Jan. 21, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Wildcats look to get back in the rhythm of the Big Ten schedule following a mid-week bye last Thursday and a loss at Iowa on Sunday afternoon. Michigan State visits Welsh-Ryan Arena for a 7 p.m. tip Thursday evening. Following the showdown with the Spartans, Northwestern once again hits the road, traveling to Minnesota for a 2 p.m. game Sunday, on Jan. 25.
Scouting the Spartans
Michigan State (12-6, 5-2) finds itself in the middle of a logjam at third place in the Big Ten with a 5-2 conference mark. Purdue, along with NU's next opponent, Minnesota, also share the same spot on the league totem pole. MSU's two conference losses came at the hands of the current top-two teams, Indiana and Ohio State. In addition to Northwestern, Michigan State has also played Penn State twice already this season, emerging victorious in both chances. The Spartans return all five starters from last year's 23-14 team, including standout center Alyssa DeHaan. The 6-9 junior leads MSU in rebounding with 7.2 rpg and is second with 11.0 ppg. She has been in the top 10 nationally all season in blocks and is first in the Big Ten, averaging 3.28 per outing. Fellow classmate Aisha Jefferson leads the Spartans offensively with 12.2 ppg, while sophomore Kalisha Keane has contributed 48 helps and a team-best 36 steals on the season. While DeHaan tops the Big Ten in blocked shots and Lykendra Johnson is fourth in free throw percentage (.809), no other Spartan ranks in the top five statistically. As a team, Michigan State is 10th in the country in field goal percentage defense (.342) and is 12th in rebound margin (10.1). The Spartans are also tops in the league in rebounding margin, pulling down 10.1 more boards than their opponents.
The Series against Michigan State
This is the second and last regular-season meeting between MSU and Northwestern. The Spartans won the previous contest, 64-52, up at the Breslin Center on Jan. 8. Michigan State's win pushed the all-time series between the two teams at 31-22 in their favor.
McKeown Reaches 700
Joe McKeown coached his 700th game against Purdue on Sunday, Jan. 11 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. McKeown, now in his 23rd year as a head coach, owns 514 career victories in those 700 chances, which translates to a 73.4 winning percentage. At the beginning of the 2008-09 season, the veteran mentor was 13th on the active coaches list. For more on McKeown, please see the chart on page 3.
Spreading The Love
When freshman Brittany Orban topped the Northwestern scoring column Sunday against Iowa, she became the seventh different Wildcat to lead the team in scoring. Amy Jaeschke, Ellen Jaeschke, Kristin Cartwright, Meshia Reed, Maggie Mocchi and Jenny Eckhart have also led the squad offensively in at least one game. Amy Jaeschke has been the top scorer in 10 games.
Home Sweet Home
Northwestern holds a 5-5 record in the friendly confines of Welsh-Ryan Arena and has scored 162 more points (608 vs. 148) in Evanston than on the road. Three Wildcats are averaging in double figures at home, including Amy Jaeschke, (16.8), Kristin Cartwright (11.2) and Meshia Reed (10.0). Jaeschke is also pulling down a team-high 8.7 boards per game in Welsh-Ryan.
Conference Call
Sophomore Amy Jaeschke and junior Kristin Cartwright know that Big Ten play is really what counts. The two have scored 36 percent of the team's points in the first seven league contests. Jaeschke leads the squad with an average of 13.9 ppg, while Cartwright is second on the team with 7.3. Freshman Maggie Mocchi and sophomore Meshia Reed are tied for third on the team in scoring, averaging 6.7 points per outing. Jaeschke is leading the team on the boards with 6.1 rpg while Reed leads the team in field goal percentage in conference games, shooting .576 (19-of-33) through the seven games.
Almost ...There
Though the record doesn't reflect the progress Northwestern has made this season, consider the following:
Northwestern has held the lead at halftime in 10-of its-18 games this season.
Six of NU's 13 losses have been by single-digits and four have been by six points or less.
Two games have gone into overtime (Clemson on Dec. 4 and Purdue on Jan. 11)
Comparing this year's numbers with last year's stats at the same time (through 18 games) shows that the 'Cats have improved in points per game, scoring margin, field goal percentage, free-throw percentage, rebounding margin and blocks.
For complete game notes, please click on the PDF above.