A visit from second-ranked Purdue and the start of the Big Ten season loom Friday, but Northwestern first faces a test from a surging nonconference foe.
The Wildcats (4-1) will host Northern Illinois on Monday at Evanston, Ill., eight days removed from their most recent game and lone loss to date.
Northwestern coach Chris Collins said “we learned a lot about ourselves” during the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament in Uncasville, Conn., which concluded with the Wildcats’ 66-57 loss to Mississippi State in the championship game Nov. 19.
One lesson: Even when star guard Boo Buie struggles (4-for-14 shooting, nine points), the Wildcats bring depth to complement him. Brooks Barnhizer and Ryan Langborg scored 13 points apiece, while Ty Berry led the way with 14.
Berry’s game included a team-best three 3-pointers and four steals to go with four rebounds.
“(Ty) is a huge X-factor to our team,” Collins said. “He’s a guy we’re relying on every night. We need Ty to step up, especially when defenses take (Langborg) or (Buie) away.”
Northern Illinois (5-1) comes to Welsh-Ryan Arena on its best start to a season since the 2015-16 team opened 7-0.
Sparked by a career-best 34 points from David Coit, who matched a school record with eight treys, the Huskies topped host DePaul 89-79 on Saturday.
Zarique Nutter (19 points, seven rebounds) and Xavier Amos (12 points, eight rebounds) both had solid outings for NIU.
“We are getting closer,” Huskies coach Rashon Burno said. “We led for 39:13 in this game. We are getting better; we just have to stay humble and stay focused on what got us here. I’m super excited for these guys to come here and play well. This is big for so many different reasons, recruiting, and making sure that people know we are on the uptick.”
NIU stopped a four-game losing streak in the series to earn its first win against DePaul since 2005. The Huskies have lost four straight to the Wildcats, who rolled to a 63-46 win in Evanston last season.
Northwestern leads the all-time series with NIU 10-2.
–Field Level Media