Nov. 11, 2010
Northwestern at Northern Illinois
Friday, Nov. 12, 2010
Convocation Center (10,000)
DeKalb, Ill. 8 p.m.
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Dave Eanet and Shon Morris)
Streaming Video: Wildcats All Access
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern gets its 2010-11 men's basketball season underway Friday evening as it makes the short trip west to DeKalb to face Northern Illinois. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
Northwestern is 6-4 in season openers under head coach Bill Carmody. A year ago, the Wildcats posted a 77-55 victory over NIU in Evanston behind 20 points from Jeremy Nash and 15 by Luka Mirkovic. NU connected on 34 of 48 free throw attempts in the contest.
Northwestern returns four starters and 12 letterwinners overall from last year's squad which went 20-14 overall and advanced to the National Invitation Tournament for the second straight season.
Scouting Northern Illinois
The Huskies are coming off a 10-20 mark a year ago, including a 6-10 record against MAC foes. NIU has been picked to finish fifth in the MAC West Division in 2010-11, returning seven letterwinners while welcoming seven newcomers.
Senior guard Xavier Silas returns as a preseason All-MAC West pick after averaging a team-leading 19.7 points per game last season.
Entering his fourth season, Ricardo Patton has a 26-62 record as the head coach at NIU.
On the Road Again
Opening the season on the road is a rare thing for Northwestern. The last time the WIldcats played a true road game for their first game of the season was the 1995-96 season when they opened at San Diego State. Since that contest, NU has opened a new season with a neutral-site game three times. Coupled with a game at UT-Pan American next Wednesday, the Wildcats are starting a campaign with consecutive true road games for the first time since the 1974-75 season when they went to No. 16 Kentucky and No. 13 Notre Dame.
Wildcats Post 91-71 Exhibition Win Over Robert Morris
Junior forward John Shurna scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in just 23 minutes of action as Northwestern defeated NAIA opponent Robert Morris (Ill.) in an exhibition contest at Welsh-Ryan Arena Nov. 4. Sophomore forward Drew Crawford contributed 16 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots for the Wildcats. NU's lead was only eight at 58-50 with just under 14 minutes remaining when it went on a 13-0 run to pull away. Senior point guard Michael Thompson and freshman guard JerShon Cobb contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Four Starters, 12 Letterwinners Return
Northwestern welcomes back 12 letterwinners from a season ago, including four starters. The 'Cats return 87.1 percent of their scoring and 88.2 percent of their rebounding. The only player Northwestern loses who appeared in a game a year ago is Jeremy Nash. The 12 letterwinners returning tie NU with Wisconsin for the highest total in the Big Ten.
Thompson Returns for Final Season
Entering his senior season, Michael Thompson already established himself as one of the top players in program history. Thompson enters his final campaign ranked 21st in school history with 1,136 career points. He is also second all-time at Northwestern with 381 career assists, just 72 shy of surpassing the record of 452 held by Patrick Baldwin (1991-94). A starter at point guard each of his first three seasons, Thompson was a consensus honorable mention All-Big Ten pick in 2009-10, averaging 14.2 points and 4.1 assists per game with a 2.40 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Mr. Reliable
It's a rare thing when Michael Thompson isn't on the court for Northwestern. Last season, he ranked fourth in the nation with an average of 37.7 minutes played per game. He has started all 95 games during his career as a Wildcat, the second-longest streak of consecutive starts in the country.
Longest Active String of Consecutive Starts
Through games of 11/08/10
1. Dairese Gary, New Mexico - 97
2. Michael Thompson, Northwestern - 95
Tyler Newbold, Utah State - 95
4. Kevin Anderson, Richmond - 94
Cory Higgins, Colorado - 94
Brian Johnson, Delaware - 94
Source: STATS -- Chicago
Shurna Aims to Follow Up on Stellar Sophomore Season
There was no such thing as a sophomore slump for John Shurna a year ago. The forward was named the most improved player in the nation by Sporting News after increasing his scoring average 10.9 points per game from his freshman season. His average of 18.2 points per game ranked third in the Big Ten, while his norm of 20.1 points per game in conference play left him just one point shy of surpassing Ohio State's Evan Turner for the league scoring title. After playing on the United States' U-19 team which won the goal medal at the FIBA World Championships following his freshman season, Shurna was a member of the United States Select Team this past summer. The squad helped the USA National Team train for its own FIBA World Championships where it claimed gold.
Shurna Selected to Watch List for Wooden Award
John Shurna is one of 50 individuals named to the preseason watch list for the John Wooden Award which is presented to the nation's top college basketball player. The Big Ten led all nation's conferences with 10 individuals named to the list.
Marcotullio Gains International Experience
Similar to Shurna the year before, Alex Marcotullio got the chance to play internationally over the summer. The sophomore guard competed as a member of Great Britain's under-20 team which played in the FIBA European Championships in Austria. Marcotullio averaged 13.9 points per game in helping the squad to a sixth-place finish. In the 17-team field, he ranked fifth in 3-pointers made (3.0 per game), sixth in steals (1.7 per game) and 17th in field goal percentage (48.6 percent).
Italian Summer Tour
Northwestern participated in a nine-day tour of Italy in late August and early September. The Wildcats visited Rome, Florence, Venice and Lake Como and posted a perfect 4-0 record which facing professional teams. Shurna was the team's leading scorer at 18.8 points per game, while Thompson was right behind at 18.5 per contest.
Trio of Award-Winners Return
The Wildcats return three individuals who have earned All-Big Ten honors. John Shurna was a second-team all-conference selection last season, while Michael Thompson was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick in 2009-10. Drew Crawford was an honorable mention all-league pick a year ago while becoming the first player in program history to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, an honor he shared with D.J. Richardson of Illinois.
Ryan Returns
Senior guard/forward Jeff Ryan returns to the floor for Northwestern this season. Ryan suffered a season-ending ACL tear during the first half of the Wildcats' season-opener against Northern Illinois a year ago. He has appeared in 81 career contests, including making 22 starts. Ryan enters the 2010-11 season ranked eighth in school history with a .496 career field goal percentage while averaging 4.0 points per game.
Bombs Away!
Northwestern returns a number of threats from 3-point range. The Wildcats' 317 3-point makes a year ago was the sixth-best total in the nation and bested the previous school record by 62. Thompson paces all returners with 88 makes a year ago, while Shurna had 78, Crawford notched 51 and Marcotullio connected for 41.
Setting the Standard
The 37 combined wins by the Wildcats over the last two seasons are a school record for back-to-back campaigns. In addition, this year's senior class enters its final season with 45 career wins, 13 shy of tying the Northwestern record for most victories by one class.
Home Sweet Home
After setting a program best with 13 home wins in 2008-09, the Wildcats established a new mark with 15 victories at Welsh-Ryan Arena in 2009-10. Northwestern went 15-4 at home during the campaign with three of the losses coming to nationally ranked opponents: Butler, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Success Under Carmody
Northwestern finished the 2009-10 Big Ten season with a 7-11 record. In head coach Bill Carmody's first 10 seasons in Evanston, the Wildcats have recorded at least six Big Ten victories six times. The program totaled six or more conference wins just five times in the previous 31 years prior to Carmody's arrival.
Helping Hand
Northwestern is well known for playing "team" offense and that's reflected in the statistics. The Wildcats assisted on 71.6 percent of their field goals in 2009-10, posting 565 assists on their 789 made baskets. The percentage ranked second 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.
Up Next...
Northwestern continues its brief road swing to open the season next Wednesday, Nov. 17 as it travels to UT-Pan American. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
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