Jan. 5, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern will try to bounce back from a loss to Penn State in its Big Ten opener when it travels to take on Ohio State Sunday. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. Central time. The contest will be televised live by Big Ten Network with Matt Devlin and Bill Hosket on the call.
The game can also be heard on WGN Radio (720 AM) with Dave Eanet and Nate Pomeday describing the action.
The matchup features two of the top point guards in the Big Ten in the Wildcats' Michael Thompson and OSU's Jamar Butler. Butler ranks first in the conference with an average of 5.69 assists per game, while Thompson is second at 5.5 per contest. Both players are also leading their respective teams in scoring.
Series History: Ohio State leads, 109-44. The Buckeyes have won the last 15 meetings. Northwestern will be seeking its first victory in Columbus since posting a 83-72 win Feb. 24, 1977. The Buckeyes have won the last 27 meetings on their home court.
Last Meeting: No. 5 OSU defeated the Wildcats 59-50 in Evanston Jan. 24, 2007 behind 17 points and 17 rebounds by Greg Oden.
Last Time Out
Michael Thompson led Northwestern with 17 points and a career-high 10 assists, but the Wildcats were unable to hold off Penn State in dropping their Big Ten season opener to the Nittany Lions 79-68 Wednesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Jamelle Cornley had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Geary Claxton added 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Penn State. Thompson scored six points during an 11-2 first-half run to give the Wildcats their largest lead of the game at 18-9. However, Craig Moore, Northwestern's leading scorer, picked up his second foul shortly thereafter the Nittany Lions responded with a 14-4 spurt to go up 23-22. NU would eventually take a 35-34 lead into the intermission, but Penn State opened the second half on a 20-4 run to pull ahead. The Wildcats got no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
Coble Rejoins Wildcat Program
Northwestern sophomore forward Kevin Coble, a Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection a year ago, made his first appearance of the season Wednesday when the team took on Penn State. He came off the bench and scored 11 points in 23 minutes of action. Coble missed the Wildcats' first nine games after taking a break to be with his mother in his hometown of Phoenix while she underwent cancer treatments. Coble remained enrolled in classes and began practicing with the team full-time once again last weekend. He led the Wildcats in both scoring (13.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.2 rpg) last season, making him the first freshman in school history to accomplish the feat.
A Helping Hand
Michael Thompson's 10 assists against Penn State Wednesday were a career-high for the freshman. He has handed out seven or more assists in a game four times already this season, including nine against Brown Nov. 24. Thompson is just one of three players in school history to post two games with nine assists or more in the same season, joining Julian Bonner (1997-98) and Patrick Baldwin (1992-93).
Scouting Ohio State
The Buckeyes (10-3, 1-0) stretched their Big Ten winning streak to 17 games with a 74-58 win Thursday at Illinois. Jamar Butler led OSU with 32 points, six rebounds and six assists. Ohio State out-scored the Illini 45-28 in the second half.
Butler leads Ohio State with averages of 15.5 points and 5.69 assists per game, the latter total pacing the Big Ten. Freshman Kosta Koufos is averaging 15.0 points per contest and a team-best 6.9 rebounds per game.
The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten with in 3-point field goal percentage, limiting their opponents to .289 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Northwestern leads the conference with a .409 team 3-point field goal percentage and an average of 9.6 3-pointers made per game.
Up Next...
The Wildcats remain on the road next Wednesday as they travel to Minnesota for an 8 p.m. tip.