Iowa looks to complete season sweep against surging Northwestern and its new hostile environment
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Northwestern head coach Chris Collins has gone from being on the hot seat to having one of the hottest teams in Division I men’s college basketball.
After five consecutive losing seasons that put Collins’ job in jeopardy, Northwestern has been one of this season’s biggest surprises.
The Wildcats (19-7, 10-5) will enter Sunday’s game against Iowa at Welsh-Ryan Arena alone in second place in the Big Ten and coming off back-to-back victories over Big Ten leader Purdue and Indiana.
A student section that isn’t known for being energetic and hostile to visiting teams is now helping to give Northwestern a home-court advantage.
In fact, the students carried it a little too far in the Indiana game when they unleashed their wrath on Hoosier forward Miller Kopp, who played his first three seasons at Northwestern and started 74 games.
Throughout this past Wednesday’s game between Indiana and Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena, Northwestern fans, which was mostly the students, chanted, “F— you, Miller.”
The chant didn’t sit well with Collins.
“I didn’t like it,” Collins said afterwards. “Didn’t like it. I’m not a big fan of that. It’s not something I condone.”
“To me, first of all, Miller is a part of our family,” Collins continued. “It was not a contentious thing. I love Miller. He gave us three great years. I’ll be forever indebted to what he brought to the program. He knows there’s no bigger fan of him than me.
“I would have liked it to be a little bit more cheer for us. I’m always big on that. It was so loud. I mean, I wish I had the power to kind of tell everybody to stop. I wasn’t a fan of that because, first of all, the way I feel about Miller and what he was to this program. But I’m not a big believer in that. Cheer loud for us.”
Northwestern fans will have a chance to cheer loudly during Sunday’s game, which has far more significance than a typical Iowa-Northwestern matchup.
Iowa (17-9, 9-6) is just one game behind the Wildcats in the conference standings and has won nine of its last 12 games.
The Hawkeyes also defeated Northwestern 86-70 on Jan. 31 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. That game was close until Iowa pulled away at the end.
Five Hawkeyes scored double-digits in the first game against Northwestern, led by Payton Sandfort and Filip Rebraca with 20 points apiece.
Iowa shot 56 percent (29-of-52) from the floor and 10-of-21 (48 percent) from 3-point range. The Hawkeyes were 82 percent (18-of-22) from the charity stripe and registered 17 assists on 29 field goals.
It might take another shooting performance like that to defeat the Wildcats on their home floor.
Many factors have contributed to Northwestern’s sudden and improbable turnaround, but none bigger than the play of senior guards Boo Buie and Chase Audige.
A case could be made for them being the best backcourt in the Big Ten, but Audige took it even further than that after the Indiana victory.
“I think we’re the best backcourt in the country,” Audige said.
Buie leads the conference in free throw percentage (88.9), and is second in the Big Ten in field goal aempts (369). Buie also leads Northwestern in field goals made (148) and free throws made (96).
Audige, who started his career at William & Mary, ranks first in the league in steals (63), and second in steals per game (2.42). He also leads the team in 3-pointers (56) and steals (63).
Collins and the Wildcats made history in 2017 as Northwestern made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, advancing to the round of 32 before losing to Gonzaga.
Collins, who is in his 10th season as the Northwestern head coach, grew up in the Chicago suburbs and spent 17 years at Duke as a player and assistant coach before taking on the daunting task of rebuilding the Northwestern program.
The Wildcats are poised to make the Big Dance for the second time, but they also are contending for the Big Ten regular-season title, trailing Purdue (23-4, 12-4) by just one game in the loss column.
Iowa (17-9, 9-6) vs. Northwestern (19-7, 10-5)
When: Sunday, 5:37 p.m.
Where: Evanston, Illinois (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network
Series: Iowa holds a commanding 124-60 advantage over Northwestern in the series. The Hawkeyes have won 16 of the last 19 meti ngs, including nine straight. Iowa won this season’s first meeting last month, 86-70, in Iowa City. Iowa holds a 49-41 edge in games played in Evanston. The Hawkeyes have won five of the last seven meetings in Evanston, including three straight. Iowa will be making its first visit to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday in over two years (96-73 Hawkeye win on Jan. 17, 2021).
