This Week in Huskie Athletics Northern Illinois University will have seven teams in action. NIU men’s basketball opens their season on the road against Georgia Southern in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. NIU women’s basketball season opens at the Convocation Center at 11 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 4 against Louisiana on Education Day. NIU volleyball travels to take on Buffalo on Friday and Saturday. NIU women’s soccer will travel to regular season MAC champion Western Michigan to attempt to secure a spot in the MAC tournament on Thursday. NIU men’s soccer will host senior day on Friday night as the Huskies take on the Drake Bulldogs. NIU cross country will head to Muncie, Ind. to compete in the MAC Cross Country Championships.  NIU women’s tennis will host the Huskie invitational from Friday through Sunday. NIU will compete against players from Marquette, Lewis, St. Thomas and IU.

Men’s Basketball

Monday, Nov. 4: At Georgia Southern, 6 p.m. CT –  Watch | Live Stats

NIU men’s basketball opens the 2024-25 season on the road at Georgia Southern on Monday (Nov. 4) as part of the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge. Last season, the Huskies split their two games in the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge, beating Appalachian State at home, 91-78, in November before falling at South Alabama in February, 75-66. This will be the third consecutive season that NIU has played in the State of Georgia, the Huskies met Georgia Tech in Atlanta two seasons ago before winning at Georgia State last season.

Following Monday’s contest, NIU will return to DeKalb for its home opener on Thursday, Nov. 7, against Holy Cross College (Ind.).

Women’s Basketball

Monday, Nov. 4: vs Louisiana, 11 a.m. – Watch | Live Stats

NIU women’s basketball will begin its 2024 season early with Education Day against Louisiana in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge at 11 a.m. on Nov. 4. The Huskies bring in eight newcomers, which includes five transfers. Alecia Doyle a transfer from SEMO scored 10 points in the Huskies exhibition win over Benedictine on Sunday, Oct. 27. Preseason All-Mac player Brooke Stonebraker and the Huskies 23-24 leading scorer led the Huskies with 12 points in the 72-48 win.

Last season the Huskies went 1-1 in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. The Huskies opened the season with a defeat to Arkansas State in 2023. NIU then defeated Georgia Southern on Feb. 10 as the Huskies scored their second highest point total of the season in a 91-82 win.

Volleyball

Friday, Nov. 1: at Buffalo, 5 p.m. CT –   ESPN+ |  Live Stats

Saturday, Nov. 2: at Buffalo, 3 p.m. CT –   ESPN+ |  Live Stats

The Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball team heads to the State of New York to open the final month of the regular season. The Huskies are set to take on the Bulls of the University at Buffalo on Nov. 1 and 2 in a two-game series. The Huskies and Bulls will have first serve at 5 p.m. CT on Nov. 1

Charli Atiemo is 21 kills away from passing the 1,000-career kill mark as she sits with 979 career kills. Ella Strausberger is just 13 assists away from passing 500-career assists in her freshman season. Crew Hoffmeier leads the MAC in digs per set at 4.90 while Ava Grevengoed (aces), Strausberger (assists) and Atiemo (hitting percentage) are in the top-10 in the MAC.

Women’s Soccer

Thursday, Oct. 31: at Western Michigan, 2 p.m. CT –   Watch |  Live Stats

(If the Huskies Qualify) – Sunday, Oct. 3 : MAC Quarter final: vs TBD – Time TBD

The NIU women’s soccer team travels to take on Western Michigan at 2 p.m. CT on Thursday. The Huskies have gone five straight games without a defeat (3-0-2) to earn control of sixth place going into the final game of the regular season. The Huskies currently control sixth place via a goal differential tiebreak with Miami. NIU still has CMU and Toledo one point back while EMU is two points behind the Huskies as 10 of the MAC’s 12 teams could still earn a spot. If the Huskies advance, they will earn either the fifth or six seed and go on the road on Sunday to either the three seed or four seed in the MAC quarterfinal.

In the Huskies last match the Huskies forced a draw on senior day with Toledo after a late goal from Abby Zipse. Zipse has now scored in three straight matches for her first three career goals. She set the record for games played in program history in last Thursday’s win over Ball State.

Men’s Soccer

Friday, November 1: vs. Drake, 7 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats | Free Admission

The NIU men’s soccer team hosts Drake in its final home game of the season on Friday night. The Huskies are coming off a 1-0 victory at Belmont this past weekend as a goal from Grant Paskus in the 89th minute led the Huskies to the victory. With two games remaining in the regular season, NIU is three points behind UIC for the final spot in the conference tournament. Drake is currently second in the conference standings and brings an 8-3-3 overall record to DeKalb on Friday, including a 4-0-2 mark in league play.

Prior to Friday’s contest, NIU will honor its 2024 seniors.

Cross Country

Saturday, November 2: Mid-American Conference Championship (Muncie, Ind.), 10 a.m. CT

The Huskie cross country team travels to Muncie, Ind., on Saturday for the Mid-American Conference Cross Country Championship on the Ball State Cross Country Course. The six-kilometer women’s championship is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT.

Last time out, the Huskies finished eighth in the white race at the Bradley Pink Classic as Bailey Wilk led the way with a top 50 finish. Last season, NIU placed 11th at the MAC Championship, hosted by Bowling Green.

Women’s Tennis

Friday, November 1 – Sunday, November 3 Huskie Indoor Invitational (Nelson Tennis Center; at Chick Evans Field House)

The NIU women’s tennis team wraps up its fall tournament schedule at home this weekend as the Huskies will compete against players from Marquette, Lewis, St. Thomas and IU Indianapolis. Action gets underway at 9 a.m. each day. There will be two rounds of doubles and one round of singles on Friday and Saturday, with the final round of singles play on Sunday. Additional information, including brackets, live scoring and links to watch, will be available later this week on the women’s tennis schedule page of NIUHuskies.com along with a preview. Admission is free.