Northwestern Visits Rutgers in Regular Season Finale

NORTHWESTERN MEN'S BASKETBALL: GAME INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	WATCH	LIVE STATS
Sunday, March 5	Rutgers	6:30 p.m. CT	Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, N.J.	BTN	Live Stats
Radio: WGN Radio 720 \| Twitter: @NUMensBball \| Instagram: @numensbball \| Digital Game Program

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern will close out its regular season at 6:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 5 when it battles Rutgers at Jersey Mike's Arena on BTN and WGN Radio 720. Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play). Stephen Bardo (analyst) and Andy Katz (sideline) will have the call on BTN, while Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Billy McKinney (analyst) will call the game on WGN Radio 720. The game can also be heard on SiriusXM Channel 384.

Last time out, Northwestern dropped an overtime heartbreaker to Penn State on Senior Night at Welsh-Ryan Arena, 68-65. The Wildcats (20-10, 11-8 B1G) went on an 11-0 run early in the first half to open up a nine point lead before the Nittany Lions closed the gap to 28-24 going into intermission. The teams traded leads for much of the second half, with Penn State gaining a one-point advantage with 1:46 remaining before Ty Berry tied the game 61-61 with 1:18 remaining. That score held for the remainder of regulation, sending the Wildcats to overtime for the first time this season. With the score deadlocked at 65 and 0.8 seconds remaining, Camren Wynter hit a corner three to put Penn State ahead 68-65 for good. The Wildcats were paced offensively by Boo Buie's 20 points and season-high eight assists. Barnhizer chipped in a career-high 19 points, scoring in double figures for the fourth straight game, the longest stretch of his career.

Northwestern will be looking to close out the regular season with its 12th league win, which would mark a program record. NU's 11 league wins are tied for most in school history, matching the 1930-31 team's 11 league wins en route to a 16-1 record and Northwestern's only outright Big Ten Championship. The 'Cats have racked up 20 total wins so far in the 2022-23 season, tied for second-most in school history with the 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2015-16 seasons. The program record is held by the 2016-17 team's 24 wins en route to the program's only NCAA Tournament appearance.

Against Big Ten opponents, Buie is averaging 19.4 points per game (4th in Big Ten) and 4.7 assists per game (5th in Big Ten). Buie joins Jalen Pickett (Penn State) as the only other player in the Big Ten to rank in the top five in points per game and assists per game during league play.

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, recording 72 steals during the 2022-23 season, the most in the Big Ten and seventh-most nationally. Audige's average of 2.4 steals per game is tied for most in the conference and ranks 10th nationally. The Coram, N.Y. native places third in Northwestern's record book for most steals in a single-season, two thefts behind Pat Baldwin's second-place output of 74 during 1992-93. Throughout his career in a Northwestern uniform, Audige has tallied 151 pilfers, sixth-most by any Wildcat ever.

Northwestern's defense has proven to be an X-factor this season. The Wildcats are 19-1 when holding opponents to 64 points or fewer. NU's defense ranks third in the Big Ten and 22nd nationally, holding opponents to 62.6 points per game.

The Wildcats have also done a great job maximizing turnovers at the defensive end and minimizing them on the offensive end, averaging a turnover margin of plus-4.5 per game. NU's turnover margin is best of any Big Ten team and ranks eighth nationally.

Sunday's meeting will be the 19th on the hardwood between Northwestern and Rutgers, with the 'Cats holding an 11-7 advantage in the series. Northwestern's .611 winning percentage against the Scarlet Knights marks NU's highest winning percentage against a Big Ten foe. When the two sides met earlier this season, Rutgers came away with a 65-62 win in Evanston. Northwestern hasn't defeated Rutgers in Piscataway since Jan. 18, 2019, when Dererk Pardon's 17 points led the 'Cats past RU.

Rutgers (18-12, 10-9 B1G) is led offensively by Clifford Omoruyi, who averages nearly a double-double with 13.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Cam Spencer, brother of former Northwestern point guard Pat Spencer, averages 12.9 points per game. The Scarlet Knights are the only team in the Big Ten to force more steals than Northwestern, recording 8.7 thefts per contest.

Following the Rutgers contest, Northwestern will return to action at the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, March 9 or Friday, March 10 at the United Center. As of March 4, NU could be any seed two through nine for the league tournament. Follow @NUMensBball on Twitter for all postseason information.

Northwestern Visits Rutgers in Regular Season Finale

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Players Mentioned

Ty Berry

Boo Buie

Northwestern University Athletics