DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team will close out its 2020-21 campaign on Friday night, March 5, when the Huskies travel to Central Michigan. Tipoff between the Huskies and Chippewas is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN3. 

Sophomore Tyler Cochran (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) recorded his fourth career double-double, and third of the season, last time out against Western Michigan with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Cochran continues to lead NIU in both scoring (16.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg) and would rank in the top-10 in the Mid-American Conference in both categories if he had played in enough games to qualify. 

Senior Nathan Scott (Naperville, Ill./Olney Central College) scored a season-high 12 points against the Broncos while sophomore Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill./Iowa Western CC) tied his career-high with 10 points. Thornton also had six steals in the contest, the most by a Huskie since Aaron Armstead recorded eight against Hampton on December 29, 2014. 

NIU continues to shoot the ball well from three-point range of late. Over the last 10 games, the Huskies are shooting 38.2 percent from three-point range as a team. Junior Zool Kueth (Gallatin, Tenn./Pratt CC) is shooting 48.8 percent and junior Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) is shooting 42.9 percent during that stretch.

Central Michigan enters Friday's contest with a 7-15 overall record, including a 3-12 mark in MAC play. The Chippewas are coming off an 81-79 win over Toledo on Tuesday night (March 2). Three players score in double figures for Central Michigan, led by Travon Broadway Jr. at 17.9 points per game. Meikkel Murray adds 14.9 points per contest while Caleb Huffman chips in 13.4 points per game.

The last three meetings between NIU and Central Michigan have been decided by a combined five points, including a pair of one-point games a season ago.