The Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team will welcome Central Michigan to the NIU Convocation Center on Tuesday night, March 5, for the final home game of the 2023-24 season. Tipoff against the Chippewas is set for 7 p.m. and the contest will be available on ESPN+, along with 94-9 WDKB in DeKalb, the NIU Huskies app and the Varsity Network app.
The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a free lanyard, courtesy of the NIU College of Business. General admission tickets for children 15 and under are just $2, available only at the NIU Convocation Center Box Office on gameday.
NIU returns home after a pair of road games last week at Toledo and Akron. The Huskies toppled the Rockets last Tuesday (Feb. 27), 75-72, before falling to the first-place Zips on Saturday (March 2), 80-73. David Coit (Columbus, N.J./Atlantic Cape CC) averaged 31.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game for the week, earning Mid-American Conference Player of the Week honors.
Coit also reached the 1,000-career point mark with his career-high 35 points at Akron. He becomes the 33rd player to program history to score 1,000 career points, and just the fourth to do so in two seasons, joining Kenny Battle, Jim Bradley and Xavier Silas.
The Chippewas come to DeKalb with a 16-13 overall record and a 10-6 mark in conference play. Central Michigan is currently fourth in the MAC and is coming off a 79-73 overtime setback at Kent State. Four players score in double figures for Central Michigan, led by Anthony Pritchard at 13.6 points per game. Brian Taylor adds 11.3 points per contest while Derrick Butler and Markus Harding are both scoring 10.1 points per game.
Central Michigan won the first meeting of the year, 84-77, in double overtime in Mount Pleasant (Jan. 30). Paul McMillan IV scored 21 points off the bench to lead CMU, Taylor had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Xavier Amos (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) had 25 points to pace NIU, Zarique Nutter (Newark, N.J./Clarendon College) added 23 points.
Following Tuesday’s contest, NIU will head back on the road for the final game of the season as the Huskies travel to Buffalo on Friday, March 8.