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Big Ten basketball helps to kick start our Saturday with a matchup between the Northwestern Wildcats (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) and the #15 Wisconsin Badgers (12-3, 4-0 Big Ten). Wisconsin is the only remaining undefeated team in Big Ten play, while Northwestern is tied with Minnesota at 3-1. Northwestern went on the road and picked up a win against Penn State 76-72 as 1.5-point road dogs. Wisconsin is fresh off a road win in Ohio State, winning 71-60 as 3.5-point road dogs. Northwestern won both matchups between these teams last season. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 EST from the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin and can be found on the Big Ten Network.
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Northwestern has put themselves in a strong spot in conference play, they have a 3-1 record, and have won five of their last six overall. Their lone loss was to #9 Illinois, where they lost by 30 on the road. The Wildcats want to treat that game as an outlier, as the have the win over #1 Purdue, and most recently won back to back conference games against Michigan State and Penn State. In their last game, Northwestern was led by guard Brooks Barnhizer with 23 points in the win at PSU.
Northwestern is led in scoring by 6'2 senior guard Boo Buie with 18.1 PPG, and he is also the top playmaker with 5.1 APG. He has scored 17 or more in his last three games, with a high of 20 in the loss to Illinois. Buie played his best game of the season under the brightest lights, as he dropped 31 in the upset win over #1 Purdue. Brooks Barnhizer is a 6'6 guard who adds 13.9 PPG and a team high 7.2 RPG, he is coming off the big game against PSU where he shot 8-11 and finished with 23 points. Ty Berry is a 6'3 senior guard, and the top shooter on the team with 37 made threes on the season while converting 45.7% of his attempts. Berry averages 12.1 PPG on the year. The final scorer in double figures is Ryan Langborg, he is a 6'4 senior guard adding 11.7 PPG. Luke Hunger has started inside recently, he is a 6'10 sophomore but only scores 4.2 PPG.
Northwestern is currently ranked 55th overall according to KenPom. They rank 50th in offensive efficiency and 79th in defensive efficiency. The Wildcats play slow on offense, they rank 340th in the nation in pace of play of out 362 Division I teams.
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