NIU (8-5, 0-0 MAC) at Miami (7-6, 0-0 MAC)
Date / Time: Tuesday, January 3, 2017 • 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET)
Site: Millett Hall • Oxford, Ohio
TV: ESPN3
Radio: WLBK 1360-AM, 98.9-FM (DeKalb) • WYLL 1160-AM (Chicago) • TuneIn
Live Stats: MiamiRedHawks.com 
All-time Series: Miami leads 27-16
Last Meeting: Jan. 30, 2016 • Miami 72-59

Huskie Quick Hits
• NIU enters league play with eight non-conference wins, its second-highest total since 1994-95.
• NIU head coach Mark Montgomery has a 4-2 all-time record against the RedHawks, including 2-1 in Oxford. The Huskies have won just three times in school history at Miami.
• Aaric Armstead currently has 120 career steals, tied for eighth all-time in school history with Mike Lipnisky (1990-95). 
• NIU ranks in the top-50 nationally in turnovers forced (29th, 16.4 per game) and turnover margin (39th, +3.4). 
• Marin Maric is currently averaging 13.5 points per game, 18th in the MAC. He is shooting 54.9 percent (67-of-122) from the field to rank sixth in the conference. 
• Over his last six games, Dontel Highsmith is shooting 53.5 percent (23-of-43) from the field, averaging 10.3 points per game. Highsmith has never appeared in a conference game during his college career. 
• In NIU's last seven games, freshmen point guard Justin Thomas and Eugene German have combined to average 13.6 points per game, shooting 54.4 percent (37-of-68) from the field. 
• The Huskies are the third-least experienced team in the MAC according to KenPom (1.40 years of experience per minute played). That mark is 279th in the country. Western Michigan is 312th at 1.23 and Miami is 332nd at 1.06. 

About Miami
• The RedHawks enter the league opener with a 7-6 overall record and are coming off back-to-back wins over Tennessee Tech (Dec. 22) and Olivet College (Dec. 29). Miami is 7-2 at home this season. 
• Three players are scoring in double figures for Miami, led by Michael Weathers at 19.2 points per contest, third-best in the MAC. Jake Wright (10.2 ppg) and Logan McLane (10.0) are also scoring in double figures for the RedHawks. 
• Miami leads the MAC in field goal percentage defense, holding its opponents to 40.3 percent shooting; the RedHawks also lead the conference with 4.8 blocked shots per contest. 
• John Cooper is in his fifth season as head coach at Miami, Cooper joined the RedHawks following three seasons as head coach at Tennessee State. 

All-time Series with the RedHawks
• Miami leads the all-time series against NIU, 27-16, including a 20-3 advantage against the Huskies in Oxford. The RedHawks won the lone meeting last season, 72-59, in Oxford (Jan. 30, 2016).
• Giovonie McKnight scored a team-high 18 points to lead the RedHawks in last season's contest. Miami shot 46 percent from the field, including 47.6 percent from three-point range.
• Marshawn Wilson scored 24 points to lead NIU a season ago, Aaric Armstead added 19 but no other Huskie scored more than six points. 
• NIU head coach Mark Montgomery has a 4-2 all-time record against the RedHawks, including 2-1 in Oxford. Montgomery's first win at Miami (Jan. 9, 2013) was just NIU's second all-time on the road against the RedHawks and its first since Feb. 21, 1981, snapping a 13-game losing streak.

Odds and Ends from the Non-Conference
• NIU enters league play with eight non-conference wins, its second-highest total since 1994-95 when the Huskies recorded 10. Last year the Huskies posted 11 non-conference victories, the most since winning 17 as an independent in 1989-90. 
• The Huskies lead the league in three-point field goal defense, holding opponents to just 30.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc. That mark ranks 56th nationally. 
• NIU also ranks in the top-50 nationally in turnovers forced (29th, 16.4 per game) and turnover margin (39th, +3.4). Those positive turnover margins have led the Huskies to a +5.9 edge in points off turnovers per game (17.8-11.9). 
• On the road, the Huskies are holding their opponents to just 25.6 percent (78-of-113) shooting from three-point range. 
• NIU has been better offensively in the second half of games this season. The Huskies are averaging 39.0 points per game in the second half, compared to 32.8 points per game in the first half. NIU is shooting 47.2 percent in the second half (36.7 percent from three) compared to 41.9 percent in the first half (27 percent from three).