DEKALB, Ill. – In its last game before a nine-day break for finals, the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team will travel to Indianapolis, Ind., for its first meeting with Butler since 1997. Tipoff against the Bulldogs at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on Fox Sports 1.
 
NIU (5-3) is coming off a 71-62 victory over UC Davis on Wednesday night (Dec. 5) in which four Huskies scored in double figures, led by senior Levi Bradley's (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) 15 points. Junior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) added 14 while sophomores Gairges Daow (Melbourne, Australia/Victory Rock Academy) and Rod Henry-Hayes (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) each chipped in a season-best 10 points.
 
With Daow and Henry-Hayes scoring in double figures against UC Davis, NIU has now had nine different players score in double figures this season.
 
The Huskies shot 48.1 percent from the floor against the Aggies, including 46.2 percent from three, and continue to rank among the nation's elite in field goal percentage. NIU currently ranks fifth in the nation in field goal percentage, shooting 51.9 percent for the season, the Huskies trail only Montana (53.2), Gonzaga (53.0), Georgia Southern (52.9) and Creighton (52.5) in that category.
 
As he did all of last season, German continues to lead the MAC in scoring, averaging 21.8 points per game. Bradley ranks seventh in the league in scoring at 17.8 points per game and needs just 18 points to pass NIU legend Jim Bradley for 20th on the Huskie career scoring list (1,134 points).
 
Butler comes into Saturday's contest with a 6-2 overall record after defeating Brown, 70-55, on Wednesday (Dec. 5). The Bulldogs are a perfect 4-0 at home this season and have three players scoring in double figures, led by Paul Jorgensen at 17.4 points per game. Kamar Baldwin adds 17.0 points, and a team-high 6.0 rebounds, per game while Sean McDermott chips in 10.8 points per contest.
 
This will be the 10th all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Huskies, but the first since the two schools were conference foes in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference from 1994-97. The home team has won eight of the previous nine games in the series, including a perfect 5-0 record for Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
NIU will return home on Monday, December 17, when the Huskies host Western Illinois at 8 p.m. Tickets for all home games are available now by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) or by visiting NIUHuskies.com/tickets.