Saturday, November 22nd, 7:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Pizzitola Sports Center (2,800) -- Providence, Rhode Island. Television: None. Home Record: Northwestern 2-0, Brown 0-0. Away Record: Northwestern 0-0, Brown 1-2. Neutral Record: Northwestern 0-0, Brown 0-0. Conference Record: Northwestern 0-0, Brown 0-0. Series Record: Northwestern leads, 3-2.

GAME NOTES: The Northwestern Wildcats will try to remain perfect in the early stages of this season when they take to the road to battle the Brown Bears this evening in a non-conference tilt at the Pizzitola Sports Center. The Wildcats have not had much of a challenge in their first two contests of the season, defeating Central Arkansas, 81-39, and Texas A&M Corpus Christi, 66-48. Tonight's contest begins a small two-game road trip for Northwestern, which will then return home for a four-game swing. As for the Bears, they finally found the win column this past Wednesday, defeating Holy Cross, 62-57. It was a much needed win for Brown, which opened the season with two straight losses to Rhode Island (76-74) and George Mason (89-52). Tonight's contest will be the first of three consecutive homes games for the Bears. This is the sixth meeting between these two teams with the Wildcats holding a slim, 3-2 edge over Brown.

The Wildcats' 2-0 start can easily be attributed to the team's outstanding play defensively, as Northwestern is currently limiting opponents to just 43.5 ppg, and an equally poor 31.0 percent showing from the field. In the recent victory over Texas A&M Corpus Christi, the Wildcats pounced on their opponent, limiting the Islanders to just 37.2 percent shooting from the floor, which included an equally poor 3-of-13 clip from long range. At the other end of the floor the Wildcats, the team used a mediocre 42.3 shooting percentage. Kevin Coble, who tallied 15 points and eight rebounds in the season-opener, continued his strong play against Texas A&M-CC, netting 18 points on a 7-of-14 showing from the floor. John Shurna added 17 points and pulled down nine caroms for Northwestern, while Craig Moore contributed 14 points to go along with six assists. Michael Thompson, who posted 10 points against Central Arkansas, struggled in the win over the Islanders, connecting on just 2-of-10 shots for a nine-point showing.

After three games it is evident the Bears lack the killer instinct offensively, as the team is producing just 62.6 ppg. The last time the Bears were on the court the team only posted 62 points, however, it was enough for Brown to slip past Holy Cross by a five-point margin. Matt Mullery led the way in the win with 18 points, while Adrian Williams tallied 16 points to going along with an impressive seven steals. As for Peter Sullivan, who is averaging 13.0 ppg and a team-best 7.3 rpg, he struggled in the win, netting just 2- of-10 attempts from the floor en route to a nine-point performance. Overall, Brown shot just 42.3 percent from the field, but made 6-of-19 three-point baskets and went 12-of-22 from the foul line.

This is the first road game of the season for the Wildcats, but Northwestern should have little trouble against a weak Brown squad. The Wildcats have played tremendous defense early on, and should continue that trend this evening, en route to their third win.

Predicted Outcome

Northwestern 71, Brown 58