DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team will open the 2019 Mid-American Conference Tournament on Monday night, March 11, as the seventh-seeded Huskies host No. 10 seed Ohio at the NIU Convocation Center. Game time between the Huskies and Bobcats is scheduled for 8 p.m. and will be the second game of a doubleheader with the NIU women's basketball team hosting Western Michigan in a MAC Tournament First Round game beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets for Monday night's doubleheader are available from the NIU Convocation Center Box Office, by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) or by visiting NIUHuskies.com/tickets.
NIU (15-16, 8-10 MAC) closed the regular season with back-to-back road wins at Central Michigan and Ball State. In the regular season finale at Ball State (March 8), senior
Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) scored a game-high 22 points, his second consecutive 20-plus point game, to lead the Huskies to a 64-57 victory over the Cardinals.
Junior
Noah McCarty (Rock Falls, Ill./Sterling Newman) posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Ball State. Over the last four games, McCarty is averaging 8.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
NIU was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line against Ball State in the regular season finale. The Huskies are ranked second in the MAC, and 85th nationally, in free throw shooting at 73.3 percent, which also ranks as the third-best season in NIU history. In conference play, NIU led the MAC, shooting 77.3 percent from the line.
The Bobcats come to DeKalb as the No. 10 seed in the MAC Tournament with a 14-16 overall record, including a 6-12 mark in league play. Ohio has won three of its last five games, including a 66-57 win over Miami on the final day of the regular season (March 8). Ohio has two players scoring in double figures, led by Jason Carter at 16.5 points per game, Carter also grabs a team-high 6.7 rebounds per contest. Teyvion Kirk is the second Bobcat scoring in double figures at 14.1 points per contest.
Doug Taylor leads the MAC in blocks, averaging 1.9 per contest. The Bobcats are fourth as a team with 3.8 per game.
NIU won each of the two meetings this season against Ohio, claiming a 72-66, overtime win in Athens in the conference opener (Jan. 5) as well as a 71-60 victory in DeKalb (Jan. 29). Those two wins marked the first time NIU has swept the regular season series against Ohio since 2002-03.
The winner of Monday night's first round game will advance to the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 14, to meet No. 2 seed Toledo at 5:30 p.m. CT at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
