There is only one Big Ten game today with Northwestern set to face South Carolina in West Virginia early this evening.
South Carolina vs Northwestern Wildcats
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Time/TV: 5:00 PM ET CBSSN
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Greenbrier Tip-Off Mountain Division (West Virginia)
On CBS Sports Network the Wildcats will look to bounce back from a five point loss to Virginia earlier in the weekend. Northwestern enters at 4-1 and came close to knocking off Virginia on Friday. Their opponent is a 4-1 South Carolina that also lost on Friday, falling 72-79 to Butler. The Gamecocks won their first four games, including an overtime win against Southern Miss. South Carolina enters at 90 in the KenPom Ratings, a bit below Northwestern’s 46th ranking.
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The Wildcats offense has been big early in the year, shooting 51% from the field, 41% from three and committing just 8.4 turnovers per game. Nick Martinelli is leading the team with 18.2 points while forward Arrinten Page is adding 16.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Northwestern needs more from the backcourt, with Jayden Reid’s 14.6 points per game being the only major contribution. Past Reid the team’s second highest scoring guard is Justin Mullins, averaging less than six points per game.
South Carolina is much more guard oriented, with their five leading scorers all playing in the backcourt. It’ll create an interesting matchup of a frontcourt oriented Northwestern offense going up against a backcourt heavy Gamecocks squad. South Carolina is shooting a bit worse from the field at 46% and 34% from three.
If Northwestern continues to limit turnovers and control the game inside they should be able to get past South Carolina today. They need more from their backcourt but the Gamecocks haven’t been as efficient offensively and will likely have to tweak their rotations to better match with the Wildcats. Look for Northwestern to pick up a much needed non-conference win today.
Pick: Northwestern
