Jan. 25, 2011
Northwestern (13-6, 3-5 Big Ten) at Minnesota (15-4, 4-3)
Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011
Williams Arena (14,625)
Minneapolis, Minn. 7:30 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network (Gus Johnson and Shon Morris)
Audio: WGN 720 AM and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and Tim Doyle)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 113 and XM 196
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern plays its second of at least three straight games against ranked opponents Wednesday as it travels to Minnesota. Tip time is set for 7:30 p.m. The Golden Gophers are ranked No. 16 in this week's Associated Press poll and are No. 18 in the USA Today/Coaches poll.
The Wildcats are looking to put a 78-46 home loss to No. 18 Wisconsin on Sunday behind them. Luka Mirkovic and John Shurna led NU with 13 points apiece.
The series has been evenly played as of late with the teams splitting their last 16 meetings dating back to 2003. Included in the stretch was a six-game winning streak by the Wildcats from 2003-07.
Last season: Northwestern and Minnesota split their season series a year ago. The Golden Gophers posted a 65-61 win Jan. 26 in Minneapolis, before the Wildcats rallied late for a 77-74 overtime win Feb. 14 in Evanston.
Scouting Minnesota
The Golden Gophers (15-4, 4-3) posted a 69-64 win at Michigan last Saturday. Trevor Mbakwe and Ralph Sampson III each had a team-high 13 points as Minnesota shot 63.4 percent from the field.
Blake Hoffarber leads the team with an average of 13.7 points per game. Mbakwe averages 13.2 points and a team-best 10.3 rebounds per contest while leading the Big Ten with a .613 field goal percentage.
Tubby Smith has a 78-43 record in four seasons at Minnesota and a 465-188 mark in 20 overall seasons as a head coach.
Setting the Standard
With a victory over SIU Edwardsville Jan. 20, this year's senior class matched last year's class for the Northwestern record for most victories by one class of 58. The 37 combined wins by the Wildcats over the previous two seasons are a school record for back-to-back campaigns.
Shurna Selected to Wooden Award Midseason Top 30
John Shurna is one of 30 individuals named to the midseason top 30 list for the Wooden Award which is presented to the nation's top college basketball player. He is one of six Big Ten players on the list, joining Purdue's E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson, Illinois' Demetri McCamey, Wisconsin's Jon Leuer and Ohio State's Jared Sullinger. Shurna was also named to the preseason watch list for the Naismith Award which is a similar honor.
Climbing the Charts
Senior point guard Michael Thompson currently has 1,400 career points, ranking him ninth in Northwestern history. He started the season in 21st place. Thompson is seven points shy of tying Shon Morris (1985-88) for eighth place. The Chicago native also has 465 career assists. He surpassed Patrick Baldwin (1991-94) for first place in school history Jan. 15 at Michigan State. Thompson became the second player in NU history to post 400 career assists when he reached the milestone Nov. 30 in a win over Georgia Tech. He also ranks second all-time at Northwestern with 224 3-point field goals and 114 games started.
Mr. Reliable
It's a rare thing when Michael Thompson isn't on the court for Northwestern. On Jan. 12 at Iowa, he became the school's all-time leader in minutes played, surpassing Jim Stack (1979-83). He eclipsed 4,000 minutes for his career Jan. 20 vs. SIU Edwardsville. Last season, Thompson ranked fourth in the nation with an average of 37.7 minutes played per game. His average of 35.5 minutes per game this season ranks second in the Big Ten. Thompson has started all 114 games during his career as a Wildcat.
On Target
Northwestern has long been known for its accurate 3-point shooting. The Wildcats rank 18th in the nation with a .398 3-point percentage this season. NU is also 11th nationally with an average of 9.1 made 3-pointers per game. Individually, John Shurna is recognized by the NCAA as the nation's leader with a .540 3-point percentage. Shurna's 10-for-11 performance overall from the field in a win over Long Island Dec. 13 ranks as a tie for the second-best effort in program history.
Helping Hand
Northwestern is well known for playing "team" offense and that's reflected in the statistics. The Wildcats lead the Big Ten and rank seventh in the nation with an average of 17.8 assists per game. NU's assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.69 (339 assists, 201 turnovers) is the nation's fifth-best mark. The 'Cats are also seventh nationally with an average of only 10.6 turnovers per game.
Bombs Away!
A year after shattering the school season record with 317 3-point makes, the Wildcats have picked up right where they left off. NU leads the Big Ten and is 11th nationally with an average of 9.1 3-point makes per game this season. John Shurna ranks third among all Big Ten players with an average of 2.6 triples per contest.
Scoring Spree
A year after leading the Big Ten in scoring during conference play, Northwestern is putting a number of points on the board again this year. The Wildcats currently rank second in the Big Ten with an average of 76.5 points per game. NU has scored over 90 points in a game six times this season, the most since the 1970-71 campaign when it also reached the mark six times. Northwestern had scored 90 points in a game just twice in Bill Carmody's first 10 seasons as head coach.
Scoring Spree, Part 2
Northwestern's 93-81 victory over Indiana Jan. 9 marked the team's most points in a Big Ten game since a 97-93 overtime win over No. 8 Michigan on March 12, 1994. Coupled with a 90-71 victory at Iowa Jan. 12, it marked NU's first time scoring at least 90 points in consecutive Big Ten games since Jan. 3 and 10, 1970 vs. Michigan (L, 96-92) and at Michigan State (L, 98-93), respectively. The Wildcats' 98 points against SIU Edwardsville Jan. 20 were their most since a 100-89 win over Wisconsin March 6, 1993.
Up Next...
NU returns home Saturday to face top-ranked Ohio State. Tip is set for 5 p.m. with ESPN2 providing live television coverage.
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