stretch of four games in seven days

By: Nick Brilowski

NORTHWESTERN BASKETBALL: GAME DAY INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	BROADCAST	LIVE STATS
Wed., Nov. 18	Fairfield	7 p.m.	Welsh-Ryan Arena	BTN2Go	SIDEARM
Fri., Nov. 20	Columbia	7 p.m.	Welsh-Ryan Arena	ESPN3 and WatchESPN	SIDEARM
BTN Plus: Eric Bremer and Axel Boada ESPN3: Shawn Kenney and Rich Zvosec ESPN 1000: Dave Eanet and Joey Meyer Social: Twitter (@NUMensBball and @NU_SportsLIVE) \| Instagram (@numensbball) \| Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern \| Fairfield

WATCH: C. Collins Preview | B. McIntosh | A. Olah

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern opens a stretch of four game in seven days on Wednesday as it hosts Fairfield at Welsh-Ryan Arena as part of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. The Wildcats also host Columbia at 7 p.m. Friday to close out their season-opening three-game homestand.

The Northwestern University Department of Athletics & Recreation and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (S.A.A.C.) will be collecting items for the annual Canned Food Drive at Friday's game vs. Columbia. Fans who donate can enter a raffle to win a basketball signed by head coach Chris Collins along with a Northwestern Basketball prize pack. All items collected will be donated to Family Focus of Evanston.

Following Friday's contest, the 'Cats will head to Kansas City for games against top-ranked North Carolina on Monday and either Missouri or Kansas State on Tuesday.

NU opened its season last Friday with a 79-57 victory over UMass Lowell at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Alex Olah poured in 21 points and 12 rebounds, Aaron Falzon scored 20 points and Northwestern limited UMass Lowell to 32 percent shooting. Sanjay Lumpkin matched a career high with 12 rebounds and Bryant McIntosh dished out a game-high eight assists. The Wildcats overcame a slow start, shooting 59 percent in the second half, including 8-of-16 from beyond the arc. NU out-scored the River Hawks 47-23 following halftime.

Olah was recognized as the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Monday for his efforts in Friday's win. The senior center hit 7 of 11 field goal attempts and 7 of 8 tries from the free throw line en route to his ninth career double-double.

Falzon's performance was like no other debut in Northwestern history. The 20 points he scored are the most ever by an NU freshman in his first collegiate game. The previous record was 18 points by Michael Jenkins vs. Illinois Wesleyan on Nov. 30, 1979. Falzon went 8-of-11 from the field in the contest, including going a perfect 6-for-6 with 15 points in the second half. He went 4-for-6 from 3-point range in the win.

Scouting Fairfield
The Stags are 0-2 after falling 70-57 to Yale on Friday and 92-65 at top-ranked North Carolina on Sunday. Senior forward Marcus Gilbert scored 25 points against the Tar Heels and leads the team with an average of 16.5 points per game early on this season. He was the team's leading scorer a year ago, averaging 16.4 points per contest en route to picking up third-team All-MAAC recognition. Fairfield is coming off a 7-24 record last season. Sydney Johnson has a 55-82 record in his fifth season at Fairfield and a 121-135 career record overall as a head coach.

Scouting Columbia
The Lions are one of the top picks to win the Ivy League this season. The team is 1-1 following a season-opening 107-62 win over Kean before falling 81-71 at Kansas State on Monday. Luke Petrasek led the Lions with 19 points off the bench against K-State. Columbia is led by the senior duo of Maodo Lo (18.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and Alex Rosenberg who averaged 18.4 and 16.0 points per game, respectively, last season. Lo played for the German National Team at 2015 World University Games. Kyle Smith is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Lions.