Northwestern needs a healthy Shurna

Posted December 29, 2010 10:00 pm

By Lindsey Willhite

Northwestern (9-1, 0-0) at Purdue (12-1, 1-0)

When: 11 a.m. Friday at Mackey Arena

TV: ESPN2

Radio: WGN 720-AM

The skinny: For the second year in a row, the Wildcats jump into Big Ten play with both feet. Northwestern starts league action against three ranked teams, including this opener with the 12th-ranked Boilers. Purdue is fueled by its usual ferocious man-to-man defense, which holds foes to a Big Ten-best 38.2 percent shooting. Considering the Wildcats shoot 40 percent on 3-pointers, something must give here. NU needs a relatively healthy John Shurna (sprained left ankle) and JerShon Cobb (back) in order to match the team's win at Mackey Arena in the previous visit two years ago. Purdue's JaJuan Johnson (20.0 ppg) and E'Twaun Moore (19.5 ppg) are the nation's No. 3 scoring duo while NU's suburban stars, Shurna of Glenbard West (23.3 ppg) and Drew Crawford of Naperville Central (15.5 ppg) rank No. 5.

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.