at #8 Michigan State Spartans (17-4, 6-1 Big Ten)
Sat., Jan. 30, 1999 - 7 p.m. CST
Radio: WGN AM 720
TV: ESPN Regional (WJYS in Chicago)
Northwestern looks to record its third win of the season over a top-20 team as the Wildcats travel to East Lansing, Mich., on Saturday to face eighth-ranked Michigan State. The 'Cats are coming off a 54-50 victory against 14th-ranked Purdue on Wednesday.
NU never trailed against the Boilermakers, taking an early 11-4 lead. Evan Eschmeyer scored 10 of NU's first 11 points. The lead was as much as 16 points (32-16) in the first half, and NU would eventually hold a 32-20 halftime advantage. Purdue opened the second half on a 11-2 run to close the gap to 34-31 with 16:46 remaining. The 'Cats would push the lead back to 10 points (52-42) with 4:11 remaining. Purdue made one last run, closing the gap to two points (52-50) with :39 seconds left. The Boilers had the final possession, but Evan Eschmeyer got a piece of Brian Cardinal's shot to record his career-best seventh block of the night. Steve Lepore grabbed the rebound, was fouled and sank both free throws to seal the win.
Eschmeyer upped his Big Ten-leading double-double total to 11 with a 17-point, 14-rebound, seven-block performance. He has now recorded a double-double in his last six Big Ten games. David Newman also tallied 17 points, including five three-pointers. NU held Purdue to .328 shooting from the field.
Wildcat Probable Starters
POS. NO. NAME (height, weight, class, hometown) PPG RPG F #33 Tavaras Hardy (6-8, 210, Fr., Joliet, Ill.) 7.8 4.8 C #42 Evan Eschmeyer (6-11, 255, Sr.-6, New Knoxville, Ohio) 20.1 11.1 G #4 Julian Bonner (6-1, 198, Sr., Detroit, Mich.) 4.2 2.6 G #22 Sean Wink (6-2, 176, So., Brea, Calif.) 9.6 2.1 G #24 David Newman (5-11, 165, Fr., Des Moines, Iowa) 9.2 2.0Off the bench
F #5 Joe Harmsen (6-9, 248, Sr., Fond du Lac, Wis.) 0.9 1.8 G #10 Matt Kammrath (6-0, 185, Jr., Boca Raton, Fla.) 0.0 0.3 F #11 Danny Allouche (6-5, 200, Sr., Omer, Israel) 3.3 1.9 F #14 Steve Lepore (6-5, 200, Fr., North Olmstead, Ohio) 5.1 3.8 G #31 Nate Pomeday (6-2, 201, Sr., Cedar Grove, Wis.) 1.4 0.9 G #32 Collier Drayton (6-1, 175, Fr., Lyons, N.Y.) 0.0 3.0 C #35 Aron Molnar (6-11, 242, Jr., Mississauga, Ontario) 2.2 2.4 G #44 Jeff Eschmeyer (6-2, 192, So., New Knoxville, Ohio) 0.0 0.3Northwestern-Michigan State, The Series
This will be the 94th all-time meeting between the two schools, and the only time they will meet during the 1998-99 regular season. MSU holds a 58-35 series lead.
Head Coach Kevin O'Neill
Kevin O'Neill (McGill, 1979) is in his second season at the helm of the Wildcat basketball program. This is his 11th season as head coach at the Division I level and 13th overall as a collegiate head coach. He also has served as head coach at North Country CC (1980-82), Marycrest (1982-83), Marquette (1989-94) and Tennessee (1994-97).
O'Neill owns a 22-22 record at NU and a 162-142 record as a Division I head coach. Known as one of the best recruiters in the nation, O'Neill resurrected the Marquette and Tennessee programs, taking two teams which had not enjoyed recent success to postseason play.
Eschmeyer is Nation's Only 20-10 Player
According to the latest NCAA stat rankings (Jan. 26), Evan Eschmeyer is the only player in the country currently averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. Overall, there are 36 players in Division I who are averaging 20.0 or more points per game and 13 players averaging 10.0 or more rebounds per game.
Best Big Ten Start Since 1967-68
The turnaround of the Wildcat program under head coach Kevin O'Neill is making a dent in the Wildcat history books.
This marks the first time since the 1967-68 season the Wildcats have started a Big Ten season at 4-3. The '67-'68 squad also opened the conference campaign 4-3.
Also, the 'Cats own a 12-5 overall mark for the first time since 1982-83. Since NU's last Big Ten title in 1932-33, only two other Wildcat squads have opened the year with a 12-5 record ('45-'46, '82-'83).
Back at the Top of NCAA Defenses
For the second time this season, the 'Cats rank No. 1 in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense. NU enters the Michigan State game holding opponents to .358 shooting from the field. NU is second in the Big Ten and sixth in the NCAA in scoring defense, allowing just 55.2 points per game.
Northwestern also leads the Big Ten in three-point field goal defense, allowing opponents to shoot just .280 from beyond the arc. Here's what NU has done to some opposing offenses this season:
Eschmeyer Leads the Big Ten -- Times Three
Evan Eschmeyer currently stands atop the Big Ten in three statistical categories: rebounds (11.1 rpg), field goal percentage (.615) and double-doubles (11). He also is third in the Big Ten in scoring (20.1 ppg).
According to the latest NCAA stats, "Esch" ranks seventh in rebounding, 12th in field goal percentage and 31st in scoring. He enters the MSU game with 40 career double-doubles and has scored in double figures 58-straight games.
More on Eschmeyer
In Wednesday's (January 27) USA Today, Eschmeyer was named to their mid-season All-America first team and described as "the most productive player in the nation's best conference."
Evan Eschmeyer has scored 967 career points against Big Ten Conference competition. He is looking to become just the second Wildcat ever, and the 57th in conference history, to record 1,000 Big Ten points. Billy McKinney is the only NU player to accomplish the feat.
On December 29, he was named to the mid-season top 30 team for the John Wooden Award, which is presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club to the national player of the year. Eschmeyer was one of only two true centers to earn a spot on the list (Washington's Todd MacCulloch).
On January 13, he recorded just the second triple-double in program history with his 27-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist performance at Indiana. It also was the first-ever triple-double posted in IU's Assembly Hall.
He has been named Big Ten Player of the Week twice this season. On December 28, he was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week after recording double-doubles in NU's games against Boston College (23p, 10r) and Long Beach State (16p, 13r). On January 11, he earned the honor again after leading NU to wins at 16th-ranked Minnesota (24p, 15r) and at Illinois (16p, 17r, 5a). Eschmeyer's league-leading 11 double-doubles is twice as many as his closest Big Ten competitor. Indiana's William Gladness is second in the conference with five double-doubles.
Eschmeyer Sets NU Career Rebound Mark
With his ninth rebound against Purdue, Evan Eschmeyer broke the NU career rebound record with his 886th career board. The old mark of 885 was held by Kevin Rankin. Eschmeyer needs just five points to move into second on the all-time NU scoring chart and 15 blocked shots to break the NU career blocks record. Here's where Eschmeyer currently ranks among NU's all-time career leaders:
Category Eschmeyer Next Up FG Pct. 1st - .602 --- FT Attempts 1st - 741 --- Rebounds 1st - 891 --- FT Made 2nd - 467 Cedric Neloms (494) Blocked Shots 3rd - 119 Jim Pitts (123), Kevin Rankin (133) Field Goals 3rd - 556 Jim Stack (623), Billy McKinney (768) Scoring 3rd - 1,579 Stack (1,583), McKinney (1,900)Schedule Change
ESPN has selected the Northwestern at Iowa men's basketball game as one of its "wildcard" selections. The game will now take place on Tue., Feb. 23, and will tipoff at 6:30 p.m. CST. ESPN will broadcast the game to a national audience. The contest originally was scheduled for 7 p.m. on February 24.
Big Ten Tournament Tickets Still Available
The Northwestern ticket office has a limited number of tickets to this year's Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament now available for public purchase. All-session passes are $200 each and must be purchased by next Friday, February 5. Fans may either buy tickets via phone at (847) 491-CATS or in person at the Wildcat ticket office, located at the south end of Ryan Field.
Wink Among Big Ten Three-Point Leaders
Through Wednesday night's games, sophomore guard Sean Wink ranks third in the Big Ten in three pointers made, averaging 2.71 per game. He also ranks fifth in three-point percentage (.404). In his last 14 contests, Wink has hit 38-of-81 (.469) from three-point range. For his career, Wink is shooting .437 (132-302) from three-point range. His 132 career threes rank second in NU history. Todd Leslie holds the all-time Wildcat record with 203 treys.
Against Boston College, Wink hit 6-of-12 from three-point range, marking the fifth time in his brief NU career that he has hit six three-pointers. All five of those games have come at home. Wink also hit five three-pointers against Long Beach State and four at Minnesota, at Illinois and at Indiana. NU, as a team, is second in the Big Ten in three pointers, averaging 7.0 per game.
Quick Hits
Home Court Advantage
In Kevin O'Neill's two seasons as head coach, the Wildcats have made Welsh-Ryan Arena a tough place to play. NU has a 20-9 (.690) home court record under O'Neill, which is a marked improvement considering that, in the three seasons prior to O'Neill's arrival in Evanston, NU won just 14 home games.
Big Ten Stat Leaders
Here's where the 'Cats rank among the Big Ten and NCAA stat leaders (Big Ten as of Jan. 28, NCAA as of Jan. 26):
Individual - All Games Scoring: Evan Eschmeyer - 3rd Big Ten, 31st NCAA (20.1 ppg) Rebounds: Evan Eschmeyer - 1st Big Ten, 7th NCAA (11.1 rpg) FG Pct.: Evan Eschmeyer - 1st Big Ten, 12th NCAA (.615) Double-Doubles: Evan Eschmeyer - 1st Big Ten (11) Assists: David Newman - 10th (3.0 apg) FT Pct.: Evan Eschmeyer - 12th (.723) 3pt Made: Sean Wink - 3rd (2.71 tpg) 3pt Pct.: Sean Wink - 5th (.404) Blocks: Evan Eschmeyer - 4th (2.1 bpg) Offensive Rebs: Evan Eschmeyer - 1st (3.7 orpg) Defensive Rebs: Evan Eschmeyer - 1st (7.4 drpg)In MemoriamTeam - All Games 3pt Pct. Defense: 1st (.280) FG Pct. Defense: 1st Big Ten, 1st NCAA (.358) 3pt FG Made: 2nd (7.0 tpg) Scoring Defense: 2nd Big Ten, 6th NCAA (55.2 ppg) Rebound Margin: 2nd (+5.2 rpg) Assists: 3rd (16.1 apg) Blocked Shots: 4th (3.9 bpg) 3pt Pct. Offense: 5th (.368) Scoring Margin: 5th (+7.7 ppg)
The Wildcats will wear a patch on the left corner of their shorts for the remainder of the season bearing the initials "D.P." The patch is in memory of Don Pomeday, father of senior guard Nate Pomeday, who passed away on December 9.
Letter-of-Intent Signees
During the November early signing period, the Wildcats signed five players to National Letters of Intent to begin playing basketball at NU next season:
Winston Blake (F, 6-5, 180, Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) Brody Deren (F, 6-7, 223, Harlan, Iowa/Harlan Comm.) Aaron Jennings (C, 6-11, 200, Atkins, Iowa/Benton Comm.) Ben Johnson (G, 6-3, 180, Minneapolis, Minn./De La Salle) Adam Robinson (F, 6-10, 210, Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls)Johnson (No. 60) and Blake (No. 95) are each ranked among the top 100 players in the country by Bob Gibbons. Deren was "Southwest Iowa Player of the Year" as a junior, while Jennings and Robinson were both named All-Americans this season by various publications.
Coaches vs. Cancer
Kevin O'Neill is one of several coaches across the country who have joined together to help the fight against cancer. Fans are asked to pledge a certain amount of money for each assist the Wildcats make throughout the 1998-99 season. O'Neill will personally donate $5 for every assist this season to Coaches vs. Cancer. Fans can pick up pledge forms and brochures in the Welsh-Ryan Arena lobby during all home games.
Ask the Coach
Fans have an opportunity to submit questions to Kevin O'Neill and have them answered either on his weekly television show on Fox Sports Chicago. Go to the Wildcat web site at NUSPORTS.COM and click on the "Ask the Coach" link.
Wildcats on the Air
Once again this season, WGN-AM 720 will be the radio home of Wildcat basketball. Dave Eanet handles the play-by-play chores while Joey Meyer will handle the color analysis. Every Wildcat game this season will be aired by WGN.
The Kevin O'Neill Show
Once again this season, Fox Sports Chicago will air "The Kevin O'Neill Show." Dave Eanet, play-by-play announcer for NU football and basketball on WGN radio, hosts the half-hour show. The next show airs Tue., Feb. 2, at 3:30 p.m. CST and replayed that night at 8 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. CST.