'Cats Square off With North Carolina Monday in Kansas City

11/22/2015 2:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Teams battle in semifinal round of CBE Hall of Fame Classic

By: Nick Brilowski

NORTHWESTERN BASKETBALL: GAME DAY INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	BROADCAST	LIVE STATS
Mon., Nov. 23	North Carolina	8:30 p.m.	Sprint Center; Kansas City	ESPN2 and WatchESPN	StatBroadcast
Tue., Nov. 24	Missouri or Kansas State	TBD	Sprint Center; Kansas City	ESPN2 or ESPN3 and WatchESPN	StatBroadcast
ESPN2: Bob Wischusen and Dan Dakich 720 AM WGN: Dave Eanet and Joey Meyer Social: Twitter (@NUMensBball and @NU_SportsLIVE) \| Instagram (@numensbball) \| Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern \| North Carolina

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern takes its 3-0 record to Kansas City on Monday and Tuesday as it participates in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic at Sprint Center. The Wildcats open up by squaring off against North Carolina at approximately 8:30 p.m. Monday. The contest follows the first semfinal game of the day featuring Missouri and Kansas State.

The losers of Monday's games meet up at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday followed by the championship game at approximately 9 p.m.

Northwestern is seeking its first in-season tournament title since 2013 when it won the South Padre Island Invitiational. Last season, the Wildcats fell to Northern Iowa in the championship game of the Cancun Challenge after defeating Miami (Ohio) in its first game.

The Wildcats are looking to improve to 4-0 for the second straight season and the fifth time in the last six years.

Northwestern is coming off an 83-80 comeback win in overtime over Columbia on Friday. Bryant McIntosh scored a career-high 32 points with 6 assists to lead the Wildcats. Tre Demps contributed 22 points and 6 assists. The 'Cats overcame an eight-point deficit with under four minutes left in regulation to force the extra session and then took its first lead of the game with 3:36 left in OT. Northwestern shot a season-best 52.5 percent from the field, including 62.1 percent in the second half.

In NU's two games last week, McIntosh averaged 26.0 points, 5.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 63.3 percent (19-30) from the field and 70 percent (7-10) from 3-point range. It marked the first time in his career that he has scored 20 or more points in consecutive games. His previous best point total was 22 vs. UIC on Dec. 22, 2014. The 32 points are the most in a game by a Northwestern player since Drew Crawford scored 34 at 23rd-ranked Creighton on Dec. 22, 2011.

Scouting North Carolina
The top-ranked Tar Heels suffered their first loss of the season Saturday, dropping a 71-67 decision at Northern Iowa. Justin Jackson led North Carolina with 25 points. Kennedy Meeks leads the team with an average of 14.8 points per game to go along with 10.0 rebounds per contest. Brice Johnson contributes 14.5 points along with a team-best 10.3 rebounds per game. UNC posted a 26-12 record last season, falling to Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament.