Buie Five Points from History, Northwestern Hosts Michigan

Thursday, February 22

Evanston, Ill.

8 p.m. CT

Northwestern

Michigan

Tickets

Buie Five Points from History, Northwestern Hosts Michigan

2/21/2024 12:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

EVANSTON, Ill. – Winners of three if its last four games, Northwestern men's basketball (18-8, 9-6 B1G) returns to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Thursday, Feb. 22 when it welcomes Michigan Wolverines at 8 p.m. CT. Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Stephen Bardo (analyst) will have the call on FS1, while Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Billy McKinney have the radio call on WGN Radio 720 and SiriusXM Channel 386.

Boo Buie (2,034 points) enters the game four points away from tying John Shurna (2,038) for the school's career scoring record and five points away from becoming the school's all-time leading scorer. He became the second player to reach the 2,000-point mark at Rutgers on Feb. 15. Buie's 141 career games played ranks second in program history, trailing only Drew Crawford's 143 career games played.

Northwestern is 7-0 in Big Ten home games this season, equaling its best start at home in conference play since the 1967-68 team went a perfect 7-0. A Northwestern team has never started 8-0 in conference home games. Dating back to last season, the Wildcats have won 10 of their last 11 conference home games, equaling their best stretch since winning 10 of 11 conference home games over the 1965-66 and 1966-67 seasons. A win would improve NU to 11-1 over its last 12 conference home games, its best mark since going 12-1 in 1933-34.

Last time out, Northwestern claimed a 76-72 win over Indiana, its fourth consecutive win against the Hoosiers on Sunday, Feb. 18 in Bloomington. The win marked NU's first four-game winning streak against IU since 1932-33 and its first three-game winning streak in Bloomington since 1914-16.

Ryan Langborg led all Wildcats with a career-high 26 points against the Hoosiers. The Princeton transfer also dished out a career-high six assists without recording a turnover, becoming the first opposing player to post a stat line of 26-plus points, six-plus assists, and zero turnovers against IU since at least 1996-97.

Matthew Nicholson and Nick Martinelli both recorded their first career double-doubles on Sunday. Nicholson posted 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, while Martinelli recorded 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. The duo became the first Wildcat pairing to post a double-double since Bryant McIntosh and Dererk Pardon on Jan. 10, 2018, against Minnesota and the first tandem to record a double-double on the road since Evan Eschmeyer and Napoleon Harris on Feb. 14, 1998, at Indiana.

Northwestern held an 11-3 edge in turnovers and an 11-0 advantage in points off turnovers against the Hoosiers. NU's three turnovers committed marked a season-low for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats rank second in the Big Ten and sixth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (39.2%, 219-558). NU's 39.2% mark is its highest in a season since the 1990-91 team shot 43.4% (109-251) from downtown, which ranks second in a single-season in program history. Northwestern is also one of the best teams in the country at taking care of the ball, averaging just 9.1 turnovers per game, which leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth in the country.

Northwestern is seeking its first win against the Wolverines since February 6, 2018, when it defeated Michigan 61-52 at Allstate Arena. Michigan leads the all-time series 119-59.

The Wolverines enter Thursday's contest at 8-18 overall and 3-12 in Big Ten play. Michigan ranks sixth in the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging 75.2 points per game this season.

Following the matchup with Michigan, the 'Cats will hit the road to travel to Maryland on Wednesday, February 28 at 6 p.m. CT on BTN and WGN Radio 720.