DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team will play its first home game in over a month on Saturday evening, February 20, as the Huskies host Miami. Tipoff against the RedHawks is scheduled for 5 p.m. on ESPN3.

NIU's last home game came on January 12, a 67-65 victory over Akron when junior Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois) hit a pullup jumper with a second left to lift the Huskies to the victory. Since that win, NIU has played a trio of road games and had a four-week pause due to COVID-19. 

Last time out at Akron, NIU dropped a narrow, 81-76 decision to the Zips (Feb. 16). Junior Zool Kueth (Gallatin, Tenn./Pratt CC) scored a team-high 21 points and sophomore Tyler Cochran (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) added a career-best 20 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for his third career double-double. The Huskies held the Zips to just 20 field goals, but Akron went to the line 35 times, converting 30, to claim the win. 

After starting the season shooting 21.2 percent from three-point range, the Huskies have found their collective stroke from distance, shooting 40.7 percent from beyond the arc over the last six contests. Kueth is leading the way during that stretch, shooting 57.1 percent (16-of-28) from three-point range. Junior Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) is shooting 35.9 percent (14-of-39) from three in the last six while junior Anthony Crump (Inkster, Mich./Middle Tennessee) had made five of 11 triples (45.5 percent) in the last half-dozen games. 

The RedHawks bring an 8-9 overall record to DeKalb, including a 5-7 mark in Mid-American Conference play, Miami is coming off an 87-75 setback at Toledo on Tuesday (Feb. 16). Dae Dae Grant leads Miami in scoring at 13.6 points per game. Mekhi Lairy adds 12.9 points per contest for the RedHawks while Dalonte Brown also averages double figures at 12.3 points per game, along with a team-high 7.1 rebounds per contest.

Miami won the first meeting of the season, 70-58, in Oxford (Jan. 9, 2021) and the home team has won the last four overall in the series. 

Following Saturday's contest, NIU will be home against on Tuesday, February 23, as the Huskies host Buffalo is a game rescheduled from earlier this season. Tipoff against the Bulls is slated for 4 p.m.