The Michigan Wolverines will be in desperate need of a victory when they face the Northwestern Wildcats on Thursday night. Michigan has lost three of its last four games and is sitting just one game above the .500 mark. The Wolverines picked up an 85-78 win over the Wildcats when these teams met on Jan 15.

Tip off is set for 7 pm ET. The Wildcats are favored by 3.5 points in the latest Northwestern vs. Michigan odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under is set at 139. Before entering any Michigan vs. Northwestern picks, you’ll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. The model enters Week 13 of the season 50-29 on all top-rated college basketball picks, returning more than $1,200 for $100 players. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Northwestern vs. Michigan. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for Michigan vs. Northwestern:

• Northwestern vs. Michigan spread: Northwestern -3.5
• Northwestern vs Michigan over/under: 139 points
• Northwestern vs Michigan money line: Northwestern -165, Michigan +140
• Northwestern vs. Michigan picks: See picks here

Featured Game | Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan Wolverines

Why Northwestern can cover

Michigan has been one of the most disappointing teams in college basketball this season, having lost five of its last seven games coming into this matchup. The Wolverines are coming off one of their worst performances of the season, getting crushed by Penn State in an 83-61 final on Sunday. Penn State raced out to a 49-32 lead at halftime and cruised to the win as a 4-point favorite.

Northwestern has won three of its last four games, picking up a pair of blowout wins over Nebraska and Minnesota during that stretch. The Wildcats are led by senior guard Boo Buie, who is averaging 15.9 points, 4.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game. They have been tough to beat at home this season, winning 12 of their last 15 games at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Why Michigan can cover

Northwestern is coming off a rough performance of its own, coming up short at Iowa in an 86-70 final on Tuesday. The Wildcats are now having to turn around and play another game two days later, making this a difficult scheduling spot. They have only covered the spread once in their last five games against Michigan.

The Wolverines have won six consecutive games outright in this series, including an 85-78 win on Jan 15. Big man Hunter Dickinson was too much for the Wildcats to handle in the first matchup, scoring 10 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin scored a team-high 20 points on 9 of 11 shooting, while freshman Dug McDaniel scored 17 points.

How to make Michigan vs. Northwestern picks

The model has simulated Northwestern vs. Michigan 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning over on the total, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Michigan vs. Northwestern? And which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is 50-29 on its top-rated college basketball picks this season, and find out.

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Michigan Wolverines (11-10, 5-5 Big Ten) at Northwestern Wildcats (15-6, 6-4 Big Ten)

Evanston, Illinois; Thursday, 7pm EST

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Northwestern -3.5; over/under is 138

BOTTOM LINE: Michigan visits the Northwestern Wildcats after Jett Howard scored 21 points in Michigan’s 83-61 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions.

The Wildcats have gone 10-3 at home. Northwestern is 2-2 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The Wolverines are 5-5 in Big Ten play. Michigan scores 73.4 points and has outscored opponents by 3.0 points per game.

TOP PERFORMERS: Boo Buie is shooting 38.0% and averaging 15.9 points for the Wildcats. Chase Audige is averaging 15.9 points over the last 10 games for Northwestern.

Hunter Dickinson is scoring 17.7 points per game with 8.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists for the Wolverines. Howard is averaging 13.9 points over the past 10 games for Michigan.

LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 6-4, averaging 71.2 points, 29.9 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 7.9 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 41.7% from the field. Their opponents averaged 69.7 points per game.

Wolverines: 4-6, averaging 69.2 points, 32.3 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 4.7 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 43.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.6 points.

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

IOWA CITY — A seesaw contest between Iowa and Northwestern men’s basketball gave way to Hawkeye domination down the stretch.

Northwestern held a 56-55 lead with 10:32 to play, Iowa responded with a 30-15 run to win by a comfortable 86-70 margin. Hawkeye center Filip Rebraca noted afterwards there was a big motivating factor.

“We know what this night is for and who we’re playing for,” Rebraca said. “We just had to turn it up another gear. We’re not losing this game, that’s out of the question. I think we all understood that.”

Tuesday night was Chris Street Remembrance Night in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Hawkeye legend’s death. In a game that was originally scheduled for Jan. 18 and rescheduled to Tuesday, the Street family was in attendance and was honored early in the first half and the Hawkeyes carried that emotion into a second straight win.

Rebraca recorded a double-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, Payton Sandfort matched that 20 and also chipped in four rebounds and five assists. A balanced attack that saw five Hawkeyes in double figures helped Iowa to its 14th win this season.

And following the win, Chris Street’s parents, Mike and Patty, addressed the team.

More:Inside the new Chris Street documentary: How it brings even the filmmakers to tears

“It’s very important to me but it’s very important to this program,” said coach Fran McCaffery. “It’s bigger than this team. Anyone that’s worn this jersey before takes great pride and there’s no greater example than Chris Street of what a teammate, athlete and competitor should be. And the connection that remains with his family and this program is so important to all of us.”

Filip Rebraca’s ascension continues to be a major storyline

It was an uncharacteristic night for star Kris Murray, whose 16 points were his sixth-fewest this season, but Rebraca more than filled the void on Tuesday night. He noted after the game that he wasn’t pleased with his last outing against Rutgers (7 points, six rebounds) and came out aggressively against Northwestern. He scored the team’s first 6 points of the contest and carried that momentum throughout the game.

There isn’t an official Big Ten most improved player award, but if there was there’d be a good case for the sixth-year senior. Rebraca’s improved significantly from his 5-point, five-rebound per game output last season to averaging nearly 14 points per game and nine rebounds this season. He’s also shooting 56% from the field (up three points from last year) and 65% from the free throw line (up five points).

Rebraca was vocal throughout the off-season about his dissatisfaction with his play last season and the motivation for a breakout finale with the Hawkeyes. Twenty-two games into this season and it’s hard to imagine where Iowa would be had he not taken that big leap.

“Filip, you know it was going to happen,” McCaffery said. “He had done it before (in the Horizon League at North Dakota), he just needed to do it in (the Big Ten).”

Payton Sandfort has arrived as a player and as a team leader

Alongside Rebraca on Tuesday night was sophomore sharpshooter Payton Sandfort, who had a trio of key 3-pointers (five in total) that were big momentum plays:

• His 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer tied the game at 39
• Another at the 7:11 mark in the second half gave Iowa its biggest lead (to that Point), 65-59
• A 3-pointer plus the foul at the 3:36 mark in the second half, coupled with a subsequent technical foul on Northwestern coach Chris Collins became a rare 6-point play

Since Sandfordt’s early struggles in conference play (1-for-14 start from beyond the arc), he’s connected on 19-35 (54%). And that level of 3-point shooting has added another dimension to Iowa’s team. But there’s another aspect of who he is on Iowa’s team that deserves more attention.

More:It looks like Payton Sandfort’s slump is over. That adds another dimension to Iowa basketball

Sandfort was credited as one of the leaders in Iowa’s win over Indiana this month, which could prove to be Iowa’s turning point this season. His vocal presence has been apparent this month, and that’s with a veteran-laden team. McCaffery said there are no egos on the team and everyone feels comfortable speaking out, but Sandfort’s ascension in that regard is still noticeable.

And the confidence to speak out even during a slump has led to his breakout at this point in the year.

“I’ve always emphasized myself as a leader,” Sandfort said. “And I went through that rough stretch but talking to people, it was really my leadership that brought me out of that. Focusing on leadership instead of purely just shooting the ball opened up everything for me.”

Home cooking is exactly what Iowa basketball needed

Off of two tough losses on the road, Iowa returned home and captured two wins of three on its homestand. Right now, the Hawkeyes are 10-2 at home. Tuesday night’s win was Iowa’s second in the last three days.

It doesn’t get any easier, however, as Iowa is set to host rival Illinois on Saturday afternoon. The Illini are currently in second place in the crowded upper half of the Big Ten. This is the only meeting this season, which puts extra importance on the game. In a tightly contested conference this year, it’ll be the slimmest of margins that determines seeding in the Big Ten Tournament and the coveted double byes.

More:Following anxiety bout, Iowa’s Patrick McCaffery is back and focused solely on basketball

“It’s really good that we got to beat (Rutgers and Northwestern) but we’re not satisfied,” Rebraca said. “We know that Illinois is a really good team. I feel like this win makes the (Illinois) game even bigger, so we’re hungry.”

Editor’s note: The RoundTable plans to publish another article recapping the rest of the Feb. 1 meeting.

Much like a ping pong match, the Citizen Police Review Commission sent citizen complain about a teenager struck by an off-duty officer’s vehicle back to the Evanston Police Department on Feb. 1 to be reviewed for a third time.

“I’m not sure what they did when we sent this back,” said Commissioner Juneitha Shambee. “It just seems like they just ping-ponged it back to us and said ‘Well, here you go’ without doing anything further to even consider what we said.”

The complainants are a 15-year-old and his parents. The teenager was struck by an off-duty EPD officer’s vehicle while riding his bike to school on the Greenwood Street crosswalk on Oct. 28, 2021.

The incident rendered the child unconscious, but when he came to, the off-duty officer and another off-duty cop, who saw the incident, introduced themselves as police to the child. Shortly afterwards, on-duty officers arrived on scene.

While the teenager laid on the ground waiting for the ambulance to arrive, he said he heard one officer say: “Well, this is why we don’t bike on Ridge right?”

The basis of the complaint surrounds that statement the teenager overheard. The complainants also allege that there was collusion among the officers since the officer, who is no longer with the department, received a single ticket for the incident.

The teenager wasn’t offered victim services for the incident.

The department found that the officers involved didn’t violate any rules and there wasn’t sufficient evidence proving an officer made the alleged statement.

The commission reviewed the complaint for the first time in November 2022. After viewing the body camera footage during executive session, the commission agreed they heard the accused officers say similar comments to what the complainants allege.

But they found that the statements were said within earshot of the child, not to the child directly.

The commission also supported the complainant’s allegation of collusion since the officer received one citation.

The commission reviewed a second commander’s investigation of the complaint during a Wednesday night meeting on Feb. 1.

The second investigation came to the same conclusion as the initial investigation.

“This is clearly improper for you to have said that,” Shambee said. “If you are deaf, you would have been able to hear what these guys said on the video. It is ridiculous.”

The second patrol commander and deputy chief agreed that the investigation didn’t break any rules and there wasn’t proof that the statement was said to the child.

“The initial investigation for CR 21-06 was accurate and the conclusions presented by the Chain of Command was correct,” said the patrol commander two in the memo.

Intent seems to be the missing ingredient, Glew said. It’s unclear if the officers meant to be cruel or heard by the complainant, he said.

“The thing that immediately comes to mind when I look at this conversation taking place, it’s pretty consistent with people that have been involved in an accident,” Glew said. “You’re basically having that post-accident conversation during an investigation.”

After much debate on whether sending the complaint back to EPD would amount to anything, the commission motioned to have EPD review the complaint for a third time.

A third, different commander and chief will review the complaint, said Commander Ryan Glew.

The League of Women Voters of Evanston (LWVE) will host a public forum on Saturday, Feb 18, for candidates running in the April 4 special election for the 2nd Ward City Council seat.

The forum will be held at 1 pm in the Council Chambers at the Civic Center.

A recording of the session will be available on the League website the next day.

A special election is required when a vacancy occurs with more than two years remaining in an aldermanic term.

Krissie Harris was appointed by Mayor Daniel Biss to fill the 2nd Ward vacancy. She will face two other candidates — Darlene Cannon and Patricia Gregory — in April’s election.

Early voting for the April election begins on March 20 and continues until April 3.

Voter registration information is available online.

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Maine South leads ETHS by a point at the start of the second quarter of the Tuesday, Jan. 31 game. The Wildkits would go on to win, 42-26. Credit: Maine South Twitter

Even during their current five-game winning streak, Evanston Township High School’s basketball team has taken a while to find a rhythm in the first half of games.

No high school coach really wants his team to be known as a “second half” team. But ask Wildkit head coach Mike Ellis and he’ll tell you that clearly beats the alternative.

The Kits staggered past Maine South 42-26 Tuesday night in Park Ridge for their fifth straight win and 19th of the season. The winners outscored South 25-13 in the second half and kept their mathematical hopes alive to chase down front-runner New Trier in the Central Suburban League South division race.

Evanston would have to beat the Trevians when they host their rivals Friday at Beardsley Gymnasium, then hope that Glenbrook North knocks off New Trier in the finale. That scenario could create a three-way tie for the title if Evanston also handles Niles West in its last league game.

Evanston’s Brandon Watson shoots past Maine South’s Kaden Karstens during the Wildkits’ 45-43 win on Jan 6. On Tuesday, Jan 31, ETHS scored another victory over the Hawks, this time in Park Ridge. Maine South is 0-8 in the CSL South. Credit: Michael Kellams/thatphotodad.com

The conference race is really the last thing on the minds of Ellis and his players at this point. They’re searching for consistency as the regular season winds down and are hoping to use the home stretch as solid preparation for what will be the most loaded field in a Class 4A sectional tournament this postseason. At least six teams assigned to the New Trier Sectional, including the kits, are likely to have 20 or more wins entering the state playoffs.

Tuesday night the Wildkits limited a Maine South team that is winless so far in league play to just 21% (10-of-47) shooting from the floor, including an abysmal 3-of-25 showing from 3-point range. In two games against Evanston this year, the Hawks went a combined 7-of-50 from behind the arc.

Evanston’s defense delivered on a night where the offense sputtered. No one reached double figures for the winners, who were led by Prince Adams with 9 points and 13 rebounds, and Hunter Duncan with 8 points. Morgan Brown tallied 7 points off the bench, all of them coming in the first quarter.

“We did give them a few open looks, but that isn’t a good shooting team,” Ellis said. “Did we just play well enough to win? I think that’s what it looked like to the untrained, and the trained, eye.

“We’ve had a lot of good first halves in games this year, even though we didn’t tonight. I’m not concerned that we’re trending in the wrong direction. I’d be more concerned if we were struggling in the second halves of these games. I thought our guys did a good job of taking ownership of the game [in the second half] and holding each other accountable. We played smarter on defense tonight – nothing was easy for Maine South – and we prevented any runs for them.

“I’m sure they [the Wildkits] felt they didn’t play their best, but they persevered through their frustration.”

Watch ETHS take on Maine South in the Jan. 31 game.

Evanston (19-6 overall, 5-3 CSL South) turned the ball over on his first three possessions of the game and things didn’t get much smoother for the visitors after that. Duncan’s 5 points in the second quarter were enough to provide a 17-13 halftime advantage but didn’t ease the concerns of the ETHS fans who made the trip to Park Ridge on a frigid January night.

Maine South, however, mustered just one basket – by Ryan Pothast – and one free throw – by Kaden Karstens – in the third period and trailed 31-16 after Adams scored in transition, Josh Thomas dunked off a pass from Duncan, and Jonah Ross connected on a 3-point shot to close out the quarter.

The Hawks fell to 10-14 overall and 0-8 in the CSL South.

Daily file photo by Brian Meng

Evanston History Center. On Feb. 2, the building will host a presentation by Connie Martin about her enslaved relatives’ experiences.

This Black History Month, reflect, commemorate and celebrate at events across Evanston. The Daily compiled a list of just some of them happening around town.

“Pre-Civil War Quilts: Secret Codes to Freedom on the Underground Railroad”

Feb 2, 7 pm — Evanston History Center

The Evanston History Center will host a presentation by Road Scholar Connie Martin, who will share her enslaved relatives’ experiences, including stories of fugitive escape routes preserved in a family Bible dated 1865. Quilts served as a key mode of communication between abolitionists and enslaved people escaping to the north, and Martin’s presentation will feature quilts her mother sewed that incorporate patterns and stitches used to signal pertinent passageway information.

Evanston Black History Scavenger Hunt

Feb. 1 to 28 — Main Library and Robert Crown Branch Library

All month long, the Evanston Public Library presents an indoor scavenger hunt based on the city’s Black history, consisting of 12 hidden pictures. EPL created the scavenger hunt in collaboration with the Shorefront Legacy Center.

Black History Month Family Game Night

Feb 19, 5 pm — Robert Crown Community Center

Families will have the opportunity to compete in games of Uno, Lyrically Correct, Black Card Revoked and more — and Black-owned Evanston restaurants are catering.

Make Your Own Cartoon Glass Painting

Feb 3, 4 pm — Robert Crown Branch Library

In the library lobby, residents can use the reverse glass painting technique to create portraits of Black cartoon characters with supplied frames and materials.

Black History Walks

Feb 1, 10 am — Evanston Ecology Center

Begin Black History Month with a nature walk to learn about local Black history in the context of Evanston’s landscape. Cook County Commissioner Josina Morita partnered with Shorefront Legacy Center to sponsor this event.

E-mail: [email protected]

Related Stories:

— Campus organizations host events throughout Black History Month

— Evanston NAACP hosts Black History Month event, highlights equity initiatives

— Evanston Made highlights Black artists during Black History Month

Angeli Mittal/Daily Senior Staffer

Junior guard Ty Berry stars in confusion. The sharpshooter finished with seven points, all that came in the first half, in the 86-70 defeat to Iowa.

The last time Northwestern and Iowa faced off, the playing field and rosters looked a lot different. The two programs were squaring off at Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the second round of the Big Ten tournament.

Yet, unlike the Hawkeyes, who secured a first round bye and eventually won the tourney, the Wildcats welcomed the challenge after their one possession win over Nebraska the night before, 71-69. This was their first second round appearance since 2016-17, symbolizing the different ends of the spectrum each group entered from and how far away NU was from reaching Iowa’s status. This was emphasized by the final record, 112-76 in Iowa’s favor.

Matching up again 10 months later, though, the Cats (15-6, 6-4 Big Ten) seemed to have closed the gap just in time for their rematch, entering the Iowa City contest with the second-best record in Big Ten play . And in a foot race from the get-go, Iowa (14-8, 6-5 Big Ten) and NU were neck-and-neck until the Cats sputtered, dropping the contest 86-70.

Like most of NU’s battles this season, it was a tiresome, back-and-forth tug of war most of the contest. Neither team held a double-digit lead until less than five minutes remained in the entire game, mainly because of the evenly-matched play and minor runs by each group.

This was on display especially in the first half after Iowa’s first takeover when first-year guard Josh Dix’s coast-to-coast acrobatic jumper and sophomore guard Payton Sandfort’s top-of-the-key three capped off their 7-0 run. After the timeout by NU, though, the Cats caught back up and took the lead from the Hawkeyes with an 8-0 run, highlighted by a mean one-handed alley-oop slam by redshirt senior Chase Audige from senior Boo Buie.

And with graduate forward Tydus Verhoeven’s one of two buckets and an Audige three, the Cats were sitting pretty up nine with less than four minutes until the break. Yet, in back-and-forth fashion, Iowa chased down NU, knotting the contest back up at 39 apiece with Payton Sandfort’s buzzer-beating three. The two groups were shoulder to shoulder.

Coming out of the break, Buie’s offensive boost gave the Cats a much-needed edge, scoring the first five points for either team. However, Buie’s play turned from blessing to curse quickly, as he picked up his third foul less than two minutes into the second 20-minute block, placing NU’s leading scorer on the bench three minutes later. Although this didn’t affect the score much, as Buie stepped back onto the court while the Hawkeyes held a one-point lead, the rest of the Cats were maxed out.

From nearly the 11-minute mark, when Buie reentered, to the first double-digit lead of the contest, Buie scored all but two of NU’s points. Even though these baskets were effective, Buie needed more help from his fellow Cats, while the Hawkeyes mastered their teamwork, sharing the wealth five-fold, with five players scoring in that time span. Ironically, by the end of the game, they finished with five players in double figures — two with a 20-point bomb.

By this point in the contest, the ball was in the Hawkeyes’ court, as the Cats struggled on offense and surprisingly on defense as well. While missing five straight from the field reflecting its five for 15 shooting woes in the last 10 minutes, Iowa’s bird’s-eye view was too much for NU. Iowa didn’t take its foot off the gas pedal, not missing back-to-back shots until the end of the game — resulting in its 16-point victory.

After his loss to Michigan, most, including coach Chris Collins, viewed NU’s out of steam second half led to its demise — a possible early indication to the program’s COVID-19 outbreak. And with a similar downfall versus Iowa, playing its fourth game in eight days due to its rotated schedule may be a result of this fatigue.

With two days to rest before seeking revenge against Michigan Thursday, hopefully, the Cats can rest their legs before another tough battle.

E-mail: [email protected]

Twitter: @LPIII_TRES

Related Stories:

— Rapid Recap: Iowa 86, Northwestern 70
— Men’s Basketball: Northwestern continues to shoot lights out in rout against Minnesota
— Men’s Basketball: ‘It’s a dog-eat-dog world’ or in Northwestern’s case a guard-eat-guard world

Riding a three-game win streak, Northwestern traveled to Iowa City on Tuesday to cap off the month of January against Iowa.

Both teams exchanged the lead early after tip-off, exchanging buckets to keep the score relatively close. While senior forward Robbie Beran opened the scoring for the Wildcats, a couple possessions later, redshirt senior guard Chase Audige’s fadeaway jumper lifted NU in front of the Hawkeyes..

In addition, graduate student forward Tydus Verhoeven’s second chance layup inside the paint pushed the Cats’ lead to a whopping five points in the first frame.

Although NU gained momentum early into the first half, Iowa did not give them a reprieve on the defensive end of the floor, shooting from the perimeter and driving inside the paint. Despite the Hawekyes’ motion in the middle of the first period, the Cats’ offensive diversity allowed them to seize the upperhand.

Over the final few minutes of the first half, NU saw their lead as high as nine, capped by a pullup three by Audige. However, the Cats were unable to maintain their lead, as Iowa tied the score at 39 by the intermission.

To open the second half, senior guard Boo Buie went on a personal 5-0 run. The Albany, New York native led scoring for the squad with 20 points in Tuesday’s loss. A second-chance layup by sophomore guard Brooks Barnhizer was the last time NU saw themselves with the lead by the halfway point in the second half. A 13-5 Hawkeyes run over the next few minutes saw the Cats facing their first double digit deficit in the final several minutes of the contest, making it difficult for any attempts for a late comeback.

Here are three takeaways from NU’s contest against Iowa:

Takeaway:

1. Northwestern’s offense finds ability to go on runs after scoring droughts

While the Cats held the lead for most of the first helped in Tuesday’s matchup, the offense had multiple three minute scoring droughts. A floater by Martinelli assisted by sophomore guard Brooks Barnizer broke the first three minute scoring drought in the thirteen minute mark of the first half. Minutes later, a three by Martinelli assisted by Buie, gave NU a quick 9-3 run. A three by the Glenview native ensured that the Cats maintained their lead over the course of the first half.

Later in the first half, the Cats had drought a nearly-four minute scoring. The Cats rapidly saw their once five point advantage evolve into a three point deficit midway through the first quarter. A dunk by junior center Matthew Nicholson assisted by Audige snapped the Cats scoring draught and sparked the offense once again.

A marvelous alley-oop pass by Buie that led to a vicious one-handed slam by Audige led the way to a 8-0 run over a minute and a 13-1 run over a four minute stretch. This momentum propelled the Cats to grasp a nine point advantage, their highest of the game.

2. The Cats bench leads the way in the first half

Whether a Cats fan or not, everyone knows about Auidge and Buie, two players who lead the team on both sides of the floor game in and game out. On Tuesday night, however, two players who are not known as served by many major contributions to the Cats: Martinelli and Verhoeven.

With sophomore guard Julian Roper II remaining sidelined with an ankle injury, Martinelli took full advantage of the extended minutes he received. The Glenview, Illinois native was actively involved on the offensive side of the floor, sinking in multiple floaters and burying a three. By the intermission, the freshman forward was three-for-three shooting from the field, recording nine points, which was tied with Audige for NU’s highest scorers.

On the defensive side, Tydus Verhoeven was excellent. The graduate student topped off an impressive performance a couple of days prior with his best half in a Cats uniform. Inside the paint, Verhoeven ensured the Hawkeyes were left with empty possessions. The forward had three blocks in the first half, ensuring the Cats did not see themselves facing a large deficit at any point in the first half. On the glass, Verhoeven was equally valuable, recording a team-high four rebounds. A layup by the UTEP transfer extended the Cats lead to six late in the first half.

3. Northwestern continues to turn defense into offense

It is no secret that the Cats identity has been established on the defensive end. Yet, NU’s offense has been resurgent over the latter half of January, thanks to its ability to score points off turnovers. The same story was true Tuesday night. A steal and pull up by junior forward Ty Berry and a steal and coast-coast-coast reverse coast fast break reverse layup by Audige enabled the Cats to run downhill immediately following forced turnovers.

Multiple steals by Buie and Audige throughout the first half allowed the Cats to continue forcing turnovers even when the Hawkeyes went on scoring runs. The veteran duo combined to have four of the Cats six first-half steals. By the end of the first half, the Cats scored ten points off turnovers.

Over the course of the second half, the Cats offense saw itself become stagnant, largely due to their inability to force turnovers like they did in the first half. A steal leading to a running driving layup by Buie were two of merely four cats points off turnovers in the second half.

E-mail: [email protected]

Twitter: @aayushyagarwal7

Related Stories:

— Northwestern men’s basketball cruises to victory against Minnesota

— Men’s Basketball: ‘It’s a dog-eat-dog world’ or in Northwestern’s case, a guard-eat-guard world

— Rapid Recap: Northwestern 81, Minnesota 61

Northwestern University is now saying that there would be no more than ten concerts at the new Ryan Field and at nearby Welsh-Ryan Arena combined, if the city approves construction of the new football stadium.

Previous reports had stated there could be “as many as 12,” “up to 12,” or “10 to 12” concerts at the proposed 35,000 seat facility.

However, Evanston Now was first to report last year that Northwestern also planned to hold some of those events at the much smaller Welsh-Ryan basketball arena, which can only hold about 8,000.

In a recent virtual 2nd Ward meeting, Dave Davis, NU’s Senior Executive Director of Neighborhood and Community Relations said “we’re pursuing 10” total events.

Following that, in an email to Evanston Now, Davis confirmed that “the maximum number of concerts we’re requesting is 10 … and some of those concerts would take place at Welsh-Ryan Arena; however, the total actual number would still be capped at 10.”

It’s unclear what impact, if any, this reduction will have on the university’s efforts to get the stadium approved, nor on opposition — which is at least in part based on more crowds in the stadium neighborhood.

The board of directors of the Central Street Neighborhood Association recently came out in opposition to more outdoor concerts.

The group said it was not against a new football-only stadium with six or seven games a year.

However, the association added that “the commercialization for which zoning change is sought, more resembling the business of a for-profit entertainment conglomerate than higher educational purpose, wasn’t what any homebuyer or tenant bargained for ….”

A recent public opinion survey released by Northwestern showed majority support for the stadium rebuild, even among those living within a mile of the facility.

The survey concluded the majority of respondents, even stadium neighbors, were OK with having 12 concerts or fewer.

Evanston Now has a request in to NU to find out why the concert cap is now 10.

In the meantime, that lower number could end up having both positives and negatives for backers and opponents of the new football stadium.

On the one hand, fewer large outdoor concerts, as well as having some smaller events indoors, would likely mean somewhat less economic impact on the area, and fewer tax dollars for the city.

On the other hand, opponents painting a scenario of 35,000 concert-goers carousing through the streets 12 times a year might have to scale down their assessments as well.

Concerts at the much smaller indoor arena would presumably have less impact on the neighborhood.

Northwestern already hosts 38 home men’s and women’s basketball games at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

NU has not broken down how the music events might might split between the new stadium and the arena. The concert business is fluid, with certain acts more appropriate for certain venues.

One thing is certain, however. Northwestern argues that having concerts, whatever the number, along with the right to sell general admission alcohol at football games, are critical.

At a stadium presentation to business leaders in December, NU’s Davis said “if they [concerts and alcohol sales] don’t happen, this project doesn’t happen.”

If the project does happen, NU would play one more season at the present Ryan Field, with the new facility opening in 2026.