This week in Huskie Athletics NIU has four teams in action. Men’s basketball hosts Akron in their MAC opener on Tuesday, January 2 and women’s basketball hosts MAC foe Eastern Michigan on Wednesday. Men’s basketball will travel to take on Ohio on Saturday while women’s basketball will stay home and take on Miami. Wrestling will compete on the road against Rider on Friday, January 5. To round out the week NIU Gymnastics will open up their 2024 season with a quad-meet in Columbia, MO. The Huskies will take on Missouri, Lindenwood and Southeast Missouri State at the meet.

Men’s Basketball

Tuesday, January 2: vs. Akron, 7 p.m. –   ESPN+ | Listen | Live Stats

Saturday, January 6: at Ohio, 1 p.m. –   ESPN+ | Listen | Live Stats

The Huskie men’s basketball team begins conference play this week as the Huskies host Akron on Tuesday night before traveling to Ohio on Saturday. NIU, who has played the toughest strength of schedule in the Mid-American Conference according to KenPom and the NCAA Net Rankings, closed non-conference play with a setback at Iowa. David Coit scored 23 points against the Hawkeyes, going 6-of-7 from three-point range. Yanic Konan Niederhauser had four blocks against Iowa and is currently 25th in the country averaging 2.17 blocks per game.

Akron comes into conference play with an 8-4 overall record while Ohio begins the league slate at 6-6 and will face Toledo to open MAC play on Tuesday.

Women’s Basketball

Wednesday, January 3: vs. Eastern Michigan, 6 p.m. –  ESPN+ | Listen | Live Stats

Saturday, January 6: vs. Miami, 1 p.m. –   ESPN+ |  Listen |  Live Stats

The Northern Illinois University women’s basketball opens Mid-American Conference play this week with two games at home. On Wednesday at 6 p.m. the Huskies will take on EMU before hosting Miami at 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 6.

Last time out the Huskies had their second largest margin of victory ever at 66 points as they took down Concordia 98-32. The game also marked the fewest points the Huskies have allowed since becoming an NCAA member in 1982. In the matchup on Dec. 30 the Huskies were led by Brooke Blumenfeld who scored a career-high 21 points. Brooke Stonebraker also added 15 points and seven rebounds in the game.

Wrestling

NIU Wrestling

Friday, Jan. 5: vs. Rider, 6 p.m. – Lawrenceville, NJ | ESPN+

The Northern Illinois University Huskies wrestling program takes their 7-1 record on the road as they travel to Rider University for a Mid-American Conference dual. The Huskies were last in action on Dec. 29-30 as they competed at the 59th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, where the Huskies were led by Blake West’s sixth place finish at 125 pounds.

The Huskies were last in dual action on Dec. 19 as they started MAC action with a 37-6 victory over Kent State. The Huskies fought in a nail-biter against (RV) Northwestern, edging out the Wildcats, 18-17. The Huskies concluded their day with a shutout victory over Harper College, 56-0, marking Coach Ludwig’s 100th career win as the Huskie head coach.

Gymnastics

Saturday, January 6: vs. Missouri, Lindenwood and Southeast Missouri State, 7 p.m. – Video $

The Northern Illinois University women’s gymnastics team will open up their 2024 season with a quad meet hosted by Missouri University. The Huskies are returning two NCAA Regional Finalists from 2023 Alyssa Al-Ashari and Emmalise Nock.

In the Huskies annual Red-Black meet exhibition on Friday, Nov. 17 Al-Ashari recorded the teams highest scores on the Bars and Beam. Nock and Alana Anderson recorded a 9.9 on the floor while the team had three 9.9 scores on the vault. The 9.9 scores were by freshman Dawsyn Sallee, junior Isabella Sissi and sophomore Kiera O’Shea.

The Huskies finished the 2023 season 8-5 and sent three individuals to the NCAA Regionals.