Northwestern Basketball Preview

Date: Sunday, March 7th

Time: 12:30PM CST

Location: Evanston, IL

Record: 8-14 (5-13 Big Ten)

Coach: Chris Collins (8th Season)

Ranking: N/A

Preview

Northwestern stinks. Though they have a two game winning streak against Maryland and Minnesota. Which is something, I guess. Minnesota has been tanking as of late but Maryland still has post season dreams in their future. So take that for what it’s worth.

That’s it, this season is almost over.

But, you came here for a preview and that’s what you will get. I can’t promise you will like it. This game is a little bit of a battle for the bottom. Something we have seen a bit as of late from some of the Big Ten Teams.

Nebraska is at the very bottom with Northwestern sitting one spot above. This standing will most likely stay that way for the Big Ten Tournament unless there is some shuffling above with Penn State if they lose to Maryland.

The placements will most likely stay where they are at regardless of who wins or loses today. Neither team is playing for placement in the Big Ten Tournament. Neither team has a chance for any post season play. They are playing for a strong end to the season to build on for next year.

Like I stated above, Northwestern is not a world beater. They are years away from their NCAA Tournament run where they made Nebraska the lone power conference school to never win a tournament game.

They are lead by Sophomore Chase Audige who leads the Wildcats in scoring at 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. A strong guard who can be a problem if left unassisted. The Huskers will have to eliminate him as a threat early in the game if he comes out hot.

Next to Chase is Miller Kopp is at 11.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. He’s a 6’7” forward which makes him smaller than some of Nebraska’s guards. His scoring is hit or miss but makes up for it with his rebounding. The Huskers should be able to clamp down on him while on defense and should be able to maneuver around him on offense.

As for a big man to possibly threaten Nebraska, that would be Pete Nance. Pete is averaging 6.6 rebounds per game while putting up 11.2 points on average. If Nebraska goes cold then they will need to keep him at bay and not let him pull down too many rebounds.

Prediction

If Nebraska can shake off their loss to Iowa, I can see this as a late season win for the Big Red. If they come out flat like they did on Thursday, this could be a long afternoon. However, Northwestern does not have the talent to make this a track meet. I believe this will be a Husker win. Even if it is only by a few points.