Jan. 29, 2010
Northwestern at #5 Michigan State
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010
Breslin Center (14,759)
East Lansing, Mich. 6 p.m. CT
TV: Big Ten Network (Tom Hamilton and Jim Jackson)
Audio: WYLL 1160-AM and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and Bob Hildebrand)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 90 and XM 196
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern looks to duplicate last season's memorable win at the Breslin Center at it travels to East Lansing on Saturday to take on fifth-ranked Michigan State. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. Central time with Big Ten Network providing live television coverage.
A year ago, the Wildcats stunned the Spartans 70-63 behind 31 points from Kevin Coble. The contest was eventally deemed the conference's Game of the Year by the Big Ten Network regardless of sport.
Saturday's game is Northwestern's fifth this month against a ranked opponent. With the exception of a nonconference game against Texas-Pan American, each of NU's January opponents appeared in last year's NCAA tournament.
NU (14-6, 3-5 Big Ten) is looking to bounce back from a tight 65-61 loss at Minnesota Tuesday evening. John Shurna led Northwestern with 19 points, while Michael Thompson added 15. The 'Cats rallied back from a 13-point deficit to take a 49-48 lead with five minutes remaining but were unable to hold on.
First Meeting: John Shurna tied a career high with 29 points, but No. 11 Michigan State pulled away in the second half for a 91-70 win over No. 25 Northwestern Jan. 2 in Evanston.
Scouting Michigan State
Michigan State (18-3, 8-0) is off to its best conference start in school history, most recently sneaking past in-state rival Michigan 57-56 in Ann Arbor. Raymar Morgan led the Spartans with 20 points.
Reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Kalin Lucas leads MSU with an average of 15.6 points per game. Draymond Green contributes 10.4 points and a team-leading 7.9 rebounds per contest.
Tom Izzo is in his 15th season as the head coach at Michigan State where he has a 354-140 record.
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 17.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in 2009-10. He ranks fifth in the Big Ten in scoring and sixth in rebounding. The 10.0 point-per-game boost is the largest increase of any Big Ten player from last season to this season. He scored at least 20 points in five straight games from Dec. 19-Jan. 7, including scoring a career-high 29 points against Central Connecticut State Dec. 22 and again vs. Michigan State Jan. 2.
Spreading the Wealth
Northwestern is well known for sharing the basketball while protecting it from the opposition at the same time. That's the case again this season. The Wildcats rank sixth in the nation with a 1.49 assist-to-turnover ratio, having handed out 333 assists while committing only 223 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 14-6 record marks the best 20-game start to a season during the Carmody era and is the best since the 1945-46 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.
Mirkovic Contributes in the Post
Despite being held to two points and three rebounds at Ohio State Tuesday, sophomore center Luka Mirkovic has given the Wildcats key contributions as of late. Over the last seven games, the native of Belgrade, Serbia, averaged 9.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest. After posting his second career double-double (11 pts., 11 reb.) in a win over Texas-Pan American Jan. 7, Mirkovic notched his third in a win over No. 6 Purdue Jan. 16 with a career-high 16 points and 10 boards. In Big Ten play, Mirkovic ranks first in the conference with an average of 8.5 rebounds per game. His 14 boards at Minnesota Jan. 26 matched a high for an individual during the Carmody era at Northwestern.
Bombs Away!
The Wildcats lead the Big Ten and are ninth nationally with an average 9.15 3-point makes per game, while also ranking fourth in the nation with 25.5 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 73.3 percent of their field goals this season, posting 333 assists on their 454 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 is no questioning Michael Thompson's importance to the Wildcats. Not when you consider that he has played 38 or more minutes in 13 of Northwestern's first 20 contests this season. Thompson leads the Big Ten and is fifth nationally with an average of 37.6 minutes per game. Despite playing as many minutes as he does, the NU floor general has committed either one or no turnovers in 10 of the team's 20 games and sports a 2.77 assist-to-turnover ratio. In Big Ten play, he is second in the conference with a 3.55 assist-to-turnover ratio (39 assists, 11 turnovers in 305 minutes played).Northwestern is 11-2 when Thompson scores in double figures and is 3-4 when he doesn't.
Nash Steps Up
Senior guard Jeremy Nash has made key contributions in his first season as a starter. He the most of his second career start in NU's season-opening win against Northern Illinois Nov. 13, scoring 20 points. Nash had scored in double figures just four times in 77 games played over his first three seasons, but has done so eight times this year. He is coming off a career-best 22-point performance in a win over Illinois Jan. 23. Entering this season, his career high was 12 points at Indiana Feb. 3, 2008. Nash was named to the all-tournament team for his efforts in the Chicago Invitational Challenge and leads the Wildcats and ranks fourth in the Big Ten with an average of 1.74 steals per game and seventh with a .806 free throw percentage (50-62).
Up Next...
Northwestern returns home Tuesday to face Michigan. Tip-off from Welsh-Ryan Arena is set for 6 p.m.