DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team returns home for the first time in three weeks on Saturday afternoon when the Huskies host Akron. Game time against the Zips is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., and will be the second half of a doubleheader with the NIU women's basketball team facing Central Michigan at 1 p.m. 

Saturday's doubleheader is DeKalb County Day, all DeKalb County residents can use this link to purchase tickets for $5, tickets must be purchased prior to game day. Federal government employees can also receive two free tickets to Saturday's contest by showing their government ID at the box office and NIU Athletics will also be celebrating Victor E. Huskie's birthday on Saturday afternoon. 

NIU comes home following a successful two-game road trip that saw the Huskies open conference play with back-to-back wins at Ohio and Miami. After rallying from down 14 to beat the Bobcats, 72-66, in overtime in the league opener, NIU downed Miami, 83-70, in Oxford. The Huskies shot 46.2 percent from three-point range and 79.4 percent from the free-throw line on the two-game trip, both marks lead the MAC in conference play. 

Senior Dante Thorpe (Washington, D.C./Triton College) tied a career-high with 24 points at Miami, while also recording seven rebounds and five assists. Thorpe is currently ranked 10th in the MAC in field goal percentage at 54.3 percent and ranks 12th in the league with a 1.8 assist/turnover ratio.

Junior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) continues to lead the MAC in scoring at 20.7 points per game following his 23-point performance against the RedHawks while senior Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) is the only player in the MAC to rank in the top-15 in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, free throw percentage and three-point percentage. 

The Zips come to DeKalb with a 9-6 overall record, including a 1-1 mark in league play. Akron opened its conference slate with a 56-48 win over Western Michigan (Jan. 5), before falling in overtime at Central Michigan, 88-68 (Jan. 8). Akron has three players scoring in double figures, led by Daniel Utomi at 15.7 points per game. Jimond Ivey adds 14.2 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds while Loren Cristian Jackson chips in 13.6 points per contest.

Following Saturday's contest, NIU will be home again on Tuesday night, January 15, as the Huskies welcome Central Michigan to the NIU Convocation Center, tipoff against the Chippewas is slated for 7 p.m. Tickets for all Huskie home games are available from the NIU Convocation Center Box Office, by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) or by visiting NIUHuskies.com/tickets.