Feb. 4, 2011
Northwestern (13-8, 3-7 Big Ten) vs. Illinois (15-7, 5-4)
Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, Ill. Noon
TV: CBS (Tim Brando and Bill Raftery)
Streaming Video: CBSsports.com
Audio: 720 AM WGN and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and Tim Doyle)
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The first game televised by CBS to emanate from Welsh-Ryan Arena takes place Saturday as Northwestern squares off against in-state rival Illinois. Tip time is set for noon and the contest is sold out.
The last time the Wildcats played a game on CBS was Feb. 22, 2003 when it dropped a 73-61 decision to Illinois at the United Center in Chicago.
The Wildcats came up just short of handing top-ranked Ohio State its first loss of the season last Saturday, falling 58-57 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Jared Sullinger hit the second of two free throw attempts with 3.5 seconds remaining to break a tie score. NU trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half before rallying to take a one-point lead. Michael Thompson led Northwestern with 16 points and eight assists, while Mike Capocci contributed 11 points in just his second start since his freshman season.
Saturday's contest features two of the top 3-point shooting teams in the nation. NU is eighth with an average of 9.2 3-point makes per game, while Illinois ranks 12th with a .404 3-point field goal percentage.
Last season: Northwestern and Illinois each won on their home court a year ago. The Fighting Illini defeated the 25th-ranked Wildcats 89-83 in overtime Dec. 30 before NU posted a 73-68 win Jan. 23 in Evanston.
Scouting Illinois
The Fighting Illini (15-7, 5-4) is coming off a 68-51 home win over Penn State Tuesday night. Mike Davis led Illinois with 22 points.
Demetri McCamey sports with a team-best average of 14.7 points per game and is fifth nationally with 6.8 assists per game. Davis (11.4 pts., 6.7 reb.) and Mike Tisdale (9.9, 7.0 reb.) solidify the frontcourt.
Bruce Weber has a 188-79 record in eight seasons at Illinois and a 291-133 mark in 13 overall seasons as a head coach.
Capocci's Contributions
Senior forward Mike Capocci stepped up for Northwestern last Saturday against No. 1 Ohio State when John Shurna was unable to go due a concussion he suffered three days earlier at Minnesota. Capocci hit four of seven field goal attempts and scored 11 points against the Buckeyes. It was just the second double-figure scoring game of his career and his first since the third game of his freshman season vs. Benedictine (Ill.). In his only other start this season, Capocci had nine points, six assists and five rebounds in a win over SIU Edwardsville Jan. 20.
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 1,434 career points, ranking him eighth in Northwestern history. He started the season in 21st place. The Chicago native also has 480 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 232 3-point field goals and 116 games started.
Mr. Reliable
It's a rare thing when Michael Thompson isn't on the court for Northwestern. He has started all 116 games during his career as a Wildcat and is set to tie Jitim Young (2001-04) on Saturday for the most starts in school history. 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 35.7 minutes per game this season ranks second in the Big Ten.
Longest Active String of Consecutive Starts
Through games of 2/2/11
Source: STATS -- Chicago
1. Dairese Gary, New Mexico - 120
2. Tyler Newbold, Utah State - 118
3. Kevin Anderson, Richmond - 117
4. Michael Thompson, Northwestern - 116
On Target
Northwestern has long been known for its accurate 3-point shooting. The Wildcats sport a .385 3-point percentage this season. NU is also eighth nationally with an average of 9.2 made 3-pointers per game. Individually, John Shurna is recognized by the NCAA as the nation's leader with a .522 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 17.9 assists per game. NU's assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.70 (375 assists, 220 turnovers) is the nation's second-best mark, trailing only Wisconsin. The 'Cats are also fifth nationally with an average of only 10.5 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 eighth nationally with an average of 9.2 3-point makes per game this season. John Shurna ranks third among all Big Ten players with an average of 2.5 triples per contest.
Settling In
Freshman JerShon Cobb has gotten his NU career off to a good start. The Georgia native has started all 18 of the games that he has appeared in. He scored in double figures in four of his first five Big Ten games, including tallying a collegiate-best 18 points at No. 20 Illinois Jan. 6. Cobb ranks seventh among all conference freshmen with an average of 7.7 points per game. In league play, that average goes up to 8.9 points per contest, the fifth-best mark of any Big Ten player.
Wildcard Dates Set
The Big Ten Conference recently announced that the contest between Northwestern and Indiana in Bloomington will be played Feb. 19. The matchup tips at 6 p.m. Central time with Big Ten Network providing live television coverage. Also, the regular season finale between the Wildcats and Minnesota in Evanston will be played March 2 with tip time set for 7:30 p.m. Big Ten Network will televise the contest live.
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 75.2 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...
Northwestern returns to action next Wednesday, Feb. 9 as it travels to Michigan. Tip time is set for 5:30 p.m. Central time with Big Ten Network providing live television coverage.
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