Wildcats Look to Continue Hot Streak vs. #23 Ohio State

Saturday, December 26

Evanston, Ill.

1 pm CT

Northwestern

#23 Ohio State

Photo by: Missy Minear/Indiana Hoosiers

Wildcats Look to Continue Hot Streak vs. #23 Ohio State

12/25/2020 5:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball

NORTHWESTERN MEN'S BASKETBALL: GAMEDAY INFORMATION
DATE	Opponent	TIME	LOCATION	Television	Live Stats
Saturday, December 26	#23 Ohio State	1:00 pm CT	Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena)	FS1	Live Stats
Radio: WGN 720 Social: Twitter: @NUMensbball \| Instagram: @numensbball VIRTUAL PRESS BOX

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern looks to continue its red hot start to Big Ten play on Saturday as the Wildcats welcome #23 Ohio State to Welsh-Ryan Arena for a Saturday Big Ten matinee.

After opening the season with wins over #4 Michigan State, followed by a 74-67 win at Indiana on Wednesday night, the Wildcats sit atop the Big Ten conference at 2-0. It marks the first 2-0 start in conference play for the 'Cats since the 2005-06 season. Northwestern is looking to start 3-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since the 1967-68 season.

Redshirt sophomore Chase Audige led the Wildcats in their win at Indiana on Wednesday, scoring 17 points, all of which came in the second half, and knocking down six of his final seven shots from the field–including scoring 11 points (3-3 FG, 4-4 FT) over the game's final 3:01 to help seal the win. Audige is averaging 13.8 points per game on the year, tied for the second-best mark on the team, and has scored in double figures in five of NU's six games this season.

This marks the 174th meeting between Northwestern and Ohio State. The Buckeyes took the teams' lone meeting last season, 71-59, despite a 20-point effort from Miller Kopp.

Tip-off for Saturday is slated for 1:00 pm CT, with live coverage available on FS1, as well as WGN Radio.

STORYLINES

Northwestern is averaging 87.3 points per game this season (3rd in B1G), while allowing just 61.0 points through six games (2nd in B1G). The Wildcats lead the conference and rank ninth in the nation with a 26.7 scoring margin.
Northwestern currently ranks 12th in the nation in effective field goal percentage (58.3%), while its defense ranks 18th in opponent effective field goal percentage (42.3%). The Wildcats are one of two teams in the country to rank in the Top-20 in both offensive and defensive categories (also, Michigan).
Northwestern is the only Big Ten team to have three different players averaging 2.0+ threes per game, with Boo Buie averaging 2.5, Miller Kopp at 2.17 and Ty Berry at 2.00. Additionally, each member of that trio is shooting over 50% from behind the arc, making Northwestern the only program in the country with three different players that have made 10+ three pointers while shooting 50% or better from deep.
Miller Kopp is averaging 13.8 points per game this season while shooting 55.8% (24-of-43) from the field, 54% (13-of-24) from three and 84.6% (22-of-26) from the free throw line. Additionally, Kopp has a true shooting percentage of 72.2%, which ranks 31st in the nation and third in the Big Ten behind only Illinois' Da'Monte Williams and Iowa's Luka Garza.

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