Game Recap: Northwestern Dominate Fairleigh Dickinson, Start Season 4-0
The Wildcats remain undefeated after putting together their most complete effort of the season, beating Fairleigh Dickinson 82-46 in Welsh Ryan Arena.
First Half
After allowing the first bucket of the game, Northwestern went on an 11-0 run to take control of the game early. A big part of that run was the Wildcats' ability to turn the Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU) over. During that stretch they forced three turnovers and the Knights ended the first half with 12.
Their defense was sharp throughout the first half, forcing FDU to take difficult shots on almost every possession. The Knights ended the half shooting 29% from the field and 18% from deep.
Northwestern's offense was also running like a well-oiled machine. The ball was popping around quickly for the Wildcats, and they finished the first half with 12 assists on their 15 field goals.
Junior big man Ryan Young led the way for Northwestern's offense in the first half with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting. The team as a whole shot 48% from the field and 44% from three.
Second Half
The Wildcats continued their defensive effort in the second half, forcing 8 more turnover in the final 20 minutes. They finished the game with a total of 20 forced turnovers. They also only allowed FDU to shoot 30% from the field in the second half.
Although the defense did a great job of forcing turnovers Northwestern turned it over a fair amount themselves. They ended the game with 18 turnovers themselves, only two fewer times than the Knights.
Some of those turnovers were bound to happen with the way they were passing the ball. They had 21 assists on 29 made field goals.
The Northwestern offense continued to impress in the closing half. The Wildcats shot 58% from the field and 54% from three in the second half.
Northwestern had four players score in double figures, including junior guard Boo Buie, senior forward Pete Nance, junior forward Robbie Beran and Young. Young led them in scoring tonight with 20 points, followed by Nance who finished with 19 and Buie who ended the night with 11.
The Wildcats will travel to Newark, New Jersey where they will participate in the Legends Classic and match up against Providence on Monday at 8:30 p.m. C.T.
Jonathan Fernandez is a reporter and writer for Wildcats Daily Sports Illustrated's FanNation Network. Fernandez is also pursuing his master's degree in sports media at Northwestern Medill.