DEKALB, Ill. – The final two-game stretch of the regular season for the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team begins on Tuesday night, Feb. 28, as the Huskies host Buffalo at 7 p.m. at the NIU Convocation Center. Tickets for Tuesday's matchup are available now by logging on to NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at (815) 753-PACK (7225).
The game will also be available be available on ESPN+, 94-9 WDKB and The Varsity Network app.
NIU clinched its spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament this past Saturday (Feb. 25) with an 84-80 victory at Central Michigan.
Zarique Nutter (Newark, N.J.) and
Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill.) each scored 21 in the win over the Chippewas. The victory was NIU's seventh road win overall this season, third-most in the MAC, and tied for 46th nationally, while also giving the Huskies five road wins in conference play, the most for the program since winning six during the 2005-06 season.
Thornton continues to lead the MAC in assists during league play, averaging 6.3 per contest. He is also second during conference play with 2.3 steals per game. The Bolingbrook, Ill., native recorded his 300th career assist in the victory at CMU while also moving into a tie for second on NIU's single season assist list, along with Cory Sims (2004-05) and Ronald Minter (1995-65), with 133 this season.
Nutter is averaging 16.6 points per game over the last seven contests and ranks in the top-20 in the league in both scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounds (5.0 rpg) during league play.
As a team, the Huskies are second in the MAC in field goal percentage during conference games, shooting 47.3 percent, and are third in field goal defense, holding opponents to 44 percent shooting.
The Bulls come to DeKalb with a 13-16 overall record, 7-9 in MAC play. Four players are scoring in double figures for Buffalo, led by Curtis Jones at 14.9 points per game. Zid Powell adds 12.9 points per contest, Isaiah Adams is averaging 11.3 points per game and LaQuill Hardnett is scoring 10.6 points per game, along with a team-best 7.3 rebounds per contest.
Buffalo won the first meeting of the season against the Huskies, 80-62, in Buffalo (Jan. 7).
NIU will close the regular season on Friday night, March 3, as the Huskies welcome Eastern Michigan to DeKalb. Game time against the Eagles is set for 7 p.m.
