DEKALB, Ill. – The hottest team in the Mid-American Conference, the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team, travels to Ball State on Tuesday night (Feb. 11) looking to extend the league's longest winning streak to seven games. Tipoff between the Huskies and Cardinals is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN+.
NIU (15-9, 8-3 MAC) earned its sixth consecutive victory with a 57-54 win over Kent State on Friday night (Feb. 7). Senior
Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) scored a season-high 27 points against the Golden Flashes and moved into 12th on the conference all-time scoring list with 2,052 career points.
Freshman
Tyler Cochran (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) and senior
Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) each added eight points against Kent State. James also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and has averaged 11.3 rebounds per game over the last three contests.
The six-game winning streak is NIU's longest ever in MAC play and its longest in any conference since the 1990-91 season when the Huskies won seven-straight while members of the Mid-Continent Conference. NIU's 8-3 league mark is its best since conference start since 2002-03 when the Huskies started 10-3.
Over the last six games, NIU has held its opponents to 58.3 points per game, along with 37.8 percent shooting and 30.3 percent shooting from three-point range.
Ball State brings a 13-10 overall record into Tuesday's game, including a 6-4 mark in league play after falling at Western Michigan, 68-64, on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 8). Two players score in double figures for the Cardinals, led by Tahjai Teague's 15.1 points per game, Teague also averages a team-best 9.3 rebounds per contest. Ishmael El-Amin also scores in double figures for Ball State at 13.4 points per game.
Tuesday's game features two of the best defensive teams in the MAC as the Cardinals lead the league in scoring defense, allowing just 61.9 points per game, which ranks 21st nationally.
Following Tuesday's trip to Ball State, the Huskies will return to the road on Saturday, February 15, when they visit Miami. Game time against the RedHawks is slated 2:30 p.m. CT.
