Radford @ Northwestern preview

A young team can also be an enigmatic one, and that's exactly what Northwestern has shown going into its home game against Radford on Tuesday. The Wildcats split their first two games and looked completely different each time out.

Northwestern redeemed itself after a puzzling opening loss to first-year Division I Merrimack with a win at home over Providence on Wednesday that was part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games matching Big East and Big Ten programs. The Wildcats surprised the Friars with a zone defense to start the game and built an insurmountable 20-point lead while getting 16 points from redshirt freshman center Ryan Young. Radford began a string of four consecutive road games with a 76-73 loss to Georgia Southern on Friday. The Highlanders' win came against NCAA Division III Bridgewater College.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT RADFORD (1-2): Carlik Jones, a 6-foot-1 junior guard, is the Highlanders' best player, averaging 23 points, 4.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds in three games. The Big South Preseason Player of the Year shoots 53.1 percent from the floor and 50 percent on 3-pointers. Radford's strengths in the early going rest with its defense (60.7 points per game) and rebounding (41 per game, plus-11 margin).

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (1-1): Sophomore forward Pete Nance is among four players with a scoring average in double figures at 14 and also leads the team in rebounding with 20 in two contests. Junior guard Anthony Gaines, one of the Wildcats' most experienced players, stood out against Providence with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Ball-handling proved to be an issue against Providence that was reflected in Northwestern's 20 turnovers, with Nance and Miller Kopp (11.5 points, six rebounds per game) responsible for four apiece.

TIP-INS

1. The Wildcats have taken half as many 3-point shots (64-32) and made eight fewer (17-9) than their first two opponents and also average 16.5 turnovers to opponents' 10.5.

2. Northwestern graduate transfer Pat Spencer, a four-time All-American lacrosse player at Loyola (Md.) who finished his career as the NCAA Division I leader in assists and second in points, has scored in double figures in each of his first two college basketball games.

3. Jones needs 20 points to become the 32nd player in Radford history to score 1,000.

PREDICTION: Northwestern 74, Radford 59