'Cats Host Penn State on Senior Night

NORTHWESTERN MEN'S BASKETBALL: GAME INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	WATCH	LIVE STATS
Wednesday, March 1	Penn State	8 p.m. CT	Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Ill.	BTN	Live Stats
Radio: WGN Radio 720 \| Twitter: @NUMensBball \| Instagram: @numensbball \| Digital Game Program

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern will celebrate its five seniors (Chase Audige, Robbie Beran, Boo Buie, Roy Dixon III, and Tydus Verhoeven) when it hosts Penn State at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday, March 1 inside a sold-out Welsh-Ryan Arena on BTN and WGN Radio 720. Corey Provus (play-by-play) and Stephen Bardo (analyst) will have the call on BTN, while Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Billy McKinney (analyst) will broadcast the game on WGN Radio 720.

Last time out, Northwestern fell on the road at Maryland, 75-59. The Wildcats trailed 41-39 at halftime before Maryland pulled away in the second half by outscoring NU, 34-20. Audige scored a team-high 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Brooks Barnhizer tallied 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, his third-straight game scoring in double figures. Buie recorded eight assists, tying his season-high.

On Tuesday, Audige was named as one of 10 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalists. Audige has had one of the most prolific defensive seasons in Northwestern basketball history, racking up 69 steals during the 2022-23 season, the most in the Big Ten and seventh-most nationally. Audige's average of 2.41 steals per game is tied for most in the conference and ranks 11th nationally. The Coram, N.Y. native ranks third in Northwestern's record book for most steals in a single-season, five thefts behind Pat Baldwin's second-place output of 74 during 1992-93. Throughout his career in a Northwestern uniform, Audige has tallied 148 pilfers, sixth-most by any Wildcat ever.

The Wildcat defense ranks third in the conference and 20th nationally, allowing just 62.5 points per game this season. The Wildcats also rank third in the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to just 41.0% from the field.

Northwestern will seek its 12th conference win for the first time in program history when it takes the floor on Wednesday. The Wildcats 11 Big Ten wins are the most in 90 years, and are tied for most all time with 1930-31's Big Ten Champion team that went 11-1 against conference foes.

Similarly, NU's 20 wins are tied for second-most in program history, equaling their win total from 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2015-16. Northwestern's wins record was set in 2016-17 when the Wildcats racked up 24 wins en route to an appearance in the Second Round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Buie is scoring 19.3 points per game against conference foes, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten. The Albany, N.Y. native has posted 20 or more points in 11 of Northwestern's 18 league games. Buie leads all 'Cats with 17.2 points per game. Northwestern hasn't had a player average more than 17.0 points per game since John Shurna averaged 20.0 per contest in 2011-12.

Assistant coach Talor Battle played collegiately at Penn State, where he was a 2011 Associated Press honorable-mention All-American. Battle is Penn State's all-time leading scorer, tallying 2,123 career points for the Nittany Lions. After his playing career ended, Battle was an assistant coach at Penn State before joining the Northwestern staff.

Wednesday's matchup will be the 57th meeting on the hardwood between the 'Cats and Nittany Lions and the only meeting of the 2022-23 regular season. Penn State leads the all-time series 36-20, including three straight wins over the Wildcats. Last time the two schools faced off, Penn State came away with a 67-60 win on February 25, 2022, in State College. Northwestern hasn't beaten Penn State since March 7, 2020, when Pat Spencer posted nine points, six rebounds, and six assists on his Senior Day.

The Nittany Lions are 17-12 overall and 8-10 in Big Ten play. Jalen Pickett leads the Nittany Lions in points (18.5), rebounds (7.3), and assists per game (6.8). Pickett is the only player in the Big Ten to lead his team in all three categories and the only player nationally averaging at least 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists per game.

The Wildcats will wrap up the regular season at 6:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 5 when they travel to Rutgers. The game will air on BTN and WGN Radio 720.

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Players Mentioned

Chase Audige

Brooks Barnhizer

Robbie Beran

Boo Buie

Roy Dixon III

Tydus Verhoeven

Northwestern University Athletics