DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team heads back on the road on Saturday, Dec. 7, as the Huskies travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to face Northern Iowa. Game time against the Panthers is slated for 5 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+ and WDKB 94-9 FM in DeKalb.

NIU is coming off an 89-70 victory over Benedictine in which Quaran McPherson (South Jamaica Queens, N.Y./Link Year Prep) led the way with a career-high 20 points in just 19 minutes of action. McPherson is averaging 13.7 points per game over the last three games. 

Quentin Jones (Chicago, Ill./Marian Catholic) had 18 points in the victory on Tuesday night. Jones is averaging a team-best 15.2 points per game, seventh best in the Mid-American Conference.

James Dent Jr. (Springfield, Ill./Springfield Southeast) netted 17 points and dished out a season-high five assists against the Eagles. He has 10 assists and just three turnovers in the last three games and currently ranks third in the MAC with a 2.08 assist/turnover ratio. 

Dent also ranks 10th in three-point percentage (41.8 percent), 15th in scoring (13.6 ppg), 13th in rebounding (5.7 rpg) and tied for 12th in assists (3.0 apg) in the conference. 

The Panthers bring a 4-4 record into Saturday's contest, including a 1-0 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play after topping UIC in its conference opener, 83-56, on Wednesday (Dec. 4). Tytan Anderson leads UNI is scoring and rebounding at 12.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Jacob Hutson is also scoring in double figures at 10.6 points per contest. 

UNI ranks 13th nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 50.7 percent from the floor. The Panthers also rank 33rd in three-point percentage, shooting 38.6 percent from beyond the arc.

This will be NIU's third game against a member of the Missouri Valley this season as the Huskies have already traveled to Bradley and Valparaiso. 

Up next for the Huskies is a fourth matchup against the Missouri Valley as the Huskies will return to action after a break for finals with a trip to Illinois State on Wednesday, Dec. 18.