DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team entertains Ohio on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 24, at 3:30 p.m. as the second half of a Cram the Convo doubleheader. The Huskie women's basketball team opens the day by hosting Bowling Green at 1 p.m. Both contests will be available on ESPN+, along with 94-9 WDKB in DeKalb, the NIU Huskies app and the Varsity Network app.
Tickets for Saturday's doubleheader are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets, including the 2024 Pack which features four tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas and four chips for just $40. The 2024 Pack is available by using the promo code 2024PACK.
Saturday's contest is a Black Out, with all fans in attendance encouraged to wear black, it is also Mascot Day and Pup Club Day, with members of the NIU Pup Club receiving a goodie bag when checking in at the Kids Zone, the NIU Alumni Association will also be hosting a reception in the South Lobby from 2-4 p.m. Prior to both games the Northern Black Chorus will perform "Live Every Voice and Sing."
Ethan Butler (Toronto, Ontario/Oregon) and
Will Lovings-Watts (Jeffersonville, Ind./Putnam Science) both grabbed a new career-high 10 rebounds last time out against Ball State. For Butler, the contest was his second straight start, and he has averaged 12.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in his two games in the starting lineup.
Lovings-Watts is averaging 9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game over the last six contests. He played the full 40 minutes against Ball State and has now played all 40 minutes in each of the last four games.
David Coit netted 28 points against the Cardinals on Tuesday. It marked his 23rd game of the season in double figures and his 12th 20-plus point game. Coit is ranked 21st in the nation in both three-point field goals per game (3.0) and free throw percentage (89.8 percent). He also ranks 42nd nationally in scoring with 19.3 points per game.
The Bobcats come to DeKalb with a 14-12 overall record, along with an 8-5 conference mark. Ohio is coming off a 63-57 victory over Kent State on Tuesday night (Feb. 20), but the Bobcats are just 2-7 in road games this season. Jaylin Hunter leads three players for Ohio scoring in double figures at 14.8 points per game. Shereef Mitchell adds 12.8 points per contest while AJ Clayton is scoring 12.0 points per game.
Ohio ranks 15th nationally in turnovers per game, recording just 9.6 per contest. The Bobcats also rank 29th in the country in turnover margin at +3.2 and are 44th in the country in assist/turnover ratio at 1.46. All three marks lead the MAC.
The Bobcats won the first meeting of the season, 78-66, in Athens (Jan. 6). AJ Clayton had 23 points and Jaylin Hunter scored 20 for Ohio,
Xavier Amos netted 22 points to pace NIU.
Following Saturday's contest, the Huskies will head on the road for their next two, beginning on Tuesday night, Feb. 27, at Toledo.
