Jan. 18, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern seeks its first Big Ten victory and its first win over a ranked opponent this season as it travels to Wisconsin to take on the 17th-ranked Badgers. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. at the Kohl Center. The contest will be televised by the Big Ten Network with Jay Wilson and Trent Tucker on the call.
The game can also be heard on WGN Radio (720 AM) with Dave Eanet. Live stats will be available at uwbadgers.com.
Series History: Wisconsin leads, 104-60. The Badgers have won the last nine meetings in Madison and 12 of the last 15 overall.
Last Meeting: No. 2 Wisconsin defeated the Wildcats 69-52 in Madison Feb. 3, 2007 despite a game-high 24 points by Kevin Coble.
Last Time Out
Craig Moore scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and Kevin Coble had a solid all-around performance with 19 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists as Northwestern pulled away in the second half to beat Chicago State 65-47 Wednesday evening. Both teams shot under 35 percent from the field in the first half as the squads took a 24-24 tie into the break. Northwestern had the largest lead of the half for either team at just four points in the uneven period. Coble tallied half of the Wildcats' point total during the opening stanza. Northwestern took control of the game with a 14-3 run to start the second half with Moore keying the rally with 10 points during the spurt. The Wildcats never led by less than eight points the rest of the way as they shot 55.2 percent (16-for-29) after the break. NU handed out 12 assists and turned the ball over just three times over the final 20 minutes of play. Moore broke out of a shooting slump by tying his season high with six 3-pointers in nine attempts. Northwestern finished with a 17-3 advantage in points off turnovers as it forced 15 CSU miscues while giving the ball up just eight times itself.
Back With a Vengeance
In just his fourth game and second start of the season, Kevin Coble posted a memorable performance against Michigan Jan. 12. The sophomore forward knocked down 14 of 18 field goal attempts, including four of five from 3-point range on his way to scoring a career-best 34 points. The total is the highest by a Big Ten player in a game this season and surpassed Coble's previous high of 25 points set against Western Michigan during his freshman campaign. It was the most points by a Wildcat player during Bill Carmody's eight seasons as head coach, besting Vedran Vukusic's 32-point effort against Iowa Jan. 26, 2005. Coble followed up the performance with a 19-point, 14-rebound, 7-assist effort Jan. 16 at Chicago State. The rebound total tied the most by a player in the Carmody era while his 22 field goal attempts in the game also set a new mark.
Scouting Wisconsin
The Badgers (14-2, 4-0) have won eight straight contests, including an 80-55 victory Tuesday at Penn State. Junior guard Michael Flowers led Wisconsin with 23 points, including hitting five of six 3-point tries. Wisconsin is tied for first place in the Big Ten with Indiana.
Sophomore point guard Trevon Hughes and senior forward Brian Butch lead the Badgers in scoring, averaging 13.7 and 13.6 points per game, respectively. Butch's norm of 8.0 rebounds per game is tops on the team.
Wisconsin leads the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing an average of 54.3 points per game, while ranking second with a .380 defensive field goal percentage.
The Badgers are 101-6 at the Kohl Center under Bo Ryan, including 48-2 against Big Ten opponents.
Up Next...
Northwestern returns home next Thursday as it faces No. 11 Michigan State at 8 p.m.