Wildcats Welcome Rutgers to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday

Wednesday, January 11

Evanston, Ill.

8 p.m. CT

Northwestern

Rutgers

Tickets

Wildcats Welcome Rutgers to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday

1/10/2023 9:58:00 AM | Men's Basketball

NORTHWESTERN MEN'S BASKETBALL: GAME INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	WATCH	LIVE STATS	TICKETS
Wednesday, Jan. 11	Rutgers	8 p.m. CT	Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Ill.	Big Ten Network	Live Stats	Tickets
Radio: WGN Radio 720 \| Twitter: @NUMensbball \| Instagram: @numensbball \| Digital Program

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern men's basketball (12-3, 3-1 B1G) looks to extend its two-game winning streak and move to 4-1 in the Big Ten for the first time since 1967-68 when it hosts Rutgers (11-5, 3-2 B1G) on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. CT inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. The contest can be seen on BTN and heard on WGN Radio 720. Cory Provus (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) will call the action on BTN, while Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Billy McKinney (analyst) will call the radio broadcast.

Last time out, the Wildcats took down No. 15 Indiana at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, 84-83. Northwestern dominated much of the first half, leading by as many as 17 with 8:28 remaining in hte first half before taking a 41-34 lead into the locker room at the break. Boo Buie led the 'Cats in the win with 26 points behind 10-for-18 shooting from the field. Chase Audige recorded just the third game in Division I since 2010-11 with 19 points, eight assists, and six steals. Ty Berry tallied his second career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the win over the Hoosiers. The win marked the first ranked victory in Bloomington over a ranked Indiana team in Northwestern history.

On Monday morning, the latest AP Poll revealed that the 'Cats were receiving votes for the first time since January 11, 2021. The last time the Wildcats were ranked in the Top 25 was the sixth week of the 2020-21 season, when the December 28, 2020 poll had NU ranked No. 19.

Senior guard Chase Audige is having a monster year for the Wildcats, leading the team in points per game (16.0) and steals per game (2.8). Audige joins Jalen Pickett (Penn State) and Terrance Shannon Jr. (Illinois) as the only three players in the Big Ten to lead their team in points per game and steals per game. Audige's 121 steals in a Northwestern uniform rank tenth all-time in school history, just five behind Kevin Rankin's 126 for ninth place on the Wildcats' all-time steals leaderboard.

Boo Buie ranks second on the Wildcats in points per game, averaging 14.7 points per game. Audige is eighth in the league averaging 16.0 points per game, while Buie ranks 10th posting 14.7 points per game. Buie ranks sixth in the Big Ten averaging 4.1 assists per game, and his 354 career assists rank 5th all-time in Northwestern history. After scoring his 1,000th career point earlier this season against Purdue Fort Wayne, he became just the fifth player in program history to record 1,000+ points and 300+ assists joining Bryant McIntosh (2014-18), Michael Thompson (2008-11), Pat Baldwin (1991-94) and Craig Moore (2006-09).

Rutgers travels to Northwestern on the heels of a busy week, knocking off No. 1 Purdue (65-64) on Monday and Maryland (64-50) on Thursday before falling to Iowa (76-65) at home on Sunday. RU is also receiving votes in the most recent AP Poll. Rutgers is led offensively by center Clifford Omoruyi, who averages 13.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Cam Spencer ranks second on the Scarlet Knights, averaging 12.9 points per game. Spencer is the younger brother of former Wildcat Pat Spencer.

The series between Northwestern and Rutgers dates all the way back to 1969, with the 'Cats taking 11 of the 17 meetings since then. Last time the two sides met, NU pulled out a 79-78 overtime win at Welsh-Ryan Arena behind 18 points from Boo Buie. The Wildcats and Scarlet Knights have met six times in Evanston, with Northwestern coming away victorious in four of the six meetings. Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins is 7-5 against Rutgers.

The Wildcats will continue Big Ten play on Sunday, January 15 at 11 a.m. CT when they travel to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan. The matchup will be broadcast on Big Ten Network and WGN Radio 720.