Feb. 26, 2011

Northwestern (16-11, 6-10 Big Ten) at #12 Wisconsin (21-6, 10-4 Big Ten)
Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011
Kohl Center (17,230)
Madison, Wis. • 5 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network (Wayne Larrivee and Greg Kelser)
Audio: WIND 560 AM 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 closes out the road portion of its regular season Sunday as it travels to Madison to take on No. 12 Wisconsin. Tip time is set for 5 p.m.

The Wildcats are looking to bounce back from a 66-52 home loss to Penn State Thursday night. NU fell behind 18-2 to open the game before trimming the deficit to one a minute into the second half. However, the 'Cats were never able to tie the game or take the lead. Michael Thompson paced Northwestern, scoring 22 points, including hitting four 3-pointers.

Sunday's matchup features the nation's top two teams in assist-to-turnover ratio. Wisconsin ranks first with a 1.79 mark, while Northwestern is second at 1.64. The Badgers also rank first in the country with an average of just 7.7 turnovers per game, while the Wildcats are fifth with a norm of 10.4 miscues per contest.

A win for Northwestern would be its 37th over the last two seasons, matching the program record for victories in consecutive campaigns.

Last meeting: Wisconsin shot 55.4 percent from the field in posting a 78-46 win over Northwestern in Evanston Jan. 23. Luka Mirkovic and John Shurna led the Wildcats with 13 points apiece.

Scouting Wisconsin
• The Badgers (21-6, 10-4) posted a 53-52 win at Michigan last Wednesday as Josh Gasser banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Jordan Taylor led Wisconsin with 20 points.
• Jon Leuer paces the Wisconsin with 19.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while Taylor contributes 17.9 points per contest.
• Bo Ryan has a 238-88 record in 10 seasons at Wisconsin and a 621-191 mark in 27 overall seasons as a head coach.

Join the Club
When Northwestern's Michael Thompson notched his 500th career assist Feb. 24 vs. Penn State, he joined Penn State's Talor Battle, Illinois' Demetri McCamey and Michigan State's Kalin Lucas as active Big Ten players with 1,500 points and 500 assists in their careers. Thompson is NU's all-time assists leader.

The Magic Number is 70
When the Wildcats tally at least 70 points this season, their record is 15-1. NU's record falls to 1-10 when it tallies 69 points or less.

Success Under Carmody
NU earned its sixth Big Ten win of the season at Indiana Feb. 19. In head coach Bill Carmody's 11 seasons in Evanston, the Wildcats have recorded at least six Big Ten victories seven times. The program totaled six or more conference wins just five times in the previous 31 years prior to Carmody's arrival.

Setting the Standard
Northwestern's senior class has posted 61 wins over the last four seasons. 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. NU can match that mark with a win Sunday.

Climbing the Charts
Senior point guard Michael Thompson currently has 1,542 career points, ranking him sixth in Northwestern history. He started the season in 21st place. The Chicago native also has 500 career assists, reaching the milestone Feb. 24 vs. Penn State. He surpassed Patrick Baldwin (1991-94) for first place in school history Jan. 15 at Michigan State. Thompson also ranks second all-time at Northwestern with 248 3-point field goals.

Mr. Reliable
It's a rare thing when Michael Thompson isn't on the court for Northwestern. He has started all 122 games during his career as a Wildcat and surpassed Jitim Young (2001-04) Feb. 9 for the most starts in school history. He passed Craig Moore (2006-09) for the most games played in school history vs. Penn State Feb. 24. On Jan. 12 at Iowa, Thompson 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 36.3 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 2/24/11
Source: STATS -- Chicago
1. Dairese Gary, New Mexico - 125
2. Tyler Newbold, Utah State - 123
3. Michael Thompson, Northwestern - 122
Kevin Anderson, Richmond - 122

On Target
Northwestern has long been known for its accurate 3-point shooting. The Wildcats sport a .379 3-point percentage this season. NU is also seventh nationally with an average of 9.1 made 3-pointers per game. Individually, John Shurna is seventh in the nation with a .483 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 12th in the nation with an average of 17.0 assists per game. NU's assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.64 (460 assists, 280 turnovers) is the nation's second-best mark, trailing only Wisconsin. The 'Cats are also fifth nationally with an average of only 10.4 turnovers per game.

Bombs Away!
A year after shattering the school season record with 317 3-point makes, the Wildcats have followed suit this season. NU leads the Big Ten and is seventh nationally with an average of 9.1 3-point makes per game this season. Michael Thompson ranks second among all Big Ten players with an average of 2.56 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 25 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 fifth among all conference freshmen with an average of 8.0 points per game. In league play, that average goes up to 8.8 points per contest, also the fifth-best mark of any Big Ten frosh.

Up Next...
Northwestern wraps up its regular season March 2 as it hosts Minnesota on Senior Night. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. with Big Ten Network providing live television coverage.

••••••

Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! and subscribe to the NU Sports Express e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!