Sept. 29, 2005

2005-06 Northwestern Men's Basketball Schedule
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern University announced its 2005-06 men's basketball schedule today. The Wildcats will play 28 regular-season games, including 14 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Northwestern begins the season at the eight-team Black Coaches Association (BCA) Invitational in Laramie, Wyo., on Nov. 13. The Wildcats battle Lehigh in a first-round opening game at 9 p.m. CT. The other six participating teams include Alabama State, Butler, Charlotte, Coppin State, UNC Wilmington and host Wyoming.

The Wildcats then open their home season Monday, Nov. 21 with a 7 p.m. contest against Florida Atlantic, which is coached by former Notre Dame and North Carolina mentor Matt Doherty.

Northwestern will continue its recent trend under sixth-year head coach Bill Carmody of playing local universities, taking on DePaul at the Rosemont Horizon on Nov. 26 and then entertaining Illinois -- Chicago on Dec. 14. Besides DePaul, the Wildcats play two other nonconference foes on the road -- Virginia (part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge) on Nov. 30 and Seton Hall on Dec. 18. Northwestern played Virginia and Seton Hall at home in 2004-05.

Three other nonconference foes visit Welsh-Ryan Arena in 2005-06: DePauw (Ind.) on Dec. 23, Northern Colorado on Jan. 1 and IPFW on Feb. 11.

The Wildcats begin the Big Ten season Wednesday, Jan. 4 with a 6 p.m. home contest vs. Purdue. In addition to the Boilermakers, Northwestern welcomes Penn State, Illinois, Michigan State, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Minnesota to Welsh-Ryan Arena this season.

This year's Big Ten Tournament will be held March 9-12 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Northwestern returns a number of key players in 2005-06, led by senior forward Vedran Vukusic (Split, Croatia), a consensus third-team All-Big Ten selection in 2004-05.