JerShon Cobb's average of 9.7 points per game in Big Ten play is the fourth-best mark of any league freshman.JerShon Cobb's average of 9.7 points per game in Big Ten play is the fourth-best mark of any league freshman.

Northwestern and Penn State Tip Off Season Series Sunday

Feb. 11, 2011

Northwestern (14-9, 4-8 Big Ten) at Penn State (12-11, 5-7 Big Ten)
Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011
Bryce Jordan Center (15,261)
University Park, Pa. • 2:30 p.m. CT
TV: Big Ten Network (Tom Hart and Tim Doyle)
Audio: 720 AM WGN and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and Bob Hildebrand)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 122 and XM 143
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern and Penn State meet up for the first time this season on Sunday as the Wildcats travel to University Park. Tip time is set for 2:30 p.m. Central time. The Nittany Lions are the last team that NU has yet to face in the Big Ten.

The 'Cats nearly pulled off a dramatic comeback at Michigan on Wednesday. Northwestern trailed by 15 with five minutes to go before getting to within one, but eventually fell 75-66. Michael Thompson scored all of his team-high 17 points in the second half, while Drew Crawford contributed 16 points and eight rebounds.

Sunday's matchup features two of the top iron men in the Big Ten in Thompson and Penn State's Talor Battle. Thompson has started 118 consecutive games, the fourth-longest active streak in the nation. Battle leads the conference with an average of 37.5 minutes played per game, while Thompson is second at 35.9 minutes per contest.

Thompson paces the Big Ten with an average of 2.75 3-point field goals per game in league play, while Battle is second with a norm of 2.67 makes.

Last season: Penn State won both matchups between the teams a year ago. The Nittany Lions won 81-70 Feb. 17 in University Park and 79-60 Feb. 28 in Evanston.

Scouting Penn State
• The Nittany Lions (12-11, 5-7) dropped a 75-57 decision at Michigan State on Thursday. Talor Battle led Penn State with 19 points.
• Battle leads the team and ranks second in the Big Ten with an average of 20.4 points per game. Jeff Brooks averages a team-best 7.0 rebounds per contest to go along with a norm of 13.6 points.
• Ed DeChellis has a 105-134 record in eight seasons at Penn State and a 212-227 mark in 15 overall seasons as a head coach.

Setting the Standard
With a victory over Illinois Feb. 5, this year's senior class earned its 59th career win to surpass last year's class as the winningest in Northwestern history. The 37 combined wins by the Wildcats over the previous two seasons are a school record for back-to-back campaigns.

Mr. Reliable
It's a rare thing when Michael Thompson isn't on the court for Northwestern. He has started all 118 games during his career as a Wildcat and surpassed Jitim Young (2001-04) on Wednesday 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 35.9 minutes per game this season ranks second in the Big Ten to only Penn State's Talor Battle.

Longest Active String of Consecutive Starts
Through games of 2/10/11
Source: STATS -- Chicago
1. Dairese Gary, New Mexico - 121
2. Tyler Newbold, Utah State - 120
3. Kevin Anderson, Richmond - 119
4. Michael Thompson, Northwestern - 118

Climbing the Charts
Senior point guard Michael Thompson currently has 1,473 career points, ranking him eighth in Northwestern history. He started the season in 21st place. The Chicago native also has 485 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 240 3-point field goals.

Capocci's Contributions
Senior forward Mike Capocci stepped up for Northwestern Jan. 29 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 first start this season, Capocci had nine points, six assists and five rebounds in a win over SIU Edwardsville Jan. 20.

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.

On Target
Northwestern has long been known for its accurate 3-point shooting. The Wildcats sport a .389 3-point percentage this season. NU is also fifth nationally with an average of 9.3 made 3-pointers per game. Individually, John Shurna is third in nation with a .505 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 17.7 assists per game. NU's assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.69 (407 assists, 241 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 seventh nationally with an average of 9.3 3-point makes per game this season. Michael Thompson leads all Big Ten players with an average of 2.75 triples per contest in league play.

Settling In
Freshman JerShon Cobb has gotten his NU career off to a good start. The Georgia native has started all 21 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 sixth among all conference freshmen with an average of 8.3 points per game. In league play, that average goes up to 9.7 points per contest, the fourth-best mark of any Big Ten frosh.

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.

Up Next...
Northwestern returns home to Welsh-Ryan Arena Thursday to take on Iowa. Big Ten Network is televising the game live at 8 p.m.

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