Dec. 29, 2010

Northwestern (11-2) at Indiana (6-6)
Thursday, Dec. 30
Assembly Hall (17,357)
Bloomington, Indiana • 6 p.m. CT
Streaming Video:bigtennetwork.com
Gametracker: IUhoosiers.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern raises the curtain on the conference season Thursday when it faces Indiana at 6 p.m. at Assembly Hall. The Wildcats are 1-1 in Big Ten openers under head coach Joe McKeown, having defeated Michigan, 63-59, last year while falling to the Hoosiers in his first year in Bloomington, 81-57. Thursday's matchup will be streamed live on www.bigtennetwork.com.

Noting Northwestern
'Cats Turn In Strong Nonconference Effort
Northwestern finished the nonconference season with an 11-2 mark, having suffered road losses to Georgia Tech and DePaul. The Wildcats, who are undefeated at home through the first seven weeks, posted their best nonconference record since 1995-96 when NU was 13-1 against non-Big Ten foes.

Sharp Shooting
Over the past four games, Northwestern has shot 48 percent from the field, including a season-high 60.9 percent effort against Northern Arizona on Dec. 19. That effort propelled the 'Cats into the national spotlight where they now rank 11th (as of 12/21), averaging 46.5 percent from the field this season. From beyond the arc, NU is eighth in the country, connecting on 38.9 percent of their attempts.

'Cats Pick up Back-To-Back Big Ten Player of the Week Accolades
Junior Brittany Orban picked up her first career Big Ten Player of the Week honor after leading Northwestern to a 70-60 victory over Toledo last Wednesday. The recognition comes on the heels of Amy Jaeschke receiving the same award a week earlier. The Wildcats have now been honored by the League four times in just the first seven weeks of the season.

Three for 30
Amy Jaeschke's 33-point performance against Northern Illinois (12.15.10) was her third 30-point effort of the season. The 6-5 center also reached that plateau against Chicago State (30) and versus Central Michigan, when she poured in a career-best 37 points. Jaeschke is fifth in the nation in scoring, averaging 24.2 ppg. She also has tallied double-figures 29-straight contests and has reached the 20-point plateau in a Big Ten-leading 10 games so far this season.

Complete game notes can be found by clicking on the PDF above.