Dec. 30, 2005
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The Game
The Wildcats (6-4) will ring in the New Year as they shoot for their third straight win and the fourth in the last five games when they host the Northern Colorado Bears (1-14) at 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 1 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Sunday's game will serve as the final tune-up before the start of the Big Ten season, which begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 4 against Purdue in Evanston.
The 'Cats are coming off an eight-day Christmas break, having defeated DePauw 69-36 back on Dec. 23 where senior Mohamed Hachad and freshman Craig Moore paced the 'Cats with 17 and 12 points, respectively. The Bears picked up their first win of the season with a 76-70 win at home against Eastern Michigan Friday night, snapping a 17-game losing skid that dated back to last season. They have faced stiff competition through the first two months of the season with losses to Wyoming, California, Air Force, Oregon State and Kansas to name a few.
A Look at the 'Cats
Senior Vedran Vukusic has been lighting it up offensively for the Wildcats this season. The senior from Croatia is second in the Big Ten and ranks among the nation's leaders in scoring with 21.7 points per game. Vukusic has accounted for 37 percent of Northwestern's offense this season and has scored 20 or more points in seven-of-10 games, including a season-high 28 in the win over Charlotte at the BCA Invitational in November.
Senior Mohamed Hachad has busted out of a scoring slump with 56 points (14.0 ppg) in his last four games after recording just 14 in the previous three. Hachad broke out in a big way in the win over Delaware State, scoring a season-high 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting, added 12 second half points against UIC, had 10 in the win at Seton Hall before his 17-point output against DePauw. He has cleaned up on the glass, averaging a team-best 5.2 rebounds per game, including nine in the win over Charlotte, tying his personal best. He is averaging 9.8 points per game and leads the team with 18 steals, ranking him sixth in the Big Ten.
No Wildcat has done a better job at finding the open man this season than junior Tim Doyle. The Merrick, N.Y. native is averaging a team-best 4.9 assists, currently ranking him seventh in the Big Ten, to go along with 9.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Doyle had a career-best seven assists against UIC and is shooting 77 percent (23-of-30) from the free throw line.
True freshman Craig Moore has become a regular in the starting lineup for the 'Cats. He has emerged of late to score 46 points (6.5 ppg) over the last seven games. He is coming off his best performance of the year with 12 points (on four 3-pointers) and eight rebounds in the win over DePauw. More importantly, he has impressed many with his ball-handling and decision making with 21 assists and just three turnovers this season.
Junior Vince Scott has given NU a nice lift off the bench with 4.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He tied a career-high with nine boards in the win at Seton Hall to compliment four assists, two blocks and one steal.
Michael Jenkins has picked up his play of late and has provided the Wildcats with a spark off the bench. The walk-on senior from Pasadena, Calif. has recorded 10 points, 12 assists, five steals and 12 rebounds over the last five games.
Redshirt freshman Sterling Williams is improving each game and has 11 points, five steals and eight rebounds in his last three games.
Bernard Coté enjoyed one of the best games of his career and his best as a Wildcat with a career-high eight points and four boards in the win over DePauw. Coté is averaging just under four points over the last four games after scoring just eight in the first five of the season.
Wildcats Cruise Past DePauw
Mohamed Hachad led three Wildcats in double figures with 17 points as Northwestern easily defeated DePauw, 69-36, Dec. 23 in Evanston, Ill.
Freshman guard Craig Moore scored a career-high 12 points, hitting 4-of-7 treys, and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for the Wildcats (6-4). Northwestern used its defensive pressure and speed to put the Tigers away with a 19-0 run in the second half. DePauw's Alex Stewart hit a 3-pointer to make it 37-29 before the Wildcats held their visitors scoreless for the next 10 minutes. Hachad, who hit 8-of-12 shots, hit a 3-pointer and scored off his own steal to start the run. The Wildcats had 13 steals and scored 21 fast-break points. DePauw was in the game early, going on a 10-3 run to tie it 12-12 with 12:10 left before the Wildcats responded with a 20-5 run, capped off by triples from Bernard Coté and Craig Moore to give NU the 34-22 halftime lead.
Noting The DePauw Game
'Cats Tighten Up Defensively
Northwestern has been turning in some outstanding defensive efforts of late. In its last three wins, NU is giving up just 44.0 points per game, including a season-low 36 to DePauw and 42 on the road at Seton Hall, the second-fewest of the season.
Those efforts have put Northwestern atop the Big Ten in scoring defense, giving up a league-low 55.5 points per game. In addition, they are second in 3-point FG percentage defense (.289) and third in FG percentage defense (.398). *numbers as of Dec. 29
About The Bears
The Bears, currently in the third year of a four-year transition from Division II to Division I, will play their final season as a Division I Independent in 2005-06 before becoming a member of the Big Sky Conference in 2006-07.
Sean Taibi and Kirk Archibeque lead the Bears offensively with 13.5 and 12.1 points per game, respectively. Archibeque also leads the team with 8.5 rebounds per game.
The Bears are shooting 42.9 percent from the field overall and 35.9 from behind the three-point arc. They enter today's game having already played 15 games through the first two months of the season compared to 10 for Northwestern. The Bears picked up their first win of the season with a 76-70 win at home against Eastern Michigan Friday night, snapping a 17-game losing skid that dated back to last season. They have faced stiff competition through the first two months of the season with losses to Wyoming, California, Air Force, Oregon State and Kansas to name a few.
The Series
Today is the first meeting between Northwestern and Northern Colorado.
Bear Head Coach Craig Rasmunson
Craig Rasmunson is in his seventh season as the head coach at Northern Colorado after spending the five previous seasons at Lincoln Memorial University, an NCAA Division II school, in Harrogate, Tenn. In 1998-99, Lincoln Memorial earned a share of the Gulf South Conference Eastern Division Championship by going 17-10 and 11-3 in league play. In 1997-98, he was named Gulf South Conference Co-Coach of the Year as his squad went 19-8 and headed to the league's postseason tourney for the first time in school history.
Vukusic Approaches Top 10 Scorers
Vedran Vukusic is currently 12th among the all-time scoring leaders at Northwestern with 1,265 points. At his current scoring rate of 21.7 ppg, he is on pace to finish third among the all-time scoring greats in Wildcat history behind Billy McKinney (1,900 points; 1973-77) and Evan Eschmeyer (1,805 points; 1995-99). *see Page 8 for complete list
Streak Ends At Nine
Vedran Vukusic was on pace to break the modern day record of consecutive games in leading the team in scoring until his string of nine-straight games was snapped when Mohamed Hachad led the Wildcats with 17 points in the win over DePauw. Evan Eschmeyer led the Wildcats in scoring 11-straight games during the middle of the 1998-99 season and is the longest streak in the past 35 years of Wildcat basketball.
Home Cookin'
In the last four-plus years the Wildcats have recorded a 45-18 (.714) overall record at Welsh-Ryan Arena, including a 19-13 mark in Big Ten play.
Magic No. 60
Northwestern is 5-1 this season when they score at least 60 points and have held eight of their 10 opponents below 60, including a season-low 36 to DePauw and 42 to Seton Hall on the road.
The 55.5 points per game is good for first in the Big Ten in scoring defense.