DEKALB, Ill. – After winning three games in four days at home, the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team heads back on the road on Wednesday night, November 20, as the Huskies travel to Macomb, for the first time since 1994 to visit Western Illinois. Tipoff against the Leathernecks is slated for 7:30 p.m. and will be available on WLBK in DeKalb and WIND in Chicago. 

NIU (3-2) is coming off a 65-48 victory over Longwood on Monday night (Nov. 18) in which the Huskies held the Lancers to just 28.1 percent (16-of-57) shooting, and 24.1 percent (7-of-29) from three. Four Huskies scored in double figures, led by a team-high 14 points from sophomore Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois). 

Seniors Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) and Noah McCarty (Rock Falls, Ill./Sterling Newman) both posted double doubles against the Lancers. James finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, along with a career-best four blocks, while McCarty scored 10 points with 10 rebounds. 

The 48 points scored by Longwood marked the first time NIU had held a Division I opponent under 50 since a 59-48 win over South Florida on Dec. 20, 2016. 

NIU is averaging 47.2 rebounds per game, seventh best in the nation. Utah leads the country with 53.3 rebounds per game. NIU's 15.4 offensive rebounds per contest rank 15th in the country. The Huskies are outrebounding their opponents by 13.2 boards per game, which ranks 13th in the nation.

Western Illinois comes into Wednesday's contest with a 0-3 record, having fallen to Indiana, Stetson and UT Martin. The Leathernecks will be playing their first game in a week when the Huskies visit Macomb, with their last contest being a 98-91 setback against UT Martin (Nov. 13). Three players are scoring in double figures for the Leathernecks, led by 18.3 points per game from Kobe Webster. Zion Young is adding 17.0 points per game while Ben Pyle chips in 12.0 points per contest. As a team, Western Illinois is averaging 77.0 points per game.

Former NIU Director of Player Development/Operations Chad Pecka is in his first season as an assistant coach at Western Illinois. Pecka was a member of the NIU staff for seven seasons (2012-19).

Following Wednesday's contest, the Huskies will be back on the road for another in-state matchup on Saturday afternoon, November 23, when they travel to SIU Edwardsville.