Jan. 23, 2009
NU Game Notes vs. Michigan (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Three days after taking down seventh-ranked Michigan State in East Lansing, Northwestern returns to the state of Michigan to face the Wolverines at 7 p.m. Central time Saturday evening. Big Ten Network is televising the contest with Wayne Larrivee, Shon Morris and Shireen Saski on the call.
The game can also be heard on 720 AM-WGN and online at wgnradio.com with Dave Eanet and Bob Hildebrand.
The Wildcats (10-6, 2-4 Big Ten) enter Saturday's game as the winners of two straight games over ranked opponents after most recently posting a 70-63 victory at Michigan State on Wednesday. NU also notched a 74-65 victory over then-No. 18 Minnesota on Sunday. Kevin Coble scored 19 of his game-high 31 points in the first half of the win over the Spartans. Northwestern forced 18 turnovers in the contest and has forced its last three opponents--all ranked teams--into a combined 59 miscues (19.7 per game).
The win at MSU marked the first time in school history the Wildcats have defeated ranked opponents in consecutive games. It was the program's first win over a top-10 team since defeating No. 8 Michigan 97-93 in overtime March 12, 1994.
Series History: Michigan leads, 99-53.
Last Meeting: Craig Moore knocked down a then-school-record eight 3-pointers and scored 28 points as Northwestern defeated Michigan 62-60 in Ann Arbor Feb. 26, 2008.
Scouting Michigan
The Wolverines (13-6, 3-4) will be out to try to snap a three-game losing streak after most recently falling 73-58 at Penn State on Tuesday. DeShawn Sims posted game highs of 21 points and 11 rebounds for Michigan.
Sophomore guard Manny Harris was held to four points against the Nittany Lions but still leads the team with averages of 18.1 points and 4.6 assists per game. Sims is second in scoring at 15.8 points per contest and first in rebounding at 8.1 per game.
John Beilein is in his second season at Michigan and has a 23-28 record in Ann Arbor and a 574-346 mark overall in 31 seasons as a head coach, including stints at West Virginia, Richmond, Canisius, LeMoyne, Nazareth and Eric Community College.
Taking it Away
The Wildcats enter Saturday's game ranked first in the Big Ten in turnover margin at +4.75. In Northwestern's last three games, all against ranked teams, the 'Cats forced Purdue into 22 miscues, Minnesota into 19 and Michigan State into 18. NU has turned its opponents over an average of 16.1 times per game this season, with four of its foes committing over 20 turnovers in a contest. The Wildcats are forcing their Big Ten opponents into an average of 16.0 turnovers per game, the top mark in conference play.
Closing in on 1,000
Three weeks after Craig Moore scored the 1,000th point of his career, junior forward Kevin Coble also is also closing in on the milestone. Coble enters Saturday's game just 28 points away from the mark with 972 points for his career. A total of 27 players in Northwestern history have scored at least 1,000 points in their careers.
Michigan State Game Notes
The win marks NU's first victory over a top-10 opponent on the road since a 71-65 win at No. 9 Minnesota Jan. 3, 1953 ... Kevin Coble's 31 points marked the third-highest scoring game of his career and tie Craig Moore's effort at Brown on Nov. 22 as the highest output by a Big Ten player this season. Coble scored 37 points vs. No. 15 Indiana Feb. 23, 2008 and 34 vs. Michigan Jan. 12, 2008 ... NU's victory snapped Michigan State's 28-game home winning streak, the third-longest streak in the nation. It also ended Michigan State's 80-game home winning streak against unranked opponents ... Northwestern's win was its first at the Breslin Center, and its first at Michigan State overall since a 76-69 victory in East Lansing Jan. 7, 1984 ... MSU's Kalin Lucas entered the game second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.12, but was forced into six turnovers with just two assists.
Challenging Slate
Wednesday's contest at Michigan State was Northwestern's third straight game against a ranked foe and its fourth out of the last five. The last time NU played three consecutive opponents who were ranked was the 2005-06 season. Before that, the Wildcats hadn't faced three straight ranked teams since the 1993-94 season. Through games played Thursday, Northwestern has the fourth-highest strength of schedule in the country so far this season according to ESPN.com's InsideRPI Daily. NU's six losses have come to teams that have a combined 86-21 record (.804).
Protecting the Rock
Northwestern has handed out 248 assists while committing just 182 turnovers so far this year for an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.36. The mark ranks third in the Big Ten and NU was 12th nationally in the category entering play this week. Individually, sophomore point guard Michael Thompson leads the conference with a 4.00 assist-to-turnover ratio in Big Ten play. In six games and 200 minutes of action against conference foes, Thompson has committed a mere five turnovers. The Wildcats ranked third in the country last season with a 1.43 team assist-to-turnover ratio.
Gaining National Respect
The Wildcats' solid start has helped them earn respectable national rankings from numerous outlets. Northwestern was receiving votes in the Associated Press poll for two weeks during the month of December. NU has not been ranked in the top 25 of the AP poll since the 1968-69 season. Through games played Thursday, the 'Cats are ranked No. 36 according to RealTimeRPI.com and are No. 43 in the Sagarin ratings. The Big Ten is the second-ranked conference in the country, narrowly trailing the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Hitting His Mark
Kevin Coble came into the 2008-09 season as an 80.5 percent career free throw shooter, but struggled during non-conference play. The junior forward connected on just 16 of 28 attempts (.571) during the Wildcats' first 10 games this season. However, Coble has corrected his efforts from the charity stripe and has made 27 of 31 attempts (.871) through six Big Ten games. He has made 17 of 18 tries the last two games, including a 9-for-9 performance in the Jan. 18 win over No. 18 Minnesota. The effort mirrors NU's performance as a team. The 'Cats shot just 64.2 percent (106-165) from the line in non-conference play, but are a much more respectable 71.4 percent (75-105) against league foes.
Up Next...
The Wildcats start a stretch during which it will play six of the next seven games at home next Wednesday when it faces Indiana at Welsh-Ryan Arena.