Northwestern
UCF
Northwestern Meets UCF in NCAA Tournament First Round
3/21/2021 3:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Wildcats tip off at 3 p.m. CT on ESPNU from San Antonio
| NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND | ||||||
| DATE | Opponent | TIME | LOCATION | Live Stats | Live Stream | Radio |
| Monday, Mar. 22 | Central Florida | 3 p.m. CT | Bill Greehey Arena (St. Mary's University) San Antonio |
Live Stats | ESPNU | WNUR Sports |
| Social: Twitter (@NUWBBall) | Instagram (@NUWBBall) | Schedule | Notes | ||||||
SAN ANTONIO – Northwestern returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 as a No. 7 seed to take on No. 10 seed UCF on Monday at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio. Tip off is set for 3 p.m. CT on ESPNU and WNUR Sports.
The Wildcats are 15-8 overall while the Knights are 16-4. The 'Cats finished fitth in the Big Ten while UCF finished second in the American Conferences. The two programs have never met before.
The 'Cats are making their eighth Tournament appearance in program history while Joe McKeown is making the 19th Tournament appearance of his career. He ranks sixth among head coaches in this year's field in the career Tournament appearances. McKeown's teams are 14-4 in the first round of the Big Dance.
The 'Cats lead the country in turnover margin (+9.6) while the Knights lead the country in scoring defense (49.2 points per game allowed). NU forces 20.9 turnovers per game while UCF forces 19.1 turnovers per game.
The Wildcats are led by Veronica Burton, Lindsey Pulliam and Sydney Wood. Burton is the back-to-back Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year while Pulliam is a four-time All-Big Ten honoree. Wood was named to this year's All-Defensive Team and has earned All-Big Ten honorable mention twice.
Pulliam has 1,996 career points and is poised to become the third Wildcat ever to break the 2,000-point threshold after Nia Coffey and Anucha Browne. The feat has been accomplished by 33 Big Ten players. Pulliam ranks sixth among all active NCAA players in career points and is 36 points away from fifth place.
For a comprehensive preview of Monday's matchup, the full game notes can be found here.
