Game Day Essentials
Indiana (16-6, 7-5) at Northwestern (11-10, 4-8)
- Tip Time: 9:00 p.m. Eastern
- Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117), Evanston, Illinois
- Television: BTN (Dave Revsine and Len Elmore)
- IU Radio Network: IU Radio Network
- Stream: Fox Sports Live
- Point Spread: Northwestern is a 1-point favorite
- KenPom Projected Score: Northwestern 69 Indiana 68
- Series: Indiana leads 120-52. IU won last meeting 79-76 (2OT) on Feb. 10, 2021
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Northwestern’s Chris Collins
Chris Collins is in his ninth season at Northwestern. He was named the University’s 24th head men’s basketball coach on March 27, 2013.
Collins guided the Wildcats to heights never before reached during the 2016-17 season. The unforgettable campaign saw Northwestern accumulate a school-record 24 wins while earning the program’s first NCAA tournament berth and victory in school history.
Collins came to Evanston after serving on the coaching staff at Duke since July 22, 2000. He was promoted to Associate Head Coach in the summer of 2008. During Collins’ 13 seasons on the Blue Devils’ staff, Duke posted an overall record of 385-77 while recording eight ACC tournament championships, four ACC regular season titles, eight in-season tournament titles and national championships in 2001 and 2010.
Before returning to his alma mater, Collins served as an assistant coach at Seton Hall for two years with Tommy Amaker. Collins spent the 1997-98 season as an assistant with the WNBA’s Detroit Shock.
While attending Duke, Collins was a team captain as a senior and four- year letterman from 1993-96. He ranks 11th among Duke’s all-time leaders in three-point field goals (209) and 10th in three-point field goal attempts (539). Collins averaged 9.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a collegian. He earned second-team All-ACC honors as a senior.
Collins is the son of former NBA All-Star, Doug Collins, who is currently a senior advisor for the Chicago Bulls. A native of nearby Northbrook, Illinois, Collins is a 1996 graduate of Duke with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.
Northwestern Notes
Chris Collins’ squad is among the most experienced in the Big Ten heading into this season. The Wildcats returned four starters for the second-consecutive season, tied for second-most in the conference. The ‘Cats return:
- 78.1% of scoring from last season, second in the conference behind Purdue.
- 73.7% of minutes, third most in the Big Ten.
- 69.1% of rebounds, third in conference.
- 84.1% of assists, second in Big Ten behind Purdue, led by team assist-leader Boo Buie (4.0 APG). Buie’s 4.0 APG ranked seventh-best in the Big Ten last season.
Boo Buie ranks third in the Big Ten and 35th nationally averaging 5.0 assists per game. Buie ranks fourth in the conference with a 2.47 assist-to-turnover-ratio. Buie is the only player in the Big Ten averaging at least 14.5 points and five assists per game and is one of three high-major players to do so. He is on pace to join Bryant McIntosh as the only NU players to average at least 13 points and five assists in a season since 1992-93.
Northwestern has two players that rank in the Top-20 in the conference in points per game. Pete Nance leads the team with 15.6 ppg (13th in conference), while Boo Buie ranks behind him in 14th at 15.3 ppg.
Chase Audige ranks third in the Big Ten at 1.86 steals per game. He also ranks third in the conference with a 3.7% steal percentage. Audige is currently one of three players in the Big Ten averaging 10+ points, 4.0+ rebounds, and 1.5+ steals per game this season. He led Northwestern in scoring in both games against Indiana last year.
Center Ryan Young is fourth on the team in scoring this season, averaging 9.6 points per game coming off the bench. In a four-game stretch from Jan. 15-26, Young averaged 12.5 points and 5.0 rebounds.
Julian Roper II leads all Big Ten first-year guards with 25 offensive rebounds this season. Roper ranks second among Big Ten first-years in steals (19)
The Wildcats’ rank second in the Big Ten in both average turnover margin (4.2) and rank second in the conference and in the country with a 1.72 assist to turnover ratio.
Northwestern defeated #10 Michigan State, 64-62, at the Breslin Center on Jan. 15 for its first ranked win of the season, snapping an eight-game skid in East Lansing.
Northwestern KenPom Highlights
Tempo – No. 186 (Offense – No. 119 / Defense No. 253)
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Offensive efficiency – No. 50
- Northwestern’s season-long 13.9 percent turnover rate is No. 5 in the country. In Big Ten games that figure jumps to 15 percent, good for fourth in the league.
- The Wildcats don’t get a lot of offensive rebounds. Their 27.3 rate is No. 213 nationally.
- NU doesn’t get to the free throw line a great deal. Their free throw attempts are 25.6 percent of their field goal attempts, No. 301 nationally.
- Northwestern can get hot from three. Their 35.5 percent rate from behind-the-arc is No. 76 nationally.
- The Wildcats assist on 59.3 percent of their field goals, good for No. 30 in the country. Buie’s 32.4 percent assist rate is No. 41.
Defensive efficiency – No. 87
- Northwestern is good at preventing offensive rebounds. Opponents snare just 23.9 percent of their misses, No. 33 in the country.
- The Wildcats are sending teams to the line too much. Opposing free throw attempts are 38.3 percent of their field goals attempts, No. 325.
- Opponents are making 35.7 percent of their threes vs. NU, No. 282. The Wildcats have held opponents to 47.1 percent from two, No. 72.
- Northwestern is allowing assists on 60.7 percent of opposing makes which comes in at No. 342.
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