Nov. 26, 2009

#23 Notre Dame vs. Northwestern
UIC Pavilion (8,000)
Chicago, Ill. • 7:30 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network (Dave Revsine and Shon Morris)
Audio: WGN-AM 720 and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and David Kaplan)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 159 and XM 117
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern and Notre Dame square off for the first time in 25 years Friday as the teams meet up in the Chicago Invitational Challenge at the UIC Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. The contest is being televised live by the Big Ten Network with Dave Revsine and Shon Morris on the call.

The game follows a matchup between Iowa State and Saint Louis. The losers of Friday's contests meet up at 4:30 p.m. Saturday while the winners meet at 7 p.m.

The Wildcats are coming off their second consecutive win, a 69-53 triumph Tuesday over Liberty at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Freshman Drew Crawford led the way, scoring a career-best 22 points including knocking down five 3-pointers. John Shurna added 14 points and nine rebounds. NU jumped out to a 19-6 advantage and never led by less than nine the rest of the way.

Series History: Notre Dame leads 63-23-1.
Last Meeting: The Fighting Irish posted a 79-61 win over the Wildcats Nov. 29, 1984 in South Bend.

Scouting Notre Dame
• Notre Dame, ranked No. 23 in this week's Associated Press poll, sports a perfect 5-0 record coming off an 80-62 win over Kennesaw State Tuesday night. The Fighting Irish were picked to finish eighth in the preseason Big East coaches' poll.
• All-American Luke Harangody had 29 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday and is averaging 27.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game so far this season. Tim Abromaitis is the Irish's second-leading scorer, posting a norm of 13.4 points per contest off the bench.
• Mike Brey is in his 10th season as the head coach at Notre Dame where he has a 193-101 record.

Crawford Getting Comfortable
Freshman Drew Crawford started both of Northwestern's first two games this season, but he managed just 2 points and 1 rebound in each of the contests. He has been much better the last two games. Crawford posted 8 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in Sunday's win over Tennessee State and then followed it up with a breakout game against Liberty on Tuesday, posting 22 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. He knocked down five 3-pointers against the Flames after making just one in his first three games combined.

Crawford's Averages - First Two Games
2.0 points, 1.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 16 minutes

Crawford's Averages - Last Two Games
15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 31.5 minutes

Pregame at Stanley's in the West Loop
Northwestern fans are encouraged to stop by the Stanley's Kitchen & Tap location in the West Loop at 324 N. Racine Ave. on Friday prior to the Wildcats taking on Notre Dame. Beginning at 6 p.m., there will be drink and food specials as well as giveaways before the 'Cats face the Fighting Irish.

The Team

2011-12 Viewbook

Welsh-Ryan Arena

Bill Carmody Basketball Camps

Buy Tickets Online Here!

Multimedia

Photo Galleries

Big Ten Tournament Central