Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Vanderbilt
'Cats Make NCAA Tournament Debut Against Vanderbilt Thursday
3/15/2017 12:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
| NORTHWESTERN BASKETBALL: GAME DAY INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | BROADCAST | LIVE STATS |
| Thu., March 16 | Vanderbilt | 3:30 p.m. CT | Vivint Smart Home Arena; Salt Lake City, Utah |
TBS and MarchMadnessTV | StatBroadcast |
| Radio: 720 WGN (Dave Eanet and Joey Meyer) TV: TBS (Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas, Jamie Erdahl) Social: Twitter (@NUMensBball and @NU_SportsLIVE) | Instagram (@numensbball) | Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern | Vanderbilt |
|||||
Coach Collins Press Conference | McIntosh/Lumpkin | Law/Lindsey/Pardon
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern plays its inaugural NCAA tournament game Thursday when the eighth-seeded Wildcats take on ninth-seeded Vanderbilt at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tip time is set for approximately 3:30 p.m. Central.
The winner of Thursday's matchup takes on the winner of the game between top-seeded Gonzaga and 16th-seeded South Dakota State on Saturday with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line.
Northwestern's 23 wins this season are a school record while it reached 10 Big Ten wins this season for the first time since the 1932-33 campaign. The Wildcats tied for fifth place in the league standings, their best Big Ten finish since tying for fifth in 2003-04.
The Wildcats advanced to the semifinal round of the Big Ten tournament for the first time last week, defeating Rutgers and No. 25 Maryland before falling to No. 24 Wisconsin.
NU has a pair of All-Big Ten selections in junior guards Bryant McIntosh, a consensus second-team pick, and Scottie Lindsey, a third-team choice of the league's head coaches. Redshirt sophomore forward Vic Law was named to the five-member Big Ten All-Defensive Team.
Northwestern posted a 6-8 record against NCAA tournament teams this season. The Wildcats notched wins over Wake Forest, New Orleans, Dayton, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maryland. NU's three losses to non-NCAA tournament teams came against a pair of teams participating in the NIT (Illinois (twice), Indiana).
Vanderbilt leads the all-time series between the schools, 4-1. The Commodores won the most recent matchup, 86-66, Dec. 3, 1992 in Nashville. The teams have never met at a neutral site.
Both Northwestern head coach Chris Collins and Vanderbilt head coach Bryce Drew are the sons of famous coaching fathers. Chris is the son of Doug Collins, a former No. 1 overall NBA draft pick in 1973 and later the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers. Bryce is the son of longtime Valparaiso head coach Homer Drew. Homer Drew earned 640 career collegiate coaching wins.
Scouting Vanderbilt
The Commodores (19-15, 10-8 SEC) enter the NCAA tournament having won seven of their last nine contests. Vanderbilt fell to Arkansas 76-62 in the semifinal round of the SEC tournament. Seven-foot senior center Luke Kornet was named first-team All-SEC as well as an All-Defensive Team selection and the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year, averaging 13.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game. Matthew Fisher-Davis paces the team with an average of 13.6 points per contest while Riley LaChance is a 49.3 percent (68-138) 3-point shooter.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook, check us out on Instagram, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To get involved with the #B1GCats, become a season-ticket holder or join the Wildcat Fund!
