Nov. 27, 2006
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Game-by-Game Stats in PDF Format
Nov. 28, 2006 -- 8:30 p.m. CT
Northwestern (3-2) vs. Miami-Fla. (4-2)
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, Ill.
The Broadcasts
Radio -- WGN 720 AM (Dave Eanet, play-by-play; Shon Morris analyst).
Television -- ESPN2 (Terry Gannon, play-by-play; Stephen Bardo, analyst).
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Big Ten/ACC Challenge returns to Evanston Tuesday night when the Wildcats (3-2) welcome in the Miami Hurricanes (4-2) to Welsh-Ryan Arena. The game will be broadcast live in front of a nationally televised ESPN2 audience at 8:30 p.m. CT.
Northwestern has won three of its last four games and are coming off a 40-39 win over North Florida on Saturday when freshman Kevin Coble's putback with 3.2 seconds remaining gave NU the come-from-behind win. The 'Cats outscored the Ospreys 9-1 in the final six minutes. Tim Doyle, who is third in the Big Ten in assists (5.8), had eight points to pace the Wildcats. Jeff Ryan had seven off the bench while Coble and Craig Moore (who also had seven rebounds and five assists) each had six points.
Miami, meanwhile, is 4-2 on the season and is coming off a 98-66 win over Lafayette College. The Hurricanes have also posted wins over Florida International, Alcorn State and Evansville with losses to Buffalo and Cleveland State. They are paced by Jack McClinton's 19.3 ppg, the third-leading scorer in the ACC.
The Series
Tuesday is the first meeting between Miami (Fla.) and Northwestern.
About The Hurricanes
Miami is 4-2 on the season and is coming off a 98-66 win over Lafayette College. The Hurricanes have also posted wins over Florida International, Alcorn State and Evansville with losses to Buffalo and Cleveland State.
'Cats Grab Last-Second Victory Over North Florida
Freshman Kevin Coble's jumper with 3.2 seconds left gave Northwestern a 40-39 win over North Florida Saturday. Coble was near the basket when Craig Moore went up for a three-point shot from the left side. The shot tipped the rim and Coble was waiting for it. He grabbed the rebound and shot the ball in from the right side. The Wildcats turned up the heat down the stretch, outscoring the Ospreys 9-1 over the final six minutes to come away with the win, holding North Florida to just two field goals in the final 8:28. Coble finished with six points and six rebounds. Tim Doyle led all Northwestern (3-2) scorers with eight points. Jeff Ryan had yet another solid game off the bench with seven points and three boards. Jeremy Nash also played well off the bench in the final minutes and tied the game at 38-38 with his baseline jumper with 3:30 to play. Moore had six points and eight assists while Jason Okrzesik had five off the bench
Doyle Among Big Ten's Best
Tim Doyle is one of the best in the business in terms of getting his teammates involved and finding the open man. This season he is third in the Big Ten in assists per game (5.8) and 2.4 steals per game. He also has kept his turnovers to a minimum this season with only 12 in the first five games, good for fifth in the conference in assist-turnover ratio (+2.42). He averages 11.6 points per game (18th in the Big Ten), is shooting 78 percent (14-of-18) from the stripe and is second among Big Ten players with 36.8 minutes per game.
Doyle had one of the best offensive games of his career with 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go along with eight assists and two steals in the win over Brown Nov. 21.
Moore Automatic From the Stripe
Sophomore Craig Moore is shooting 91 percent form the free throw line this season (10-of-11)--good for third in the Big Ten. Twice this season he has been fouled on a 3-point FG attempt and sank all three FT's both times. He is 20-of-24 for his career (.833) from the line.
Ryan, Okrzesik Provide Spark
Newcomers Jeff Ryan (Fr., 4.5 ppg) and Jason Okrzesik (R-Jr., 7.5 ppg) have provided a consistent spark off the bench for the Wildcats this season. Ryan had his best game of the season with eight points and one 3-pointer in the close loss at Stanford. In the win over DePaul, he came up with a big steal and break-away layup that helped the Wildcats pull away from the Blue Demons. Okrzesik had his best game against Cornell with 11 points on 3-of-5 from downtown and scored 10 in the win over Brown. He is shooting 46 percent (12-of-26) from the field with a team-best seven 3-pointers.
Taking Care of the Rock
The Wildcats lead the Big Ten in assist-turnover ratio with a +1.70 ratio. Northwestern always gives itself a chance to win by keeping errors to a minimum. And that was the case once again Nov. 14 vs. DePaul as the Wildcats committed just five turnovers--two coming on shot clock violations--compared to 15 total for the Blue Demons. It marked the 37th time in the Bill Carmody era that the Wildcats have recorded single-digit turnover games. They are 24-13 in those games.
Williams Shows Consistency
Redshirt sophomore Sterling Williams is playing with much more confidence this season and it has reflected in his statistics. Williams is averaging 7.0 points per game--up from 3.4 points last season--and shooting 47 percent from the floor. He had his best game with 11 points in the opener against Cornell where he also grabbed seven boards.
Every Class Represented
Through the first five games of the season, the Wildcats have started a fifth-year (Doyle), a fourth-year (Scott), a third-year (Williams), a second-year (Moore) and a first-year in true-freshman Coble together.
Young Guns
This is by far one of the youngest teams head coach Bill Carmody has coached in his career. In his first season in Evanston in 2000-01 he had seven freshmen and zero seniors. This year he has six freshmen, four sophomores and two junior-eligible players who did not see action last season in Okrzesik and Tolic. Ten of the 15 players on the roster are freshmen or sophomores in terms of eligibility.
Noting Bill Carmody
Though it sometimes gets overlooked, head coach Bill Carmody has turned Northwestern into a consistent winner. Over the past six full years, 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.