DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team has arrived in Florida and will open play in the 2017 Gulf Coast Showcase on Monday, Nov. 20, when the Huskies take on the University of Pennsylvania at 4 p.m. CT, at Germain Arena in Estero, Fla. 

The matchup with Penn will be the first of three games in three days as, on Tuesday, NIU will meet either Florida Atlantic or Towson. With a win on Monday, NIU would tip-off at 6:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, a loss Monday would see the Huskies take the floor at 12:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday. The other side of the bracket features UMKC, Manhattan, Georgia Southern and Missouri State. 

NIU takes a 2-0 record to the Sunshine State following home wins over Green Bay and St. Francis (Ill.) to begin the season. Junior Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) leads three Huskies averaging in double figures with 19.5 points per game; sophomore Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) is averaging 16.0 points per contest while junior Dante Thorpe (Washington, D.C./Triton College) adds 10.5 points per game. 

Penn brings a 2-2 record to the Gulf Coast Showcase, having opened the season with setbacks against Fairfield and La Salle before rebounding with victories over Navy and Penn State-Brandywine. Ryan Betley is averaging a team-high 14.0 points per game while Darnell Foreman is also scoring in double figures at 12.8 points per contest for the Quakers who finished fourth in the Ivy League a season ago. 

The Huskies are returning to the State of Florida for the second consecutive season after a 14-year absence from the Sunshine State. Last year, NIU won a pair of true road games in the state as it topped Florida International, 60-53, on Dec. 17, 2016 and won at South Florida, 59-48, on Dec. 20, 2016. 

NIU is the third team from the Mid-American Conference to participate in the Gulf Coast Showcase, which is entering its fifth year. Kent State went 1-2 in the event last season, finishing seventh, while Central Michigan went 0-3 during the 2015 tournament. 

All games in the Gulf Coast Showcase will live streamed on FloHoops.com. The NIU radio broadcast will be available on WLBK in DeKalb and NIUHuskies.com while live stats for the entire tournament can be found on Statbroadcast.com.