Feb. 17, 2012 
Live Stats l Game Notes in PDF 
Northern Illinois Huskies (3-21, 2-10 MAC) at SIU Edwardsville Cougars (7-16, 5-9 OVC)
Date: Saturday February 18, 2012
Tipoff: 1 p.m.
Location: Vadalabene Center • Edwardsville, Ill.
Radio: WLBK 1360-AM in DeKalb and WJOL 1340-AM in Joliet
Live Stats: SIUECougars.com
The Match-Up
Northern Illinois steps out of conference play for the final time during the 2011-12 season on Saturday when it travels to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for its annual Sears BracketBusters contest. The meeting with the Cougars will mark the sixth game of the season for NIU against an in-state foe and it’s second against a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (Eastern Illinois).
About SIU Edwardsville
The Cougars have a 7-16 overall record, 5-9 in Ohio Valley Conference play. Mark Yelovich leads SIUE with 14.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest. Jerome Jones (13.5) and Kris Davis (12.0) also score in double figures for the Cougars who are led by fifth-year head coach Lennox Forrester. SIUE is the second-best three-point shooting team in the OVC connecting on 39.6 percent of its three-point attempts.
Against the Cougars
NIU won the lone meeting between the two schools, 90-69, on Dec. 9, 1985 in DeKalb. SIUE is currently in its fourth season as a member of NCAA Division I and is playing its first full conference schedule in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cougars will be eligible for postseason competition beginning next season.
BracketBuster History
The Huskies are playing in their eighth all-time game in the Sears BracketBusters series. NIU is currently 1-6 in the BracketBuster, with its lone win coming on Feb. 21, 2009 at Southeast Missouri State, 97-73. NIU is playing its sixth road game in eight appearances and the Huskies are playing a member of the Ohio Valley Conference for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
Nixon Finds the Mark
Tony Nixon scored a season-high 12 points in 18 minutes against Western Michigan (Feb. 15), on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. Nixon’s dozen points against the Broncos were the most he has scored since netting 12 at Akron during his freshman season (Feb. 3, 2010). Nixon’s only game with more points was a 16-point effort against Tennessee State on Nov. 20, 2009.
Closing in on a Century
Tyler Storm is poised to appear in his 100th career game as a Huskie the next time he takes the floor. Tony Nixon is the second-most experienced Huskie with 76 career games played, no other player on NIU’s youthful roster has played in more than 50 career games.
Kids on the Floor
With a roster featuring seven freshmen, youth will definitely be served for the 2011-12 Huskies. To date, 56.4 percent of the minutes played in the NIU lineup have been played by first year players; no other team in the MAC has had more than 22 percent of its minutes played by freshmen. Nationally, NIU is sixth in minutes played by freshmen; St. John’s leads the way with 72.5 percent of its minutes played by rookies.
Looking Ahead
NIU will return to conference play and continue its three-game road trip on Wednesday, Feb. 22, when the Huskies travel to Eastern Michigan. Game time against the Eagle is set for 6 p.m. CT.
