The Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team heads to Mount Pleasant on Tuesday, Jan. 29, to take on Central Michigan in the first of two meetings with the Chippewas this season. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN+ as well as 94-9 WDKB in DeKalb, the NIU Huskies app and the Varsity Network app.

Tuesday’s contest is the second consecutive road game for the Huskies, who fell at Ball State, 81-71, on Saturday (Jan. 27). A late 14-2 run brought the Huskies to within six against the Cardinals with less than two minutes to play, but Ball State held off the late NIU charge.

NIU committed a season-low six turnovers against the Cardinals. NIU’s previous low was eight, against DePaul (Nov. 25) and Indiana State (Dec. 5).

The Huskies currently rank 18th nationally in blocks per game (5.2). Yanic Konan Niederhauser (Fraschels, Switzerland/Ursping) leads the MAC with 2.13 blocks per game, which is 25th in the country.

David Coit (Columbus, N.J./Atlantic Cape CC) ranks 30th nationally in scoring (19.8 points per game), 17th in three-point field goals per game (3.16) and 41st in free throw percentage (87.7 percent). He is the only Huskie to have scored in double figures in all 19 games this season, which includes 10 games of 20-plus points.

Over the last six games, Xavier Amos (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) is averaging 17.7 points per game, shooting 56.8 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from three.

Central Michigan brings an 11-9 overall record into Tuesday’s contest, and a 6-2 mark in conference play. The Chippewas have won three consecutive games, including a 62-55 win at Western Michigan last time out (Jan. 27). Three players are scoring in double figures for Central Michigan, led by 14.5 points per contest from Anthony Pritchard. Brian Taylor adds 12.2 points, and 7.3 rebounds, per game while Markus Harding is scoring 10.1 points per game.

NIU has won four of the last five overall in the series against Central Michigan, including a season sweep a year ago. The Huskies have also earned victories in three of their last four trips to Mount Pleasant.

The Huskies return home on Saturday, Feb. 3, when they host Eastern Michigan at 3 p.m. Tickets for Saturday’s contest, including the 2024 Pack which features four tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas and four chips for just $40, are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets. The 2024 Pack is available by using the promo code 2024PACK.