| NORTHWESTERN BASKETBALL: GAME DAY INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | BROADCAST | LIVE STATS |
| Fri., Nov. 4 | Ill. Springfield | 7 p.m. | Welsh-Ryan Arena | BTN Plus and BTN2Go | SIDEARM |
| Radio: 89.3 FM WNUR BTN Plus: Jason Dorow and Astasia Williams Social: Twitter (@NUMensBball and @NU_SportsLIVE) | Instagram (@numensbball) | Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern | UIS BUY TICKETS |
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EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern's men's basketball team plays its lone exhibition game prior to the start of regular-season play when it takes on Illinois Springfield on Friday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Friday's exhibition game is the first of 19 home games for Northwestern during the 2016-17 season.
The Wildcats are opening their fourth season under head coach Chris Collins. NU returns three starters and 10 letterwinners overall from last year's team that posted a 20-12 overall mark, including an 8-10 record in Big Ten play. The 20 victories set a school regular-season record. Northwestern returns 61.4 percent of its scoring and 71.4 percent of its rebounding from a year ago.
The 'Cats welcome three scholarship freshmen to the fold: guard Isiah Brown, forward Rapolas Ivanauskas, center Barret Benson. Guard Tino Malnati also has joined the program as a walk-on.
This is the fourth straight year that the Wildcats are facing an exhibition foe that is a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. NU defeated Quincy 80-64 last season, McKendree 102-52 in 2014 and Lewis 57-46 in 2013.
Redshirt senior Sanjay Lumpkin and junior Bryant McIntosh are serving as team captains for the 2016-17 season. Lumpkin, a native of Wayzata, Minnesota, has seen action in 101 career contests while making 90 starts with the Wildcats. A native of Greensburg, Indiana, McIntosh has started 62 of the 64 games he has appeared in through two seasons.
Scouting UIS
The Prairie Stars compete at in NCAA Division II and are members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. UIS posted an 11-18 record a year ago. The team must replace its top four scorers from last season. Sophomore center Zach Steinberg is the team's top leading returning scorer after averaging 8.0 points and a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game in 2015-16. Bill Walker is in his third season as the head coach of the Prairie Stars. Notable individuals who attended UIS include former White House press secretary Dana Perino and musician Bobby McFerrin. The school was originally known as Sangamon State University upon its opening in 1970 before taking on its current name in 1995.