Jan. 20, 2006
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Jan. 21, 2006 - 3:30 p.m.
Northwestern (9-7, 2-3 Big Ten)
vs. Illinois (16-2, 2-2 Big Ten)
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, Ill.
The Broadcasts
Radio--WGN 720 AM (Dave Eanet, play-by-play; Dave Kaplan analyst)
Television--ESPN+ Regional (WCIU in Chicago) & ESPNU
(Craig Coshun, play-by-play; Bob Ford, analyst)
The Game
Northwestern (9-7, 2-3 Big Ten) takes on No. 7 Illinois at 3:30 p.m. this Saturday in front of a sellout crowd at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Northwestern, which won its first two Big Ten games, seeks to even its Big Ten record at 3-3 while the Illini (16-2, 2-2) will try to avoid their third conference defeat after losing on the road at Indiana 62-60 Tuesday night.
NU is led by seniors Vedran Vukusic, the Big Ten's leading scorer with 20.9 ppg, and Mohamed Hachad, who is coming off one of his best performances since coming back from injury.
Northwestern has defeated a ranked opponent at home each season under head coach Bill Carmody and would love nothing more than to extend that streak to six with a win over its in-state rival Saturday afternoon. Carmody is 7-6 against ranked teams at Welsh-Ryan Arena overall.
Illinois is led by Dee Brown, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, who averages 15.0 points and 5.6 assists per game.
A Northwestern Win Would ...
Vukusic Moves Up The Charts
With 15 points against No. 21 Wisconsin, Vedran Vukusic moved into eighth place on Northwestern's all-time scoring list. With 15 at Michigan, he now has 1,388 and is 19 points away from tying Shon Morris (1984-88; 1,407) for seventh place. At his current scoring rate of 20.9 ppg, he is on pace to finish third among the all-time greats in Wildcat history behind Billy McKinney (1,900 points; 1973-77) and Evan Eschmeyer (1,805 points; 1995-99).
A Look at the 'Cats
Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Vedran Vukusic has been carrying the load offensively for the Wildcats this season. The senior from Croatia leads the Big Ten and ranks 20th nationally with 20.9 points per game. He has accounted for 36 percent of Northwestern's offense and has scored 20 or more points in 10-of-15 games, including a season-high 28 twice: in the win over Charlotte at the BCA Invitational in November and in the win over Purdue Jan. 4. Vukusic ranks ninth in the Big Ten in steals (1.44), 11th in FG percentage (.527) and 11th with 2.19 3FG per game.
Senior Mohamed Hachad had his best offensive performance since missing three games because of an appendectomy Dec. 28. He has busted out of an early season scoring slump with 84 points (12.0 ppg) in his last seven games after recording just 14 total points 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 and 10 in the win at Seton Hall before his 17-point output against DePauw. He is averaging 9.7 points per game overall and is third on the team with 21 steals, ranking him sixth in the Big Ten with 1.6 per game.
Junior Tim Doyle has done just about everything this year for the 'Cats. When they have needed him to pass, he has found the open man (4.4 apg, first on the team). When they have needed him to rebound he has (4.0, second on the team). When NU's second leading scorer Mohamed Hachad sat out the Big Ten opener, he picked up the slack offensively with a career-high 20 points in the win over Purdue. His 4.4 assists currently rank him ninth in the Big Ten to go along with 8.9 points per game. He tallied his 20-point effort against Purdue on 8-of-11 shooting, including two three-pointers. Doyle had a career-best seven assists against UIC.
True freshman Craig Moore, who leads all Big Ten freshman with 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game in Big Ten play, has become one of NU's top offensive threats. He has emerged of late, averaging 10.4 points in conference play and has made 23 treys (3.3 pg). He had his best performance of the year with 15 points (on five 3-pointers) at Minnesota Jan. 7 and had 12 points (on four 3-pointers) and eight rebounds in the win over DePauw Dec. 23. More importantly, he has impressed many with his ball-handling and decision making with 41 assists compared to just 13 turnovers this season (+3.2). Moore had six assists in the win over Purdue Jan. 4, tying his season-high, and has just three turnovers in his last three games.
Redshirt freshman Sterling Williams (3.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg) leads all Big Ten freshman with 1.0 steals per game (all games) and has been more aggressive of late on both ends of the floor. He had his best offensive performance of the year with 15 points and six assists at Minnesota Jan. 7 and 11 points and three steals in the win over Northern Colorado on New Year's Day. He had a season-high seven rebounds in the win over Purdue Jan. 4.
About the Illini
Illinois enters Saturday's game ranked seventh in the Associated Press and fifth in the ESPN/USA TODAY Top 25 polls. The Illini tore through the nonconference portion of their schedule and won their first 15 games of the season before Iowa handed them their first loss of the season Jan. 7.
Last season, Illinois advanced to the NCAA Final Four, only to lose to North Carolina in the final, its first appearance in the NCAA Championship game. They recorded 37 wins in 2004-05, tying the NCAA record for most victories in a single season.
Dee Brown and James Augustine lead the Illini this season with 15.0 and 14.2 points, respectively. Brown leads the Big Ten in three-point field goals made per game (2.67) and is third and fourth in assists (5.6) and steals (1.7) per game. Augustine ranks third in the league in rebounding (8.9) and second in field goal percentage (.639).
The Series
Saturday is the 155th meeting in the all-time series where the Illini own a 120-34 lead overall. Northwestern last defeated Illinois in 2004, 70-60, at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Illini Head Coach Bruce Weber
Bruce Weber is in his third year at Illinois and last season became the first coach in Big Ten history to win back-to-back outright Big Ten titles in his first two seasons. Weber made an immediate impact after being hired, leading his squad to its first Big Ten Championship in 52 years. Once again, he topped his previous performances in 2004-05 by leading Illinois to a 29-0 start and a 37-2 record, culminated by the Illini's march to the NCAA National Championship game against North Carolina. For his efforts, Weber swept all of the National Coach of the Year accolades.