DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team welcomes Northern Iowa to the NIU Convocation Center on Thursday night, Dec. 21, for the final non-conference home game of the season. Tipoff against the Panthers is scheduled for 7 p.m. 

Thursday's game will feature a Teddy Bear Toss, with $5 tickets available for all fans who bring a teddy bear (walk ups only). All teddy bears will be donated to the Children's Hospital Network of Northwestern Medicine. The contest is also the first game included in the "Holidays with the Huskies" mini-plan where fans can receive tickets for the NIU men's basketball games on Dec. 21 and Jan. 2, as well as the NIU women's basketball games on Dec. 30, Jan. 3 and Jan. 6, for just $25.

NIU (6-4) returned to action on Monday night (Dec. 18), following a nine-day break for finals, with a 92-48 victory over Calumet College. Making his first career start, Will Lovings-Watts (Jeffersonville, Ind./Putnam Science) scored a career-high 23 points, the most by a NIU freshman since Eugene German netted 23 on Feb. 25, 2017, against Eastern Michigan. Zarique Nutter (Newark, N.J./Clarendon College) added 18 points, Yanic Konan Niederhauser (Fraschels, Switzerland/Ursping) scored 13 and David Coit (Columbus, N.J./Atlantic Cape CC) had 10 points in the victory.

As a team, the Huskies currently rank 15th nationally averaging 5.8 blocked shots per game. Konan Niederhauser is averaging 1.9 per game individually, which ranks second in the Mid-American Conference and 48th nationally. NIU also ranks in the top-50 in the country in fastbreak points (32nd, 15.7 per game), field goal percentage (40th, 48.4 percent) and scoring (49th, 82.2 points per game).

The Panthers come to DeKalb with a 5-7 overall record, including a 0-2 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play, but have won three of their last four, including a 100-82 victory over Alcorn State last time out (Dec. 17). Three players score in double figures for UNI, led by Nate Heise at 15.7 points per game. Bowen Born adds 13.4 points per contest while Tytan Anderson is averaging 12.2 points, and a team-high 6.7 rebounds, per contest. Northern Iowa ranks in the top-60 nationally in both field goal percentage, shooting 47.9 percent to rank 57th, and three-point percentage, shooting 37.1 percent to rank 54th.

Northern Iowa leads the all-time series with NIU, 15-8, but the Huskies hold a 5-4 edge against the Panthers in DeKalb. The two schools met last season, with Northern Iowa claiming an 83-76 victory in Cedar Falls (Nov. 26, 2022). Born led the Panthers with 30 points while Keshawn Williams netted 28 to pace the Huskies.

Following the Holiday break, NIU will return to action as it travels to Iowa City, Iowa, to face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday, Dec. 29, at 6 p.m.