By Adam Fusfeld

For the second straight game, a major-conference opponent entered Welsh-Ryan Arena with high hopes, only to leave with their heads hanging in defeat.

Northwestern (6-1) started Saturday’s game with a 7-0 run, and did not look back on its way to a 63-36 victory over local rival DePaul. A Craig Moore 3-pointer sandwiched between two Kevin Coble jumpers ignited this early lead. On the other end, the Blue Demons (4-2) turned the ball over twice, and converted on only one of their first 12 attempts from the floor to facilitate the Wildcats’ early advantage.

“We came out really aggressively and we stopped what they wanted to do,” junior forward Kevin Coble said. “We stuck with our stuff, we ran through so much in such a short period of time that we made them play 25-30 seconds of defense. As the possession goes on, it’s hard to guard it for that long. Teams don’t usually like to play that much defense.”

The offense was not the only thing slowing DePaul’s usually frenetic pace to a crawl. Entering the game DePaul had been averaging 71.0 points per contest. But coming off a west coast trip, and missing the Big East’s leading rebounder Mac Koshwal hurt even more.

In the first half they were held to 15 points on 21 percent shooting.

“I didn’t think our problems were defensively,” DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright said. “I thought obviously our problems were offensively. You put such strain on your defense when you don’t score.”

Meanwhile the Cats didn’t face any problems offensively. The team shot 46.4 percent from the field including 40 percent from beyond the arc. Coble led NU with 25 points, and senior guard Craig Moore chipped in 14.

After the game, Coble won the Waldo Fisher-Frank McGrath Award as the game’s most valuable player. Coble, who also won it in 2006, became the first player from either team to win the award twice since the Cats’ Bill McKinney did it in 1975 and 1976.

“Him and Craig are our main scorers,” sophomore guard Michael Thompson said. “And Kevin was really hot today. So every time I came down the court he was my first option –- as he is in practice. Even on our out-of-bounds plays, sometimes the play is not for him, but I look for him because I know he’s going to make that basket.”

Lost among Coble and Moore’s scoring outputs, was Thompson’s good game. Though the point guard finished with just seven points, he finished with eight assists against only one turnover, and “orchestrated everything flawlessly” according to coach Bill Carmody.

Defensively, the Cats were able to stop the Blue Demons’ leading scorer, forward Dar Tucker. Though the sophomore finished with 17 points, he shot just 6-of-20 thanks in part to NU’s defensive gameplanning.

“He’s a very, very good player,” Carmody said. “They were trying to isolate him on the low post there, and I thought we defended him fairly well and doubled him when we could. You can see what he did starting the second half, it wasn’t like we were far away from the guy, but he pulled twice on the wing for threes. But when he got to the basket, I thought our defense was actually pretty good.”

The Cats can take the momentum from this game into the finals week break. The blowout win over DePaul was another sign that this year’s team is different from one’s years past.

“I think they (the Cats) are a little bit different this year, I think they are a little more aggressive,” Wainwright said. “My hat’s off to Bill (Carmody), I think that he has enough guys now where they’re subbing and they’re playing a little faster.”

adamfusfeld2007@u.northwestern.edu

This cross-town rivalry resumes with both teams on a hot streak while using young talent at the beginning of the season. Northwestern is coming off an impressive home win over Florida State, while DePaul lost its first game in its last outing at California. The Blue Demons (4-1) and Wildcats have always played each other close. The last four meetings have been decided by 10 points or fewer.

Last year, NU (5-1) went to Allstate Arena and nearly pulled off the upset at DePaul. But the Blue Demons hit a last-second shot to defeat the Cats, who played without Kevin Coble in that game. The two teams are relying on a lot of young talent this season so far and should make for an interesting matchup.

DePaul is led by sophomore forward Dar Tucker. Tucker is averaging 20.8 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game. Tucker has been held under 20 points just once this season. He figures to be a key part of the Blue Demons’ slashing attack against a staunch NU defense that is giving up only 51.7 points per game on 39.4 percent shooting.

Sophomore Mac Koshwal has also been strong for the Blue Demons. He is averaging 12.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-10 center has had some problems committing turnovers, averaging nearly four per game.

Keys to the Game:

1. Let Juice loose- Sophomore point guard Michael Thompson had a big game in last year’s trip to DePaul. The point guard scored a career-high 24 points at DePaul last season. He nearly single-handed defeated the Blue Demons, but fouled out late in the game as DePaul was able to hold on. Thompson has not been able to follow up his freshman year as strongly. He has not been quite as active in the offense, averaging 9.7 points per game and only 3.0 assists per game. This is another opportunity for Thompson to really assert himself. It is clear defenses are going to focus on junior forward Kevin Coble and senior guard Craig Moore. it is up to Thompson to really step up and be the third scoring otpion that can take the pressure off of those two. So far he has struggled to do so.

2. Protect the basketball- DePaul is a high-scoring team, averaging 71.0 points per game. The Blue Demons force 17.6 turnovers per game. The Cats have been decent taking care of the ball, but do have the propensity to get caught up in fast-paced games, increasing their turnover count. NU is turning the ball over only 11.5 times per game. But that number has been larger at times this season. Protecting the ball is a must for the Cats to succeed in this game.

3. Control the glass- this has not been much of a concern for NU so far this season. The Cats have won the rebounding battle in every game except one this season. The addition of big men Kyle Rowley and John Shurna have helped immensely in that category. But it bears reiterating considering this team’s history on the glass. If the Cats can limit the Blue Demons to one shot, they can control the tempo of the game and dictate how this game is played.

By Adam Fusfeld

After a preseason centered on fitting the newcomers in with the team, it is finally time to see how it will all come together.

On Sunday, Northwestern kicks off the 2008-09 basketball season by welcoming Central Arkansas to Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats have lost their last two home openers, losing to then-No. 20 Stanford 71-60 last season and Cornell 64-61 the year before.

NU wants a win to get the season started in the right direction.

“We’d like to get off to a good start in non-conference play,” junior forward Kevin Coble said. “If we get some momentum going into the Big Ten that would be really good for us.”

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WOMEN’S HOOPS: MCKEOWN GETS FIRST TRUE TEST

By Danny Daly

Less than one month after the official start of practice, Northwestern faces what could be its most difficult non-conference opponent.

The Wildcats will follow their opener at Chicago State on Friday with a battle against Kansas State in their first home game this Monday. Kansas State returns three of its top four scorers after advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament as a five-seed last year, knocking off Chattanooga before falling to Louisville.

Anxious to put the disappointment of last season’s injury-ravaged campaign behind them, the Cats are highly anticipating their first chance to see how they match up with a top team from a major conference.

“It’s better to play the harder teams, and it’s more fun too,” said junior forward Kristin Cartwright, who redshirted last year while recovering from an ACL injury. “You look forward to it more. It’s more exciting and you have to play your best.”

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