DEKALB, Ill. – After more than a week off for finals, the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team will begin a busy week of three games in six days on Monday, December 17, as the Huskies host Western Illinois at the NIU Convocation Center. Tipoff against the Leathernecks is scheduled for 8 p.m. 

Monday's contest is the second game of a doubleheader with the NIU women's basketball team hosting Eastern Illinois at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available from the NIU Convocation Center Box Office, by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) or by visiting NIUHuskies.com/tickets. 

NIU (5-4) comes into Monday's contest with one of the top offenses in the nation as the Huskies rank fifth in the country in field goal percentage at 51.8 percent, trailing just Georgia Southern, Abilene Christian, Gonzaga and South Dakota State. The Huskies have nine different players who have made at least 10 field goals this season and seven of those players are shooting better than 50 percent from the field. 

Junior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) ranks 28th nationally, and leads the Mid-American Conference, in scoring at 21.6 points per game. German also ranks in the top-15 in the MAC in seven other statistical categories: three-point field goals per game (2nd), minutes per game (4th), three-point percentage (11th), steals per game (13th), assists per game (14th), field goal percentage (15th) and assist/turnover ratio (15th).

Senior Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) is NIU's second-leading scorer at 17.3 points per game. Bradley enters Monday's game with 1,130 career points and is just four points away from Jim Bradley (1971-73) for a spot in the top-20 all-time in scoring at NIU. 

Western Illinois comes to DeKalb with a 4-7 overall record after falling at IUPUI, 82-68, on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 15), the Leathernecks have dropped three-straight since a 70-63 victory at Southeast Missouri State (Dec. 1). Three players score in double figures for Western Illinois, led by 17.6 points per game from Kobe Webster. Isaac Johnson adds 13.5 points per game and C.J. Duff chips in 10.6 points per contest.

Monday's contest will be the first between the two in-state rivals since 2008 when NIU a 65-54 decision in Kennesaw, Ga., at the 100 Club Classic (Nov. 15, 2008), hosted by Kennesaw State. Prior to the 2008 meeting, NIU and Western Illinois had not met since 1994 when they were conference foes in the Mid-Continent Conference; the Leathernecks lead the all-time series, 50-38. 

Following Monday's home game, the Huskies will travel to Northern Kentucky on Thursday, December 20, for a rematch of this season's double overtime November meeting in DeKalb. Game time on Thursday against the Norse is slated for 6 p.m. CT.