DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team will tipoff the 2020-21 season on Wednesday evening, November 25, as it hosts local rival UIC at the NIU Convocation Center. Game time between the Huskies and Flames is scheduled for 6 p.m. and can be heard on WLBK 98.9 FM and 1360 AM in DeKalb, the new NIU Huskies mobile app and worldwide on TuneIn.

Wednesday's matchup is the 42nd all-time meeting between NIU and UIC, but the first since the 2017-18 season when the Huskies topped the Flames, 69-63, in DeKalb (Dec. 21, 2017). NIU has won three-straight overall in the series against UIC. 

NIU returns a pair of starters from last season's MAC West Championship team in juniors Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) and Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois). Hankerson led the MAC in three-point shooting a season ago, connecting at 46.1 percent from beyond the arc, while Beane shot 45.5 percent from the field, and 40 percent from three, in the final 14 games of last season after moving into the starting lineup. 

UIC comes to DeKalb under the direction of first-year head coach Luke Yaklich, who takes over the Flames following a season as an assistant at the University of Texas. UIC posted an 18-17 overall record last season and advanced to the Horizon League Tournament championship game before falling to Northern Kentucky. 

The November 25 season-opening date marks the latest opener for the Huskies since the 1996-97 season when NIU also opened on November 25, defeating Aurora, 101-74. 

Although fans will be unable to attend NIU basketball games this season, you can still make your presence felt in the NIU Convocation Center by purchasing a cutout as part of the "Huskie Howl" presented by First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO).  

For just $60, fans can put their image on a cutout that will remain in place in the NIU Convocation Center for all NIU men's and women's basketball games during the 2020-21 season. Net proceeds from all fan cutouts will benefit the Huskie Athletic Fund, which is currently in the midst of Huskies Invest: The Campaign, supporting student-athletes and NIU Athletics' COVID-19 relief efforts.