The 2012 NIT has reached the second round, and the No. 4 Northwestern Wildcats have drawn a tough matchup against the No. 1 Washington Huskies on Friday. In the first round, the Cats used 23 points from John Shurna, 27 from Drew Crawford and 19 from JerShon Cobb to eek out a 76-74 victory over the feisty Akron Zips, and they will need big games from all three in the second round to keep their championship hopes alive.
Washington ranked 34th nationally in points per game this season (75.2) and fifth nationally in rebounds per game (40.3). They are led by freshman guard Tony Wroten and sophomore guard Terrance Ross, who average 16.7 and 15.3 points per game, respectively. Here is a look at the projected starting lineups, via SB Nation's Huskies blog, UW Dawg Pound.
| Washington | Northwestern |
| G - Abdul Gaddy | G - Dave Sobolewski |
| G - Tony Wroten | G - Reggie Hearn |
| G - Terrence Ross | G - JerShon Cobb |
| F - Darnell Gant | G/F - Drew Crawford |
| C - Aziz N'Diaye | F - John Shurna |
The winner of this game moves on to play the winner of Sunday's matchup between the No. 3 Oregon Ducks and the No. 7 Iowa Hawkeyes.
NIT Second Round: No. 4 Northwestern Wildcats Vs. No. 1 Washington Huskies
Date: Friday, March 16, 2012
Time: 7:00 PM CT
Location: Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle, WA
TV: ESPNU: Roxy Bernstein and Mark Adams
Online Video Stream: ESPN3.com
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For constant coverage of March Madness, stay with SB Nation's NCAA basketball news hub. For more analysis on Northwestern, check out Sippin' On Purple. Washington Huskies talk can be found on UW Dawg Pound.