Nov. 9, 2006
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Season Outlook
Nov. 10, 2006 - 8:30 p.m. CT
Northwestern (0-0) vs. Cornell (0-0)
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, Ill.
The Broadcasts
Radio -- WGN 720 AM (Dave Eanet, play-by-play; Shon Morris analyst) & WNUR 89.3 FM
Television -- None
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern tips off the 2006-07 campaign Friday when it welcomes the Cornell Big Red to Welsh-Ryan Arena. Game time is 8:30 p.m. following the Northwestern women's game against Valparaiso which begins at 6 p.m. CT. Bill Carmody has one of his youngest teams in his coaching career, with five scholarship freshmen and two sophomores, both of whom are expected to start. Back to lead the Wildcat charge are seniors Tim Doyle and Vince Scott along with youngsters Sterling Williams and Craig Moore -- a 2006 Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection.
Tonight marks the third meeting in the all-time series with Cornell in which Northwestern leads 2-0. The Wildcats last defeated the Big Red on Dec. 11, 1982, 60-44 in Evanston under former NU player and head coach Rich Falk. The other meeting was two years prior as the Wildcats won 63-48 in Evanston in 1980.
Northwestern is 5-1 in home openers under head coach Bill Carmody and 75-26 in home openers all-time.
Bill Carmody faced Cornell eight times in four years as a head coach at Princeton from 1996-2000 and won all of them -- 8-0 all time against the Big Red. The average margin of victory in those eight wins was over 20 points per game (+20.8).
Heroes' Night!
In honor of Veterans Day, the Northwestern community would like to thank its heroes by offering FREE admission to the men's basketball season opener to all armed services members, public safety officials and their families. Just bring photo identification to show your affiliation, and you will be admitted free. This offer valid on the day of the game only.
Season ticket holders are encouraged to attend as one will win the Hilton Garden Inn Season Ticket Holder of the Week prize, which includes a gift certificate for a free dinner for two at American Grill!
All students will receive the official 2006-07 purple WildSide t-shirt for FREE at the game! Full-time undergraduate students just need to bring their valid WildCARD to the game to receive free admission.
About Cornell
Cornell returns nine letterwinners and three starters from last year's squad that went 13-15 with an 8-6 record in Ivy League play -- good for third place. Two years ago Cornell went 13-14 and finished second in the Ivy with the same 8-6 mark.
The Big Red feature six seniors, no juniors, five sophomores and six freshman.
Adam Gore, the 2006 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, is the leading returning scorer at 12.9 points per game. He led the team in scoring nine times as a freshman. The next highest returning scorer is Graham Dow who averaged 7.4 points in Ivy games.
Northwestern is the first of two Big Ten opponents for the Big Red -- Cornell faces Iowa on the road Saturday, Dec. 30 in Iowa City.
Cornell is coached by Steve Donahue who is in his seventh season as head basketball coach. Donahue has coached and/or recruited six of the school's top 20 all-time leading scorers, two Ivy League Rookie of the Year players, three Academic All-District picks and one Academic All-American. Donahue's 2005-06 team matched the previous season's win total both overall (13) and in Ivy play (8). Cornell finished in third place in the final league standings as both Lenny Collins and Adam Gore earned second-team All-Ivy honors, while Gore was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year.
About Northwestern
This is by far one of the youngest teams Carmody has coached in his career. In his first season in Evanston in 2000-01 he had seven freshman and zero seniors. This year he has six freshman, four sophomores and two junior-eligible players who did not see action last season.
During the past six years under Carmody the Wildcats have won 82 games, the best six-year win total in the program's history. Northwestern has won at least 11 games in all of Carmody's seasons -- a program first -- and the first time the 'Cats have reached double figures in the win column six straight seasons since 1938.
In Big Ten play, Northwestern has won 30 regular-season conference games during the past five years, the most over a five-year period since 1966-70 (32). In Carmody's six-year tenure, the Wildcats have won 33 Big Ten regular-season games; prior to his arrival, NU had 28 conference victories in the previous 12 seasons.
The Wildcats have won 10 or more home games four of the past five years, including 12 in 2004-05, a program record, and nine in 2005-06. Northwestern is 51-22 at home the last five years, and has had a winning mark at Welsh-Ryan every year under Carmody after doing so just twice in the six seasons prior to his arrival.
Last year Carmody led NU to 14 wins, the sixth-straight double-digit win season, and guided NU to a 9-4 start, his best in six years as head coach. He also started 2-0 in the Big Ten for the first time in 23 years.
In the last five years the Wildcats have recorded a 51-22 (.700) overall record at Welsh-Ryan Arena, including a 22-18 (.564) mark in Big Ten play. The Wildcats have reached double figures in home wins in four of the past five years -- including a school-record 12 in 2004-05.
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