Feb. 7, 2006
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Feb. 8, 2006 - 7 p.m.
Northwestern (10-10, 3-6 Big Ten)
vs. No. 18 Iowa (18-5, 7-2 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+ Local (WWME in Chicago)
(Larry Morgan, play-by-play; Shon Morris, expert analyst)
The Game
Northwestern takes on its fourth ranked opponent in five games when the Wildcats welcome No. 18 Iowa to Welsh-Ryan Arena. Iowa is currently atop the Big Ten Standings at 7-2 after dominating Michigan at home last Saturday.
NU is coming off a 77-66 loss to No. 12 Michigan State Saturday.
Wednesday is the 155th meeting between the two teams. Iowa leads 104-50 overall, though it has been the 'Cats who have dominated of late, winning three of the last four.
The 'Cats got the best of the Hawkeyes last year in Evanston as Michael Jenkins' three-pointer at the overtime buzzer gave NU the thrilling 75-74 victory.
The 'Cats have the Big Ten's leading scorer in Vedran Vukusic (20.5 ppg) while Iowa's Greg Brunner leads the conference in rebounds (10.1) and Jeff Horner in assists (6.32).
At his current scoring rate of 20.5 ppg, Vedran Vukusic is on pace to become the first Wildcat since Ray Ragelis in 1951 to lead the Big Ten in scoring.
A Northwestern Win Would ...
Give the 'Cats their eighth victory over a ranked opponent at home under head coach Bill Carmody. NU is 7-8 at home vs. ranked foes under his tutelage, having beat a ranked team at least once each season under Carmody.
Improve Bill Carmody to 5-1 against Iowa at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Give the 'Cats their fourth win in the last five meetings with the Hawkeyes.
Other Things to Watch For ...
Vedran Vukusic is on pace to set the all-time Northwestern record for career three-pointers. He enters Wednesday's game with 195 makes, eight shy of Todd Leslie's 203, who played at Northwestern from 1989-94. Vukusic needs five to tie Winston Blake (200; 1999-03) for second place.
At his current scoring rate of 20.5 ppg, Vukusic is on pace to become the first Wildcat since Ray Ragelis in 1951 to lead the Big Ten in scoring.
Taking it a step further, Vukusic also would become the first European player in Big Ten history to lead the conference in scoring.
Vukusic has led the Wildcats in scoring 17 times this season, five away from tying the modern day record held by Evan Eschmeyer who led NU in scoring 22 times during the 1998-99 season.
We Want Moore
True freshman Craig Moore has been lighting it up from the outside and has connected on a team-best 24 three-pointers in Big Ten play (tied with Vukusic), tied for the league lead among ALL Big Ten players in conference action. He has hit multiple three-pointers on 12 occasions, including 5-of-7 in the road victory at Minnesota Jan. 7. He also is second among Big Ten freshman with 9.6 ppg in league play. In the win at Purdue Jan. 25, Moore hit the game-tying three-pointer with 0.9 seconds left to force overtime. But he can do more than just shoot the rock. In his first collegiate season he has done a superb job embracing Carmody's complex offense with 54 assists and just 19 turnovers (+2.8 Ass/TO ratio) on the year.
Wake Up Call
Since his two-point effort in 27 minutes at No. 21 Wisconsin on Jan. 14 (just his second game back from an appendectomy), senior Mohamed Hachad has rebounded to score 77 points in his last five games (15.4 ppg). He had a season-best performance with 20 points, including a career-high four three-pointers, in the win at Purdue Jan. 25. He had 17 on the road at Michigan and 14 against No. 7 Illinois and No. 22 Indiana.
About Iowa
Iowa sits in first place in the Big Ten with a 7-2 record, having won four straight and eight of its last nine. The Hawkeyes have defended their homecourt, going 5-0 at home this year in Big Ten play. They lead the league in rebounding (39.2), assists (16.0) and blocked shots (4.33) in Big Ten games.
The Hawkeyes feature three players who average double-figures with Adam Haluska (15.3), Greg Brunner (14.0) and Jeff Horner (12.9). Brunner also leads the Big Ten with 10.1 rebounds per game.
Alford in Seventh Season in Iowa
Steve Alford is in his seventh season at the University of Iowa. Leading the Hawkeyes to a 21-12 record in 2005, Alford has posted a 128-88 (.592) record at Iowa. His career record as a head coach stands at 284-165 (.632). Alford has led the Hawkeyes to five-consecutive winning seasons and five straight post-season appearances, including trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2005 and 2001. The 19 wins in 2005 rank as his highest total at Iowa during the regular season and two of his six teams have won over 20 games.
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