Wildcats Travel to Columbus For Wednesday Night Meeting with Buckeyes

1/12/2021 8:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball

NORTHWESTERN MEN'S BASKETBALL: GAMEDAY INFORMATION
DATE	Opponent	TIME	LOCATION	Television	Live Stats
Wednesday, January 13	#21 Ohio State	6 pm CT	Columbus, Ohio (Value City Arena)	Big Ten Network	Live Stats
Radio: WGN 720 Social: Twitter: @NUMensbball \| Instagram: @numensbball VIRTUAL PRESS BOX \| DIGITAL PROGRAM

Columbus, Ohio – Northwestern is back in action on Wednesday night as the Wildcats travel to Value City Arena for a meeting with the #21 Ohio State Buckeyes.

In their last meeting with the Buckeyes on Dec. 26 at Welsh-Ryan Arena, the Wildcats picked up a 71-70 victory in a game that featured 15 lead changes. Miller Kopp finished with a season-high 23 points (9-of-16 FG), while Boo Buie stepped up with 14 points (10 in the second half), including the eventual game-winning three-pointer with 1:04 remaining. The 'Cats ultimately closed the game on a 12-6 run over the game's final 5:10, shooting 5-of-7 while holding Ohio State to 2-of-8 from the field during that span.

In NU's last time out, Robbie Beran recorded a team-high 11 points, five rebounds, and career-high-tying four assists in a setback to Illinois on Jan. 7. Beran has led the team in scoring in each of the last two games, averaging 12.5 points on 56.3% shooting (9- of-16), including 44.4% from deep (4-of-9).

Northwestern is seeking its second win in its last three meetings with Ohio State at Value City Arena, with the first win coming on Jan. 22, when the 'Cats secured a 74-72 victory during their historic 2016-17 campaign.

Tip-off is slated for 6 pm CT, with coverage live on Big Ten Network and AM 560 WIND.

Storylines

Wednesday marks the fifth- consecutive matchup in which Northwestern has faced a ranked opponent, setting a record for the longest streak of ranked opponents in program history. Prior to this year, NU had faced a ranked team in four-straight matchups four times in program history (also in 1983/84, 1989/90, 1987/88 and 2015-16).
Through 10 games, the Wildcats have recorded 181 assists on 276 made field goals for a team assist percentage of 66.5, which ranks second-best in the nation behind only Michigan State.
Pete Nance is shooting 61.9% (39-of-63) from inside the arc to go along with 33.3% (9-of-27) from three-point range. Nance joins Iowa' Luka Garza and Maryland's Donta Scott as the only players in the conference to shoot above 60 percent from inside the arc (min. 60 attempts) and above 30 percent from behind the arc (min. 25 attempts).
Northwestern is looking for its third ranked win of the year. The last time the 'Cats had three ranked wins in a season was during the aforementioned 2016-17 season (#22 Texas, #7 Wisconsin, #25 Maryland). The last time NU defeated three ranked Big Ten opponents in the same season was in 2008-09, defeating #18 Minnesota, #7 Michigan State and #19 Purdue.