Northwestern Strives to Find 3-Point Touch vs. Butler – Field Level Media – Professional Sports Content Solutions

There are no top-10 squads at the Arizona Tip-Off, but it’s the perfect place for Northwestern or Butler to pick up a pair of wins that will matter when the NCAA Tournament committee does its job.

The Wildcats (5-1) and Bulldogs (4-1) open the three-day event Thursday afternoon in Tempe. The winner will earn their most significant victory so far this season and have a chance to secure another win against No. 25 Mississippi State (5-0) or UNLV (4-1) on Friday.

Three of Northwestern’s key players are still coming into the season feeling comfortable after returning from injuries. Preseason All-Big Ten selection Brooks Barnhizer has played in just two games after an offseason foot injury, while Ty Berry (knee) and Matthew Nicholson (foot) missed the entire offseason.

“It’s not a work of art right now — and I knew that going into the year,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. “You have three starters who missed all summer and all fall. We learn and put our team together spontaneously.”

Even though midrange champ Nick Martinelli has been hitting the ground running – his 23.8 points per game entering Thursday ranks fourth nationally – the Wildcats are still searching for their 3-point touch . Last season they ranked seventh in the country at 39.0 percent, but this year they are only at 31.7 percent. That includes a 2-of-11 performance against Pepperdine in their last game.

“We have to go to the gym and trust our work,” Collins said. “I tell the guys, ‘Just throw yourself into the competition.’ And we have enough good shooters. We have guys that I really believe in and will do well.”

Northwestern’s weakness is Butler’s strength. Entering Thursday, the Bulldogs ranked 12th nationally in 3-point shooting accuracy (41.1 percent) and eighth in 3-point defense (24.3 percent).

Butler made 8 of 20 three-pointers in a 78-39 home win over Merrimack on Friday. The Bulldogs outscored the Warriors 41-8 in the second half after only holding a six-point lead at halftime.

“I think the attention to detail and what we want to prepare them for, they’ve done a really good job of that,” Butler coach Thad Matta said. “It just has to be every possession for us. … We better take care of the basketball.”

Northwestern will look to stop Pierre Brooks (16.6 ppg) and Patrick McCaffery (14.4 ppg) from making 3-point shots as they combined to hit 28 of 56 from long range.

–Field level media