Jan. 6, 2010
Texas-Pan American at Northwestern
Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010
Evanston, Ill. 6 p.m.
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Streaming Video: BigTenNetwork.com (Rob Coons and Mark Carman)
Audio: WIND-AM 560 and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and Bob Hildebrand)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 91 and XM 196
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern plays its penultimate nonconference game of the regular season Thursday as it hosts Texas-Pan American at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. Fans unable to make it out to Welsh-Ryan can catch a live video stream at BigTenNetwork.com.
The Wildcats are looking to get back on track after dropping their first two games of the Big Ten season against Illinois and Michigan State following a 10-1 start. Victories over UTPA Thursday and Chicago State March 3 would give NU a school-record 12 nonconference wins. The 2006-07 team holds the Northwestern mark with 11 wins outside Big Ten play.
Despite sophomore forward John Shurna tying a career high with 29 points, NU dropped a 91-70 decision at home Saturday to No. 11 Michigan State. Coupled with a 27-point effort against Illinois Dec. 30, Shurna was named the Big Ten Player of the Week for the second time this season.
Series History: Northwestern leads, 4-0.
Last Meeting: Northwestern posted a 68-59 win over the Broncos Jan. 30, 2008 in Evanston behind 29 points from Kevin Coble and 18 points and seven assists by Michael Thompson.
Scouting Texas-Pan American
The Broncs (1-15) are coming off a 72-57 loss Tuesday evening at Virginia. Jared Maree led Texas-Pan American with 14 points, but the Broncs allowed the Cavaliers to shoot 56.6 percent from the field and jump out to a 40-23 halftime lead.
UTPA doesn't have a player averaging double figures in scoring, but Maree leads the way at 9.9 points per contest. The Broncs' lone win this season was 61-50 decision over Chattanooga Nov. 27.
Ryan Marks is in his first season as the head coach of the Broncs after previously leading the programs at Southern Vermont and St. Edward's. He also spent six years as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois.
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 17.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in 2009-10. Both averages rank third in the Big Ten. The 10.5 point-per-game boost is the largest increase of any Big Ten player from last season to this season. Shurna is averaging 26.8 points and 6.8 rebounds over the last four contests, scoring at least 20 points in each game. He is the first Wildcat to score at least 20 points in four straight games since Vedran Vukusic opened the 2005-06 season by doing so in six consecutive contests.
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 1.69 assist-to-turnover ratio. NU has handed out 235 assists while committing only 139 turnovers. In its Dec. 30 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 10-3 record marks a tie the best 13-game start to a season during the Carmody era, joining the 2006-07 squad. A win over UTPA would match NU's best start through 14 games 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 Dec. 30 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.
Bombs Away!
The Wildcats lead the Big Ten and are tied for third nationally with an average 10.0 3-point makes per game, while also ranking third in the nation with 27.8 3-point attempts per game. 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.
Helping Hand
Northwestern is well known for playing "team" offense and that's reflected in the statistics. The Wildcats have assisted on 74.6 percent of their field goals this season, posting 235 assists on their 315 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.
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 38 or more minutes in nine of the Wildcats' first 13 contests this season. Thompson leads the Big Ten and is fourth nationally 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 eight of the team's 13 games and ranks fourth in the nation with a 3.56 assist-to-turnover ratio. In the Wildcats' first two Big Ten games, Thompson handed out 15 assists while committing only one turnover in 83 minutes of action.
Shurna Twice Named Big Ten Player of the Week
John Shurna earned his second Big Ten Player of the Week honor this season Jan. 4 after scoring 27 points at Illinois and tying a career high with 29 points vs. No. 11 Michigan State. He is the first NU player to earn multiple Big Ten Player of the Week honors in the same season since Evan Eschmeyer won it three times in 1998-99. Shurna also picked up the accolade Nov. 30 after scoring 25 and 23 points in wins over Notre Dame and Iowa State, respectively.
Up Next...
Northwestern returns to Big Ten play at 1:30 p.m. Central time Sunday as it travels to Michigan.