BOUNCE BACK OPPORTUNITY: The Seattle University Redhawks look to get back on the right track Wednesday night when Northern Illinois comes to town. The Huskies are gaining national recognition for the Orange Bowl appearance by their football team, but the basketball squad has struggled early on in the 2012-13 season. Seattle U is also trying to find its footing as conference play approaches.
WHERE TO FIND THE GAME: 770 AM KTTH The Truth will broadcast the game live, with Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. courtside starting with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. Live stats and live video will also be available on GoSeattleU.com.
THE JACKSON STATE GAME: The Jackson State Tigers received timely shooting, plus the turnover bug hurt the Seattle University Redhawks, as Jackson State held on for a 91-82 victory over Seattle U Monday night at KeyArena. Sterling Carter came off the bench in the second half and provided a spark to the Redhawks, hitting six three-pointers on his way to a team-high 20 points. Luiz Bidart contributed 11 points off the bench, while Chad Rasmussen also scored 11 points and Deshaun Sunderhaus pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds. Seattle U shot only 38.9 percent (28-of-72) from the field, including 11-of-28 from behind the three-point line, and 60.0 percent (15-of-25) from the free throw line. The Redhawks committed 28 turnovers, leading to 37 Jackson State points, offsetting a 58-41 rebounding advantage that included 24 offensive boards.
NCAA STATISTICS: Seattle U is 12th in Division I in steals per game (10.25). The Redhawks are also eighth in the country in rebounds per game (43.5).
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS: The Huskies enter Wednesday's game with a 2-7 overall record after losing to DePaul in Chicago last Sunday, 69-64. Northern Illinois is 0-5 on the road so far this season. The Huskies are scoring 57.7 points per game and giving up 63.8 points per contest. As a team, Northern Illinois is shooting 38.9 percent from the field, including 27.0 percent from behind the three-point line, and 63.2 percent from the free throw line. After missing the first seven games due to a team suspension, Abdel Nader is averaging 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. Akeem Springs is contributing 11.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, followed by Aksel Bolin with 7.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
PREVIOUS MEETING: Seattle University found out three weeks beforehand that it would travel to DeKalb, Ill., to face Northern Illinois Feb. 19, 2011, as part of the ESPN BracketBuster series of games. Seattle University stifled the Northern Illinois offense in the first half, forcing missed shots and turnovers, on its way to a 60-48 victory at the NIU Convocation Center. Cervante Burrell led Seattle U with 17 points, plus he pulled down seven rebounds, dished out three assists, and earned two steals. Aaron Broussard finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, and three steals, while Alex Jones contributed 12 points and eight rebounds. Michael Patton shot 7-of-9 from the field to lead the Huskies with 15 points, while Antone Christian contributed 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Xavier Silas, fifth in the country in scoring by averaging 23.5 points per game coming into the contest, was held to six points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field thanks in large part to the defense of Garrett Lever.
WAC STATISTICS: Deshaun Sunderhaus is fifth in the conference in rebounding with 7.6 boards per game, while Clarence Trent is 12th with 6.3 rebounds per game. Prince Obasi is fourth in the conference in assists with 3.75 assists per game, followed by D'Vonne Pickett Jr. in a tie for 14th place with 2.50 assists per game. Sterling Carter is ninth in the WAC in three-point field goal percentage at .410, with Chad Rasmussen in 12th place at .386. Carter is also fifth in the WAC in made three-pointers per game (2.29), followed by Rasmussen in sixth place (2.13). Carter is tied for fifth in steals with 1.86 steals per game, while Rasmussen and Pickett are tied for 12th place with 1.50 steals per game. As a team, the Redhawks are first in the league in steals with 10.25 steals per game and in rebounding offense with 43.5 rebounds per game.