Dec. 2, 2008
NU Game Notes vs. Florida State (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern and Florida State square off at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena in this year's final game of the 10th-annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. This will be the fourth meeting between the Wildcats and the Seminoles in the Challenge with FSU winning the matchups in 1999 and 2003 and NU winning in 2001. ESPN2 is televising the game live with Terry Gannon and Stephen Bardo on the call.
The game can also be heard live at wgnradio.com with Dave Eanet. WNUR will also broadcast the game at 89.3 FM and online at sports.wnur.org.
The Wildcats are in the middle of a stretch of three games in six days, all at home. Northwestern is coming off a 59-43 win Monday over UC Riverside with Kevin Coble pacing four 'Cats in double figures with 14 points. NU raced out to a commanding 32-14 halftime lead and cruised the rest of the way.
Series History: Florida State leads, 3-1
In the ACC/Big Ten Challenge: FSU topped Northwestern 60-46 in the first Challenge Dec. 1, 1999 in Evanston. The Wildcats topped the Seminoles 57-50 Nov. 28, 2001 in another contest played at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Florida State won the most recent Challenge meeting 71-53 Dec. 1, 2003 in Tallahassee.
Scouting Florida State
Florida State is off to a 7-0 start, the team's best opening stretch to a season since beginning the 2003-04 campaign with 10 straight wins. The Seminoles have been good in tight games so far this season, winning four contests by four points or less.
The Seminoles are coming off wins over Cincinnati and California at the Global Sports Classic in Las Vegas. FSU went 19-15 overall last season and fell to Akron in the first round of the NIT.
Senior guard Toney Douglas, a third-team All-ACC pick and All-ACC Defensive Team selection last season, paces the Seminoles with an average of 19.0 points per game and 16 steals. Freshman forward Chris Singleton contributes 10.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest.
Leonard Hamilton is in his seventh season at the helm at Florida State and sports a 113-86 record in Tallahassee and a 313-296 mark in 21 overall seasons as a head coach.
Carmody Shoots For 200th Career Win
One season after becoming the second coach in school history to earn 100 wins at Northwestern, Bill Carmody is in line to reach his 200th career win as a collegiate head coach. He is currently just one victory shy of the milestone. Carmody is 107-136 in nine seasons at NU and had a 92-25 mark in four years at Princeton for an overall record of 199-161.
Doing It With Defense
The lack of an inside presence hurt Northwestern in many ways last season, including allowing opponents to shoot 48.3 percent from the field, including 39.2 percent from 3-point range. So far this year, the Wildcats' foes have shot a combined 39.0 percent from the field and have committed an average of 16.6 turnovers per game. Northwestern has a +5.4 turnover margin so far this season. After finishing last in the country with a -10.8 rebounding margin a year ago, NU has out-rebounded four of its first five opponents (+2.0).
Up Next...
The Wildcats conclude their stretch of three games in six days this Saturday as they host local rival DePaul at 2:30 p.m. Big Ten Network is televising the game live.