Northwestern men's basketball begins its 2022-23 campaign at 7 p.m. CT on Monday, Nov. 7, the earliest season-opener in program history, by hosting Chicago State inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. The game will air on B1G+ with Perri Kitei (play-by-play) and Tre Demps (analyst) on the call, while Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Billy McKinney (analyst) will describe the action on AM 720 WGN.
The Wildcats return 59-percent of their player minutes from last season - which ranks third in the Big Ten - from last season's team that finished 15-16 (7-13 B1G). Four of five starters come back, led by senior guard Boo Buie who's 14.1 points per game rank fifth among Big Ten retuning scorers for 2022-23. Overall, NU brings back 56-percent of its scoring from a season ago.
Redshirt senior guard Chase Audige ranked third on the team last year averaging 9.8 points per game over 24 games played. He missed the first seven games of the season due to a hip injury. Audige's 1.8 steals per game (42 total) ranked second in the conference, and he became the first Northwestern player to average 1.8 steals per game since Jeff Ryan (2009-10).
Forward Robbie Beran rounds out the team's core of three seniors. The durable wing has not missed a game in three seasons, appearing in 86 contests. Beran ranked second on the team last season pulling down 4.3 boards per game, blocking 23 shots and recording the second-highest 3-point percentage in Big Ten action (37.9-percent).
Audige posted game-highs of 15 points and seven assists in the Wildcats 69-49 exhibition win over Quincy on Nov. 2. Buie (12), Tydus Verhoeven (11), Brooks Barnhizer (11) and Beran (10) joined Audige in double figures as nine different Wildcats entered the scoring column.
Head coach Chris Collins embarks on his tenth season leading the program, and has recorded the third-most wins in program history (133).
Northwestern has won 13 of its last 14 season openers and is 8-1 in that span under Collins. NU is beginning its season at home for the 12th straight year. Meeting for the second time in the last three seasons, the 'Cats are 14-0 all-time against Chicago State, winning 111-66 on Nov. 5, 2020. Audige scored a game-high 20 points as the Wildcats recorded their first 100+ point game since 2015.
The Wildcats conclude their two-game homestand to open the season at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11 against Northern Illinois.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Northwestern Athletics
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