With the postseason right around the corner, Northwestern will look to stop the bleeding Wednesday when Penn State pays a visit to Evanston, Ill.
The Wildcats (20-9, 11-7 Big Ten) famously have only advanced to the NCAA Tournament one time — in 2017 — but things are looking positive for the school to land a second berth in the Big Dance.
Northwestern may even be a lock at this point, thanks to a resume that includes wins over Purdue and Michigan State and two victories over Indiana. However, the team has dropped its last two games — road affairs against Illinois and Maryland — and is hoping to avoid its first three-game skid of the season.
“This league is hard. You play good teams,” Wildcats coach Chris Collins said after the 75-59 loss to Maryland. “We’re not down in any way. We’re still excited. We’ve got a big week coming up again, and you’ve just got to learn from these games and go home and try to make it right when you get another opportunity to play.”
Boo Buie (17.2 points, 4.5 assists per game) and Chase Audige (14.6 points, 2.8 assists) guide Northwestern.
The Nittany Lions (17-12, 8-10) are aiming to rebound from a tough home defeat against Rutgers, in which the Scarlet Knights rallied from 19 down in the second half to win 59-56 Sunday. Penn State had won three in a row prior to that setback.
Camren Wynter (16 points) and Jalen Pickett (11 points) were the only two Nittany Lions to score in double figures against Rutgers. They certainly will need more help from Seth Lundy and Andrew Funk, who combined to shoot 2-of-23 from the field versus the Scarlet Knights.
“Season’s not over,” Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “We’ve got a game on Wednesday. If this was the last game of our season, it’s like they have to take their jersey off and go home after tonight, they’d probably feel a little bit different. But we have a lot of games left to play.”
Penn State has won six of its last seven meetings with Northwestern, including both matchups last season.
–Field Level Media
