DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team returns to the road on Sunday afternoon, December 13, when the Huskies visit the third-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. Game time in Iowa City is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports 1. 

Sunday's contest is NIU's first against a ranked opponent since January 22, 2019, when the Huskies topped 14th-ranked Buffalo, 77-75, at the NIU Convocation Center. Noah McCarty made a layup with 0.6 seconds left, off a feed from Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi), for the game-winner. Dante Thorpe scored a game-high 23 points and Eugene German recorded his first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win over the Bulls.

Hankerson leads NIU to Iowa City on the back of back-to-back 18-point performances against Pittsburgh (Dec. 5) and Ball State (Dec. 8). The junior guard made four triples against both the Panthers and Cardinals. 

Junior Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois) also scored 18 points, a new career-high, last time out against Ball State. Beane has scored in double figures in all four games for NIU this season, he is the only Huskies to have done so. 

Sophomore Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) and junior Chinedu Kingsley Okanu (Gary, Ind./Vincennes University) each set new career highs with nine points apiece against Ball State. 

The Hawkeyes enter the weekend with a 4-0 overall record having topped North Carolina, 93-80, in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge to begin the week. Iowa hosts Iowa State on Friday night (Dec. 11) before welcoming the Huskies to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday. National Player of the Year Candidate Luka Garza leads the way for Iowa with 29.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game. Three other Hawkeyes also score in double figures as Joe Wieskamp adds 13.8 points per contest while CJ Fredrick and Jack Nunge each score 11.0 points per game.

Third-ranked Iowa will be the highest-ranked opponent for the Huskies since November 24, 1984, when third-ranked DePaul edged NIU, 59-58, in the 1984-85 season opener at the Rosemont Horizon. NIU's only contest against a team ranked higher than third in the AP Poll came on December 8, 1980, when the Huskies fell to No. 1 DePaul.

Following Sunday's meeting with Iowa, the Huskies will return home for a final non-conference game as NIU hosts Chicago State on Friday, December 18. Although fans are 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.