DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team heads to Muncie, Ind., for the second meeting of the season against Ball State on Saturday afternoon, January 16. Tipoff against the Cardinals is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN+. 

NIU is coming off a thrilling, 67-65 victory over Akron on Tuesday night (Jan. 12) as junior Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois) made a pullup jumper with one second left to give the Huskies their first conference win of the season. Junior Justin Lee (Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hill) posted his first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in the win over the Zips. 

The Huskies went 7-of-14 from three-point range on Tuesday against Akron and have begun to heat up from the outside. Over the last three contests, NIU is shooting 44.2 percent as a team from three, including a team-best 53.3 percent from junior Zool Kueth (Gallatin, Tenn./Pratt CC) and 44.4 percent from junior Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi). 

With the victory over Akron, interim head coach Lamar Chapman picked up his first win as a collegiate head coach. 

The Cardinals come into Saturday's contest with a 5-5 overall record, 3-2 in the MAC, after topping Bowling Green on Tuesday night, 88-64. Two players are scoring in double figures for Ball State, led by K.J. Walton at 17.3 points per game. Ishmael El-Amin adds 15.2 points per contest while Miryne Thomas is the leading rebounder for the Cardinals at 5.9 boards per game.

Saturday's matchup will be the second meeting of the season between NIU and Ball State. The Cardinals outlasted the Huskies in overtime, 79-70, in the first meeting in DeKalb on December 8, 2020. 

Following the trip to Muncie, NIU will return home for its next two games, beginning on Tuesday, January 19, when the Huskies host Ohio. 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.