DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball and Toledo, the two teams tied for first-place in the Mid-American Conference West Division, will meet on Saturday afternoon, February 2, at the NIU Convocation Center. Tip-off between the Huskies and Rockets is slated for 2 p.m., and will be available on ESPN+. 

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

NIU opened its current three-game homestand on Tuesday night (Jan. 29) with a 71-60 win over Ohio, giving the Huskies their first season sweep of the Bobcats since 2002-03 while improving NIU to 12-9 on the season, 5-3 in league play. 

Tuesday night's win gave NIU head coach Mark Montgomery his 100th career victory, as he joined John McDougal (136), Chick Evans (125) and Brian Hammel (117) as the only four coaches in program history with 100 wins. 

The Huskies held Ohio to just 35.7 percent (20-of-56) shooting on Tuesday night, including just 28.6 percent (8-of-28) in the second half. In conference play, NIU leads the MAC in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 40.5 percent shooting. 

Senior Dante Thorpe (Washington, D.C./Triton College) scored a game-high 20 points in the victory over the Bobcats, continuing his strong offensive play during the conference slate. In league games, Thorpe is averaging 17.3 points per game, sixth in the MAC, while shooting 58.6 percent from the field, fifth in the league, and 56.5 percent from three-point range, second-best in the conference. 

For the season overall, Thorpe is shooting 55.5 percent from the floor, which ranks 45th nationally and fourth-best in the country among guards. 

Junior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) had 15 points and tied a career-high with six assists on Tuesday night. German, who is ranked second in the MAC and 36th nationally in scoring at 20.5 points per game, has scored 1,327 career points and is just four points shy of Billy Harris (1970-73) for ninth on NIU's all-time scoring list. 

The Rockets have a 17-4 overall record, including a 5-3 mark in conference play. Toledo has won its last two games, including a 66-63 win at Miami on Tuesday and five of its last six. Toledo has four players scoring in double figures, led by Jaelan Sanford at 16.3 points per contest. Nate Navigato adds 12.6 points, Luke Knapke chips in 11.7 points and Marreon Jackson is scoring 10.8 points per contest for the Rockets, who are third in the MAC in scoring at 80.0 points per game.

NIU will conclude its three-game homestand on Tuesday, February 5, when the Huskies host Ball State. Tip-off against the Cardinals is slated for 7 p.m.