Cats look to ring in new year with sixth straight win

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Published Jan 1, 2023

Cats look to ring in new year with sixth straight win

Louie Vaccher • WildcatReport

Publisher

@WildcatReport

Northwestern closed 2022 with five straight wins. Now, the Wildcats will look to open 2023, and the heart of the Big Ten schedule, with their sixth in a row as they host Ohio State on New Year’s Day at Welsh-Ryan Arena (6:30 p.m., BTN).

Something has to give in this clash between one of the best offenses and best defenses in the Big Ten. Ohio State leads the Big Ten in scoring at 81.7 points per game, while Northwestern ranks second in the league in scoring defense, allowing just 55.7 points per contest.

The Wildcats have used their suffocating defense to build their 10-2 record, the program’s best since the 2016-17 team that made the school’s first, and only, appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Northwestern currently ranks seventh nationally in scoring defense and third in opponent field goal percentage (35.1%). The Wildcats have held nine of their 12 opponents under 60 points on the year.

Ohio State, meanwhile, has hit the 90-point mark four times in winning nine of its first 12 games.

A win over the Buckeyes would be an NCAA Tournament resume-builder for the Wildcats, who are looking for their first six-game winning streak in six seasons. Northwestern is currently ranked 43rd in the NET rankings, and ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has the Wildcats as one of his first four out in his latest tourney projection.

The Buckeyes, though unranked, are an impressive 15th in the NET rankings, so a victory would give Northwestern another vital Quad 1 win. The Wildcats are 1-1 in Quad 1 matchups thus far, with a 70-63 road win over Michigan State (No. 68 NET) in December and a 43-42 neutral site loss to Auburn (No. 30) in November. (Quad 1 matchups are based on the opponents' NET rankings and location: a Top 30 opponent at home, a Top 50 opponent at a neutral site and a Top 75 opponent on the road.)

Chase Audige has been carrying a lot of the load for Northwestern recently, on both ends of the floor. The 6-foot-4, fifth-year senior guard put up a career-high 28 points against DePaul on Dec. 17, 19 against UIC on Dec. 20 and 24 against Brown on Thursday. He also ranks second in the Big Ten and 13th nationally with 2.6 steals per game.

Ohio State is coming off of a 90-59 rout of Alabama A&M on Thursday and is also 1-0 in Big Ten play, posting a 67-66 home win over Rutgers on Dec. 8. The Buckeyes are led by freshman sensation Brice Sensabaugh. The 6-foot-6 forward leads OSU in scoring at 15.8 points per game and has won Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors in each of the last two weeks.

The Buckeyes lead the all-time series against Northwestern, 122-48, but the Wildcats have won two of the last three meetings in Evanston, including a 71-70 win over the then-No. 23 Buckeyes in 2020.