Dec. 30, 2008

NU Game Notes vs. Penn State (PDF)

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern opens its 2008-09 Big Ten season Wednesday as it travels to Penn State. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. Central time. It is the lone scheduled meeting between the teams this season. ESPN2 is televising the game live with Lou Canellis and Doug Gottlieb on the call.

The contest can also be heard at 720 AM-WGN and online at wgnradio.com with Cory Provus and Bob Hildebrand.

This is the third straight year the Wildcats and Nittany Lions have opened conference play against one another, with PSU winning on each of those previous two occasions.

NU is coming off a 66-55 victory over SMU Dec. 23. The Wildcats used a strong second-half effort to stretch a six-point halftime lead up to 20. Leading scorers Kevin Coble and Craig Moore were limited to 14 combined minutes of action in the first half due to foul trouble before coming back to spark Northwestern in the second half. Moore and Michael Thompson led the 'Cats with 14 points apiece, while John Shurna added 13.

Series History: Penn State leads, 21-12.
Last Meeting: The Nittany Lions defeated the Wildcats 79-68 in Evanston Jan. 2, 2008 behind 22 points and 11 rebounds by Jamelle Cornley. Michael Thompson led NU with 17 points and 10 assists.

Scouting Penn State
• The Nittany Lions (11-2) have won four straight games, all at home, including a 73-65 victory over Sacred Heart Dec. 23. Sophomore guard Talor Battle scored a game-high 25 points in the win.

• Battle paces Penn State with an average of 19.2 points and 5.5 assists per game to go along with 5.6 rebounds. Senior forward Jamelle Cornley contributes 14.8 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds per contest.

• Ed DeChellis is in his sixth season as the head coach at his alma mater where he has a 68-94 record. He was previously the head coach at East Tennessee State for seven seasons and has an overall record of 173-186.

Northwestern in Big Ten Openers
The Wildcats are 2-6 in Big Ten season openers under head coach Bill Carmody. Penn State has defeated Northwestern in the first game of its conference season each of the past two years.

Not Far from Perfection
NU comes into the game against Penn State with just two losses this season to a pair of quality opponents. The 'Cats dropped a 57-53 decision at Butler Nov. 26 in a contest Northwestern led by 11 early in the second half. Butler is 9-1 this season and has a No. 2 rating according to RealTimeRPI.com. The Wildcats fell 65-59 at Stanford Dec. 20. NU trailed by just one with under two minutes left to a Cardinal squad that is still undefeated at 9-0.

Closing in on 1,000
A total of 26 individuals have reached the 1,000-point plateau during their Northwestern careers. That number figures to grow this season as a pair of players are approaching the milestone. Senior guard Craig Moore enters Wednesday's contest at Penn State with 988 career points, just 12 shy of 1,000. Meanwhile, junior forward Kevin Coble has 868 points in just over two seasons. Both players were honorable mention All-Big Ten selections last season.

Seventy is Over the Limit
Northwestern has not allowed its last 14 opponents to reach 70 points. It is the second-longest such streak in the country behind only Pittsburgh (18). The Wildcats entered play last week leading the Big Ten and ranked second in scoring defense in all of NCAA Division I, allowing an average of 52.6 points per game (currently 52.8).

SMU Game Notes
The Mustangs shot 43.5 percent from the field in the contest. Only one NU opponent (Brown) has shot over 45 percent against the Wildcats in a game this season ... SMU's 23 turnovers rank as a tie for the most by a Northwestern opponent this season, tying Central Arkansas' total Nov. 16 ... Freshman Luka Mirkovic led NU with a career-high three blocked shots in the contest, surpassing the two he had at Stanford Dec. 20.

Up Next...
The Wildcats open their Big Ten home season this Saturday as it hosts No. 11 Michigan State at 6 p.m. Big Ten Network is televising the contest.