DEKALB, Ill. -- The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team will host Bowling Green in its first game of 2021 when the Falcons come to the NIU Convocation Center on Saturday, January 2. Tipoff against Bowling Green is slated for 5 p.m. and will be available on ESPN3. 

NIU is returning to action for the first time since December 22 when sophomore Tyler Cochran (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) tied his career high with 15 points at Toledo. Cochran also grabbed nine rebounds to finish just one board shy of his second consecutive double-double. Cochran currently leads the Huskies in both scoring (14.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg). 

Junior Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) scored a team-high 16 points against the Rockets, Hankerson is one of just two Huskies, along with junior Adong Makuoi (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada/Daytona State College) to have started all seven games this season. Makuoi leads NIU in field goal percentage, shooting 62.5 percent (20-of-32) from the field. 

Makuoi is one of two Huskies that ranks in the top-15 in the Mid-American Conference in offensive rebounding, as he is pulling down 2.1 offensive boards per game. Junior Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois) is tied for 14th in the conference with 2.0 offensive rebounds per contest, Beane is also tied for 14th in the MAC in steals (1.6 per game). 

The Falcons come to NIU with a 6-2 overall record, including a 2-0 mark in MAC play. Bowling Green topped Ohio, 83-73, last time out (Dec. 30, 2020). Four players are scoring in double figures for the Falcons, led by Justin Turner's 21.1 points per game. Trey Diggs adds 13.1 points per contest, Daeqwon Plowden is averaging 12.5 points, along with a team-best 8.6 rebounds, per game and Kaden Metheny chips in 10.9 points per contest.

Saturday's contest against Bowling Green will be the second game of the day at the NIU Convocation Center as the NIU women's basketball team hosts Western Michigan at 1 p.m. 

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.