NIU (14-13, 6-8 MAC) at Central Michigan (16-11, 6-8 MAC)
Date / Time: Tuesday, February 21, 2017 • 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) 
Site: McGuirk Arena • Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
TV: ESPN3
Radio: WLBK 1360-AM, 98.9-FM (DeKalb) • TuneIn
Live Stats: CMUChippewas.com 
All-time Series: NIU leads 54-49
Last Meeting: Jan. 7, 2017 • NIU 87-83

Huskie Quick Hits
• NIU has played in five overtime games this season, tied for the the most in school history; NIU also played five overtime games during the 1981-82 season.
• Aaric Armstead ranks 17th in NIU history in scoring (1,170 points), third in steals (149) and 10th in blocked shots (56). Armstead is also one of just six active players in the country with 1,000 career points, 600 career rebounds and 140 career steals. 
• Eugene German has scored in double figures in each of the last three games, averaging 22.3 points per game during that stretch, shooting 59.5 percent (25-of-42) from the field, including 40 percent (2-of-5) from three and 75 percent (15-of-20) from the free-throw line. 
• One of the elite big men in the MAC, Maric is one of just four players to rank in the top-20 in the league in scoring as well as the top-10 in rebounding and field goal percentage. Maric is currently averaging 13.6 points per game, 18th in the MAC. He is shooting 52.7 percent (137-of-260) from the field, ninth-best in the conference. 
• Austin Pauga shot just 23.1 percent (9-of-39) from beyond the arc in his first 18 games of the season but is shooting 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from three-point range over his last seven games.
• NIU head coach Mark Montgomery was an assistant at Central Michigan for four seasons from 1997-2001 and NIU associate head coach Jon Borovich played for the Chippewas during the same four-year period. Montgomery and Borovich helped CMU win the MAC regular season title during the 2000-01 season. 
• NIU has 64 wins over the last four seasons going back to the beginning of the 2013-14 campaign, tied for the second-best four-year stretch in program history. 

About Central Michigan
• The Chippewas enter Tuesday's contest with a 16-11 overall record, 6-8 in Mid-American Conference play after dropping a 109-100 decision on Saturday (Feb. 18) at home against Ball State.
• Marcus Keene and Braylon Rayson lead the way offensively for Central Michigan; Keene average's a national-best 30.2 points per game while Rayson averages 21.1 points per contest. 
• Central Michigan leads the MAC in scoring, averaging 89.9 points per game, despite ranking 11th in the league in field goal percentage at 42.8 percent.
• NIU head coach Mark Montgomery was an assistant at Central Michigan for four seasons from 1997-2001 and NIU associate head coach Jon Borovich played for the Chippewas during the same four-year period. Montgomery and Borovich helped CMU win the MAC regular season title during the 2000-01 season. 

All-time Series with the Chippewas
• NIU leads the all-time series with Central Michigan, 54-49, but the Chippewas hold a 34-15 advantage all-time in Mt. Pleasant.
• The home team has won the last seven meetings in the series, including an 87-83 victory earlier this season by the Huskies in DeKalb (Jan. 7, 2017). The last road win in the series came on March 2, 2013, when Central Michigan won, 69-50, in DeKalb. 
• NIU's last road win in the series also came in 2013, as the Huskies earned a 74-61 victory in Mt. Pleasant (Jan. 23, 2013). That win was NIU's first at Central Michigan since 2006, snapping a six-game losing streak.
• Marin Maric has scored in double figures in each of his last three games against the Chippewas, including a 17-point effort earlier this season. Maric is averaging 13.0 points per game over the last three contests against CMU.