DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team heads on the road for an in-state matchup against Bradley on Saturday night, Nov. 16. Tipoff in Peoria is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+ as well as WDKB 94-9 FM in DeKalb.
NIU takes a 2-1 record to Central Illinois following an impressive 79-66 victory over Monmouth on Tuesday (Nov. 12) in DeKalb.
Quentin Jones (Chicago, Ill./Marian Catholic) led the way for the Huskies with a career-high tying 22 points,
Ethan Butler (Toronto, Ontario/Southwest Academy) added 15 points and three blocks.
The Huskies used a 19-0 run wrapped around halftime to build a comfortable lead against Monmouth and never looked back.
NIU held Monmouth to just 23.5 percent (8-of-34) shooting in the second half, and just 12.5 percent (1-of-8) from three, which continued a trend of strong second half defensive efforts from the Huskies. In the second half this season, NIU is allowing just 29.3 points per game as opponents are shooting 28.4 percent (27-of-95) from the field, including 25.8 percent (8-of-31) from three.
The Braves bring a 2-1 record into Saturday night's contest having won a pair of home games against SE Missouri State and Texas-San Antonio while Bradley fell on the road at Washington State. Darius Hannah leads five players for Bradley scoring in double figures at 13.3 points per game. Duke Deen adds 12.7 points per contest, Zek Montgomery chips in 11.7 points per game, Almar Atlason is scoring 11.0 points per contest and Christian Davis adds 10.3 points per game.
Bradley was picked as the preseason favorite in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll. Deen and Hannah were named to the Preseason All-MVC First Team while Montgomery was named to the Second Team.
Despite being separated by just 125 miles, the Huskies and Braves have met just 10 times previously. The last meeting between NIU and Bradley came exactly 14 years ago (Nov. 16, 2010) as the Braves edged the Huskies, 66-63, in Peoria. Bradley holds a 9-1 advantage in the all-time series with the lone Huskie victory coming in the first meeting on Dec. 16, 1920.
Saturday's trip to Bradley is the first of four road games against the Missouri Valley for the Huskies. NIU will also travel to Valparaiso (Nov. 27), Northern Iowa (Dec. 7) and Illinois State (Dec. 18).
Following Saturday's contest, NIU will return home to host Elon on Wednesday night, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m. Tickets for the Elon game, and all remaining Huskie basketball home games, are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling (815) 753-PACK (7225).
