Coatney's Call: Northwestern Preview

#21 Nebraska at Northwestern
Saturday, Jan. 26, 4 p.m. (central)
Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston, Ill.)
Television: None
Radio: Husker Sports Network
(Matt Coatney-PBP; Jeff Griesch-Analyst)
107.3 FM-KBBK, Lincoln; 93.3 FM-KFFF, Omaha; 1400 AM-KCOW, Alliance; 1230 AM-KHAS, Hastings; 94.1 FM-KNEB, Scottsbluff; 1430 AM-KRGI, Grand Island; 98.5 FM-KHAQ, North Platte.
Internet: Free live audio on Huskers.com 

I really thought the game was going into overtime.  If you have watched every Nebraska/Purdue game in the short series since the Huskers joined the Big Ten Conference, it’s hard not to believe that a game between those two teams isn’t going at least one extra period.  Last Sunday in Lincoln, Nebraska trailed Purdue by as many as 12 points in the first half, rallied to take the lead briefly in the second half, but with the game tied in the final seconds, the Boilermakers scored on a rebound and put back with under two seconds left to escape with a 77-75 victory.

Junior forward Emily Cady had 13 points and tied her career high with 16 rebounds, her fourth straight double-double.  Sophomore point guard Rachel Theriot led the Huskers with 19 points and was named Big Ten Player of the Week last Monday. Theriot averaged 26.0 points in two games last week, including a career-high 33 point effort against Minnesota. Nebraska will look to get back in the win column and will try to get a season sweep when they hit the road to face the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston Sunday at 4 p.m. (central).

The youth movement is in full force at Northwestern as three freshmen are in the regular starting lineup. They account for almost 50 percent of the Wildcats’ scoring, over 40 percent of their rebounds and over 60 percent of their assists and steals. Statistically, Northwestern is unlike any other team in the country.

They rank second nationally in blocked shots per game (7.3); yet they are 327th in rebound margin (-7.7) for the season.  In fact, the Wildcats have a -12.7 rebound deficit in their six Big Ten league games.  By contrast, the team that is ranked just ahead of Northwestern in blocked shots per game, UConn, is 20th nationally in rebound margin.

After starting the season 10-3 in non-conference play, the Wildcats are 2-4 in Big Ten action, including a 90-65 loss at Purdue Thursday night. Northwestern is 2-1 at home in conference play, beating Wisconsin and Purdue in their first meeting and losing to Illinois. The Wildcats are winless in two Big Ten road games, losing at Minnesota and falling by one point at Nebraska, 66-65, in the league opener for both teams at the Pinnacle Bank Arena on Jan. 2. 

In the first meeting between the two teams, Rachel Theriot and Tear’a Laudermill combined for 13 assists and just one turnover and the two had a hand in every Husker basket in the second half.  Theriot had 19 points, including the game-winning shot with just over 1:30 to play and Laudermill added 14 points and hit a huge three-pointer with 2:30 left that stopped an 11-0 Northwestern run.

Northwestern’s 6-1 freshman forward Nia (KNEE-uh) Coffey is the only player in the Big Ten to rank in the top 10 in points, rebounds, steals and blocks.  She averages a team-best 16.5 points and 7.8 rebounds.  Coffey is the highest-ranked recruit in Joe McKeown’s six years as Wildcats’ coach.  The basketball lineage runs deep in her family.  Coffey’s father Richard led the Big Ten in rebounding for Minnesota in 1988 and went on to play one season with the NBA Timberwolves.  Her sister Sydney is a sophomore starter at Marist, a traditional NCAA Tournament qualifier. Coffey’s brother Amir is considered one of the top high school sophomores in the country.  Last summer, Coffey was a member of the USA team that won a gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championships.  She just missed a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the earlier game this season at Nebraska.

Another impressive Wildcat freshman is 5-10 wing Christen Inman. She went a perfect 8-for-8 from the field for 19 points against the Huskers earlier this season. Through six Big Ten games, Inman is leading the conference in field goal percentage (.636).  She ranks third on the team in scoring (13.1 points). 

The third freshman starter for Northwestern hails from the same hometown as Husker Hailie Sample. Ashley Deary, a 5-4 point guard, is a native of Flower Mound, Texas. Deary was named to the 2014 Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List in mid-January. The award recognizes the top point guard in NCAA Division I college basketball. Deary has averaged 9.3 assists in the last three games, including a 10-assist output in Thursday’s loss at Purdue.  She leads the Big Ten with 7.2 assists per game and ranks sixth nationally in that category. In the earlier loss to Nebraska this season, Deary had one point, nine rebounds, and seven assists.

Joe McKeown is in his sixth season as head coach at Northwestern.  He spent most of his 28-year career at George Washington where he was the five-time Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year during his 19 years at the Washington, D.C. school.   A 1979 graduate of Kent State, McKeown still holds the school single-game assist record when he dished out 15 assists against Bowling Green in 1978 for the Flashes.

Nebraska has won the last three games against Northwestern and the Huskers lead the all-time series 7-2.  Nebraska defeated the Wildcats 55-50 last February in Evanston. The teams split two games in 2012 with the Wildcats winning the regular season meeting in Lincoln 63-51.  The Huskers flew past Northwestern 88-56 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, racing to a 41-10 lead in the first 13 minutes. 

I cordially invite you to join Jeff Griesch and me for Nebraska Women’s Basketball on the Husker Sports Network.  Our radio broadcast Sunday afternoon begins with the pre-game show at 3:45 p.m. (central) with the tip-off scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on the Husker Sports Network including KBBK (B107.3) in Lincoln, KFFF 93.3 in Omaha, KCOW 1400 in Alliance, KHAS 1230 in Hastings, KNEB 94.1 in Scottsbluff, KRGI 1430 in Grand Island, KHAQ 98.5 in North Platte, and many others.  All Husker Women’s Basketball broadcasts are also available for free worldwide on the internet at www.huskers.com.  I hope you can join us.   

There are a number of ways to get enhanced information about our broadcast and Husker Women’s Basketball via social media.  You can learn more about the team on the Nebraska Women’s Basketball Facebook page or follow the team on their official Twitter page @huskerswbb.  I also invite you to friend me on Facebook (Matt Coatney) or follow me on Twitter @coatman1.

Go Big Red! 

Matt