The Northwestern Wildcats are desperately trying to stay on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, but they likely need a home win over the Michigan Wolverines to get their resume up to par for the committee. Michigan has been very good this season and is riding a three-game winning streak, but the Wildcats will be looking for revenge over a tough 66-64 OT loss back on Jan. 11.
Tim Hardaway Jr. leads the Wolverines in scoring with 14.3 points per game, but freshman guard Trey Burke is the bigger attraction at the moment. Burke has scored in double figures in 24 of 27 games this season, and adds 4.8 assists and 3.4 rebounds per contest as well. To beat Michigan, Northwestern will have to contain the Wolverine backcourt.
John Shurna leads the Big Ten in scoring average (20.2 PPG) and recently became the all-time leading scorer in Northwestern school history. He has collected 1,902 points to date. but every game from here is another opportunity to add to the accomplishment while tying to lead the team to the NCAA tournament. SB Nation's Northwestern Wildcats blog, Sippin' on Purple, hopes people don't look past his odd jumpshot form, and learn to embrace just how good Shurna has been anyways:
It's incredible for anybody to set a school record for scoring. Hundreds of people have played basketball at Northwestern, some of them very talented, and as of now, John Shurna has established that he is the best in terms of putting the basketball into the hoop over the course of four seasons.
But what's really incredible is that he's done it with... well... this weird thing of a jump shot. It's not like anybody else's I've ever seen. It's extremely quick, extremely low, and looks like something you'd expect to fail miserably every time. It is not textbook in any way. Yet, it's deadly accurate. Whether pulling up or catching and shooting, Shurna's jumper has been deadly his whole career, with his three-point percentage hovering in the 40's.
No. 11 Michigan Wolverines (20-7, 10-4) at Northwestern Wildcats (16-10, 6-8) on Tuesday night.
Game date, time: 7:00 PM CT, February 21, 2012
Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, IL
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: 670 AM
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more on this game visit Michigan blog Maize n Brew and Northwestern blog Sippin' On Purple. Head over to SB Nation NCAA Basketball for more on the college hoops season.