DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team plays its final non-conference game on Saturday, Feb. 10, as the Huskies travel to Mobile, Ala., to face South Alabama as part of the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge. Tipoff against the Jaguars is slated for 2 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+, along with 94-9 WDKB in DeKalb, the NIU Huskies app and the Varsity Network app.
The Huskies travel south following their second consecutive victory as they topped Miami, 62-59, on the road on Tuesday night (Feb. 6).
Zarique Nutter (Newark, N.J./Clarendon College) led the way with 22 points while
David Coit (Columbus, N.J./Atlantic Cape CC) added 21 in the win.
In their last two games against Eastern Michigan and Miami, the Huskies have held the pair to an average of 62.5 points per game, along with a combined 38.1 percent (43-of-113) shooting and 33.3 percent (15-of-45) from three-point range. NIU has also outrebounded the Eagles and RedHawks by an average of nine rebounds per game.
Coit currently ranks 22nd in the nation in three-point field goals per game (3.05), 28th in free throw percentage (88.8 percent) and 48th in scoring (19.2 ppg). Nutter is averaging 19.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest over the last four games.
Will Lovings-Watts (Jeffersonville, Ind./Putnam Science) scored eight points with six rebounds and three steals against Miami, he is averaging 13.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game over the last two contests.
Xavier Amos (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) had a career-best 12 rebounds against the RedHawks.
The Jaguars bring an 11-13 overall record into Saturday's contest, including a 4-8 mark in Sun Belt Conference play. South Alabama is coming off a 78-65 victory over Georgia Southern on Wednesday (Feb. 7) and is 7-5 at home this season. Three players score in double figures for South Alabama, led by Isiah Gaiter at 14.5 points per game. Tyrell Jones adds 12.7 points per contest while Maxwell Land is averaging 10.1 points per game but has not seen action since November.
South Alabama ranks second in the Sun Belt, and 52nd nationally, in free throw percentage, shooting 75.1 percent as a team. Gaiter leads the way individually shooting 85 percent.
Saturday's contest will be the first all-time meeting between NIU and South Alabama. It is the second leg of the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge as NIU defeated App State, 91-78, at home earlier this season (Nov. 11, 2023). Coit scored 27 points and Nutter added 19 points and six rebounds in the win. The MAC won the November round against the Sun Belt, 7-5, and the second round of games was announced on Jan. 22.
NIU will return home and restart conference play on Tuesday night, Feb. 13, when the Huskies welcome Buffalo to DeKalb. Game time against the Bulls is slated for 7 p.m. and tickets are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.
