Dec. 19, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Winners of three straight games, the Northwestern men's basketball team returns to action for the first time in 12 days Thursday as it hosts Howard at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The contest will be begin at 8 p.m., which is a change from a previously announced tip time.
Thursday's game will be televised live by Big Ten Network with Wayne Larrivee and Tim Doyle on the call. It can also be heard on WGN Radio with Dave Eanet and David Kaplan calling the action.
It will be Family Fun Night at Welsh-Ryan Arena will all 300-level tickets available for just $5.
Following the game against the Bison, Northwestern will not play for another 12 days until it opens the Big Ten season at home against Penn State Jan. 2. The Wildcats' four games this month match the 2005-06 team for the fewest games played in the month of December in the last 60 seasons.
This will be the first meeting between the Wildcats and Howard. Northwestern is 7-0 all-time against current members of the MEAC. The last meeting was a 61-54 overtime win over Delaware State Dec. 3, 2005.
Last Time Out
Craig Moore scored a season-high 24 points and Northwestern posted its third consecutive win, 65-63 over Western Michigan Dec. 8. Moore scored eight points in the final minute, including a 3-pointer with 56 seconds remaining that gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the game, 58-53. He hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 17 seconds, including one with three seconds left, to preserve the win. Northwestern overcame a 15-point deficit in defeating the Broncos for the 11th straight time. NU, which missed eight of its first 11 shots, trailed 22-7 12 minutes into the game. The Wildcats stormed back with a 21-6 run, tying the score at 28 with 45 seconds left in the first half and taking a 31-30 lead on a 3-pointer by Moore as the buzzer sounded.
Carmody Goes for Win No. 100 at Northwestern
Thursday evening Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody will attempt to become just the second head coach in the history of the Wildcat basketball program to win 100 games at NU. Carmody enters the game with a record of 99-117 in eight seasons at the helm of the Wildcats. Arthur Lonborg posted a 236-203 record at Northwestern from 1928-50.
We're No. 1!
The Wildcats rank atop all of NCAA Division I with a 1.72 assist-to-turnover ratio through games played Dec. 16. Northwestern has dished out 150 assists this season while turning the ball over just 87 times. NU's average of 10.9 turnovers per game is the third-best mark in the nation, trailing only Texas and Butler. The Wildcats also rank among the nation's leaders in assists per game (12th; 18.8 pg) and 3-point field goals made per game (14th, 9.9 pg). Individually, Craig Moore's average of 3.8 made 3-pointers per game is 12th-best nationally.
Scouting Howard
Like Northwestern, Howard (3-7) is playing its first game in 12 days. The Bison fell 95-59 at VMI Dec. 8. Kyle Riley had a team-high 17 points for Howard, which was hurt by 30 turnovers in the loss.
Sophomore guard Julius Hearn was a teammate of Northwestern freshman guard Michael Thompson at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago. Hearn was slated to be the Bison's starting point guard, but he has not appeared in a game this season due to injury.
Junior guard Eugene Myatt lead Howard with an average of 17.8 points per game. He is the only Bison player averaging in double figures and has over twice as many more field goal attempts than any other player on the team.
Howard has turned the ball over 189 times compared to 103 assists so far this season. Contrast that to the Wildcats who have just 87 turnovers with 150 assists.
Up Next...
The Wildcats will take another 12-day break before hosting Penn State in the Big Ten opener for both teams Jan. 2 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.