Jan. 1, 2010
#11 Michigan State at #25 Northwestern
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010
Evanston, Ill. 5:30 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network (Tom Hamilton and Jim Jackson)
Audio: WYLL-AM 1160 and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and Shon Morris)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 91 and XM 196
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. - A pair of ranked teams meet up Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena as No. 25 Northwestern opens its Big Ten home season and the new year against 11th-ranked Michigan State. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. with Big Ten Network providing live television coverage.
The game is a sellout and fans are encouraged to arrive early. Doors to Welsh-Ryan Arena open at 4 p.m.
CTA, Metra, and Pace all provide service to Welsh-Ryan Arena. The CTA Purple Line from downtown Chicago stops at Central Street where you may connect to the #201 CTA bus that stops a block from the arena or walk three blocks west on Central Street to the stadium.
The Metra Union Pacific North Line from downtown Chicago and Kenosha, Wis., stops at Central Street where you may also connect to the #201 CTA bus that stops a block from the arena or walk three blocks east on Central to the stadium.
Pace route #213 runs along Green Bay Road and connects with five other Pace routes, and also stops at Central Street.
The Wildcats (10-2, 0-1 Big Ten) had their nine-game winning streak snapped Wednesday in an 89-83 overtime loss at Illinois. John Shurna scored over 20 points for the third consecutive game, tallying a team-high 27 points to go along with seven rebounds. NU lost despite committing only three turnovers in the contest. The Wildcats tied their own Big Ten record by attempting 47 3-pointers in the contest, connecting on 16 of them.
Michigan State is playing its first Big Ten game of the season. The Spartans are coming off an 87-68 home win Wednesday over Texas-Arlington. Durrell Summers paced the defending national runners-up with 20 points, while Draymond Green added 19 points and seven assists.
Series History: Michigan State leads, 77-37.
Last Meeting: Northwestern posted a memorable 70-63 win over No. 7 Michigan State in East Lansing Jan. 21, 2009. Kevin Coble led the Wildcats with 31 points.
Scouting Michigan State
Michigan State is the last Big Ten team to play a Big Ten game. The Spartans concluded preconference play with an 87-68 home win over Texas-Pan American on Wednesday. Durrell Summers and Draymond Green each came off the bench to score 20 and 19 points, respectively.
Reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Kalin Lucas leads MSU with an average of 15.7 points per game. Michigan State is the top rebounding team in the Big Ten, out-rebounding their opponents by an average of 10.2 per game.
Tom Izzo, a four-time National Coach of the Year, is in his 15th season as the head coach of the Spartans. He has a 346-140 career record.
Cracking the Top 25
The Wildcats made their season debut in this week's Associated Press poll, coming in at No. 25. It marks NU's first ranking in the AP poll since they were No. 17 on Jan. 14, 1969, the final week of a three-week stint in what was then a top-20 poll. The 'Cats also receiving the fifth-most votes of any team outside the top 25 in this week's USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll.
Spreading the Wealth
Northwestern is well known for sharing the basketball while protecting it from the opposition at the same time. Never more so is that the case than this season. The Wildcats lead the nation with a 1.70 assist-to-turnover ratio. NU has handed out 219 assists while committing only 129 turnovers. In Wednesday's overtime contest against Illinois, Northwestern handed out 21 assists while turning the ball over just three times. The three turnovers tied a low in the Carmody era and none of them came over the final 35 minutes of play.
So Far, So Good
Northwestern's 10-2 record is the best 12-game start to a season during the Carmody era and the best by a Wildcat team since the 1982-83 campaign. The Wildcats have started 7-1 in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. NU earned five wins in the month of November this season for the first time ever. Northwestern's nine-game win streak which was snapped in Wednesday's loss at Illinois was its longest since the 1993-94 squad opened its season with nine straight victories. The Wildcats 10 wins prior to the new year tied the 2006-07 team for the school record for most victories before Jan. 1.
Shurna Takes Charge
To say that John Shurna has elevated his game this season would be an understatement. After posting norms of 7.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game as a freshman, Shurna has raised those averages to 16.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 2009-10. The 9.5 point-per-game boost is the largest increase of any Big Ten player from last season to this season. Shurna ranks fourth in the conference in scoring and sixth in rebounding and is averaging 26.0 points and 7.0 rebounds over the last three contests.
Bombs Away!
Northwestern's 20 3-point makes and 47 3-point attempts in the win over North Carolina A&T Dec. 13 both established new Big Ten records. NU matched the attempts record with 47 against Illinois Dec. 30. The 20 makes bested the previous conference mark of 18 set by Ohio State against LSU Jan. 15, 2005, while the attempt total topped Michigan's total of 42 against Florida Gulf Coast Dec. 22, 2008. The previous school records were 15 makes vs. Arkansas State Dec. 3, 2007 and 36 attempts at Ohio State Feb. 1, 2003. The Wildcats lead the Big Ten and rank sixth nationally with an average 10.1 3-point makes per game, while ranking third in the nation with 27.9 3-point attempts per game.
Helping Hand
Northwestern is well known for playing "team" offense and that's reflected in the statistics. The Wildcats have assisted on 75.0 percent of their field goals this season, posting 219 assists on their 292 made baskets. The percentage ranks first in the nation. In fact, NU has ranked in the top five nationally in assist percentage each of Bill Carmody's 10 seasons as head coach. The Wildcats have recorded at least 20 assists in three of their last four games.
Marathon Man
There's little question that Michael Thompson is the most important player on the court for Northwestern. Not when you consider that he has played 39 or more minutes in eight of the Wildcats' first 12 contests this season. Thompson leads the Big Ten with an average of 37.9 minutes per game. Despite playing as many minutes as he does, the NU floor general has committed either one or no turnovers in seven of the team's 12 games and ranks third in the Big Ten with a 3.33 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Home Sweet Home
After setting a program best with 13 home wins in 2008-09, the Wildcats play a school-record 19 regular-season home games during the 2009-10 campaign. NU's lone nonconference road game was at N.C. State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Northwestern is 7-1 at home so far this season with the lone loss coming to nationally ranked Butler Nov. 18.
On the Marc
Northwestern was looking for a long-range threat to replace the graduated Craig Moore and may have found it in freshman Alex Marcotullio. The southpaw hit four 3-pointers at Illinois Dec. 30 and has hit three in a game on three other occassions. He leads the team and ranks 11th in the Big Ten with a .407 3-point percentage (22-54).
Up Next...
Northwestern steps outside Big Ten play Thursday as it hosts Texas-Pan American. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.