DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team will play its final Pre-Christmas contest on Saturday, December 22, as the Huskies host Chicago State. Tipoff against the Cougars is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN+.

Tickets are available for Saturday afternoon's game from the NIU Convocation Center Box Office, by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) or by visiting NIUHuskies.com/tickets.

NIU (6-5) returns home following a three-point setback at Northern Kentucky on Thursday night (Dec. 20), its fourth loss this season by four points or less. 

The Huskies continue to be among the nation's leaders in field goal percentage, shooting 52.0 percent to rank second behind only Gonzaga (52.2 percent). Three players are in the top 15 in the Mid-American Conference in field goal percentage with senior Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) leading the way in fifth at 58.6 percent. 

Senior Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) ranks seventh in the MAC shooting 57.9 percent, Bradley is currently tied with Donald Whiteside (1987-91) for 18th on NIU's all-time scoring list with 1,155 points. 

Junior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) is currently 22nd in scoring at NIU with 1,127 career points. German netted a team-high 18 points on Thursday at Northern Kentucky and leads the MAC in scoring, and ranks 30th nationally, at 21.0 points per game; the Gary, Ind., native has reached double figures in 43 consecutive games. 

The Cougars of Chicago State come to DeKalb with a 3-11 record and will be playing their 11th road game in 15 contests on Saturday at NIU. Chicago State has two players scoring in double figures with Anthony Harris scoring 14.7 points per game and Rob Shaw adding 10.9 points per contest. 

The Cougars rank fourth in the Western Athletic Conference in three-point field goal defense (35.8 percent) and steals per game (6.8) under first-year head coach Lance Irvin. 

NIU leads the all-time series against Chicago State, 24-0, including a 14-0 advantage all-time at home against the Cougars who will be making just their second trip to DeKalb in the last 10 years. 

Following the Holiday break, NIU will return to action on Saturday, December 29, when the Huskies travel to East Lansing, Mich., to meet No. 10/8 Michigan State in the final non-conference game of the year. Tipoff against the Spartans is slated for 1 p.m. CT and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.