Hartford @ Northwestern preview

Boo Buie will be in search of his third straight 20-point game when Northwestern closes non-conference play Sunday against visiting Hartford. The freshman is the third player in the last nine years with back-to-back 25-point outings for the Wildcats, who need a win over the Hawks to stem the tide of a two-game losing streak with Big Ten play on the horizon.

Buie didn't look like a freshman phenom in November - quite the opposite in fact - but as his playing time has increased so has his confidence and production. "I would say my confidence is high. I don't know what the rate is, it's just really high," the native of Hiram, Ga., told the media. "I believe when I step on the court I am going to be one of the best players and I am going to do everything I can to help my team win." The 6-2 guard's excellent play of late hasn't led to many victories for the Wildcats, who are 1-3 in the games he has scored in double figures and have dropped the last two games despite him scoring 51 total points. Malik Ellison, a transfer from Pittsburgh and the son of Pervis Ellison - the Most Outstanding Player of the 1986 NCAA Tournament for champion Louisville, has played three games for the Hawks, but the senior has scored 18 points in one of them and recorded a pair of double-doubles in the other two contests - both victories for a team that had dropped five straight games, including three by double figures.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT HARTFORD (6-7): Traci Carter scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time this season as he had a season-high 21 points to help the Hawks rally to an 80-76 victory Dec. 22 over Cornell. The senior from Philadelphia is known more for his ability to get steals as he averages 2.1 per game, the most in the America East Conference. Carter has eight steals in the last two games, but will be hard pressed to maintain that pace against Northwestern, which has the fewest turnovers in the Big Ten with 131 in 11 games.

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (5-6): Redshirt freshman Ryan Young will try to buck a trend that has seen him follow good games with less than stellar performances. The 6-10 center, who is the only player from a Power Five conference team to put up at least 25 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in a game this season, is averaging 16 points and 8.8 rebounds in his good games, but just four points and five rebounds in his bad games. All told, the Stewartsville, N.J., native is one of three rookies in the Big Ten to average more than 10 points and seven rebounds.

TIP-INS

1. Miller Kopp and Pete Nance make better than 87 percent of their free throws as the the Wildcats were ranked 36th in Division I in free throw percentage (75.8).

2. Young leads Northwestern and is in the top 25 nationally in field goal percentage (61.2).

3. Buie is the first Northwestern rookie to have three 20-point games in a season since Dave Sobolewski in 2012.

PREDICTION: Northwestern 80, Hartford 72