Feb. 10, 2012 
Live Stats l Game Notes in PDF 
Northern Illinois Huskies (3-19, 2-8 MAC) at Akron Zips (17-7, 9-1 MAC)
Date: Saturday February 11, 2012
Tipoff: 6:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. CT)
Location: James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio
Radio: WLBK 1360-AM in DeKalb and WSCR 670-AM in Chicago
Live Stats: GoZips.com
The Match-Up
Coming off a victory over Miami, Northern Illinois concludes crossover play against the MAC East Division on Saturday, Feb. 11, when the Huskies travel to meet MAC East-leading Akron. The Huskies and Zips are two of the top rebounding teams in the MAC, Akron is third in rebounding offense at 37.1 boards per game, NIU is fourth at 35.9. The Huskies have the third-best rebounding margin in the conference at +3.6 while the Zips are fourth with a +3.0 margin.
About Akron
The Zips enter Saturday’s contest 17-7 overall, 9-1 in MAC play. Akron is currently riding a six-game winning streak, second-longest in the MAC behind Buffalo’s seven. Zeke Marshall leads the Zips in scoring averaging 10.7 points per contest for an extremely balanced squad that features six players averaging over eight points per game. Akron is 10-1 at home this season under eighth-year head coach Keith Dambrot, with their lone loss coming to VCU, 76-75 in overtime.
Against the Zips
Northern Illinois trails Akron, 18-9, in the all-time series, but the Huskies have won three of the last four meetings. NIU upended Akron 83-74 last season in DeKalb behind 39 points from Xavier Silas. The Zips have an 11-2 advantage all-time in Akron, including a 90-76 victory in 2010, the last meeting at Rhodes Arena.
A Storm Brewing
Tyler Storm scored a career-best 17 points powering NIU to a comeback victory over Miami (Feb. 8). Storm was 7-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, en route to bettering his previous career-high of 13, set on Feb. 15, 2009 against Akron. Storm also grabbed a season-high six rebounds in the victory over the RedHawks and posted his first career multi-block game.
Making Second Chances Count
Against Miami (Feb. 8), the Huskies grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, converting those chances into 25 second chance points while allowing just 12 second chance points to the RedHawks. In NIU’s 21-8 run to earn the comeback win, nine of the 21 points were scored as the result of offensive rebounds.
Clutch Berg Seals Victory
Stian Berg recorded his second career double-figure scoring game in NIU’s win over Miami (Feb. 8). Berg scored 11 points, including NIU’s final four to clinch the win. The Baerum, Norway native finished a tough reverse layup with 40 seconds to break a tie and then sealed the win with a pair free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining.
Looking Ahead
The Huskies will return to action against MAC West Division foes on Wednesday, Feb. 15, when they host Western Michigan at the NIU Convocation Center. Game time against the Broncos is slated for 7 p.m.
