DEKALB, Ill. – After opening conference play with a victory at Buffalo, the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team finishes its two-game road swing to begin the Mid-American Conference slate when it visits Central Michigan on Tuesday night, January 7. Tipoff against the Chippewas is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN+. 

NIU (8-6, 1-0 MAC) heads to Mt. Pleasant on the heels of a 73-72 win at Buffalo. Senior Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) scored a game-high 26 points, on his way to earning MAC West Player of the Week honors, while senior Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) had a season-high 18 points and 13 rebounds for the eighth double-double of his career. 

The victory extended NIU's winning streak against Buffalo to three games while also snapping a 19-game home win streak for the Bulls against MAC foes. Prior to Saturday, Buffalo's last home loss to a conference opponent came on Feb. 24, 2017 against Akron (89-83). The win also ended an 11-game road losing streak for the Huskies in Buffalo as NIU's last win in the Queen City came on Feb. 6, 2003 (70-61).

With his 26 points against the Bulls, German moved into second place on NIU's career scoring list with 1,859 career points and is now just 137 points behind NIU's all-time leading scorer T.J. Lux (1995-2000; 1,996 points).

The Chippewas bring an 8-6 overall record into Tuesday's matchup, including a 1-0 conference mark after topping Miami, 93-82, in the league opener (Jan. 4). Central Michigan is a perfect 8-0 at home this season. Four players are scoring in double figures for Central Michigan, led by 14.9 points per game from Kevin McKay. David DiLeo adds 14.0 points per contest, Dallas Morgan is scoring 13.6 points per game and Rob Montgomery is scoring 11.8 points per contest. 

Central Michigan leads the MAC in scoring, and ranks second nationally, at 86.4 points per game. Gonzaga leads the country in scoring at 87.5 points per contest.

NIU will return home on Saturday afternoon, January 11, as the Huskies host Eastern Michigan at 3:30 p.m. in the second game of a Huskie basketball doubleheader. Saturday is Pup Club Day and a Black-Out with Huskie fans encouraged to wear black. Tickets for all remaining home games, including flex passes, are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling 815-753-PACK (7225).