DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team hits the road on Saturday, Jan. 11, as the Huskies take on Ohio. Game time against the Bobcats is set for 12 p.m. CT in Athens, the contest will be available on ESPN+ and WDKB 94-9 FM.
NIU is coming off a 68-50 setback to Kent State on Tuesday (Jan. 7).
James Dent Jr. (Springfield, Ill./Springfield Southeast) led the way for the Huskies with 23 points. He currently ranks 18th in the Mid-American Conference in scoring at 12.9 points per game and 15th in rebounding with 5.4 boards per contest. Dent is averaging 17.0 points per game over the last three contests.
Dent is one of two Huskies that rank in the top 20 in scoring in the MAC as
Quentin Jones (Chicago, Ill./Marian Catholic) is 12th at 15.1 points per game. Jones is also fourth in the league in blocked shots, averaging 1.0 per game. As a team, the Huskies are third in the MAC averaging 3.71 blocks per contest.
Joe Munden Jr. (Harlem, N.Y./Monsignor Scanlan) scored 10 points off the bench against Kent State. Munden has scored in double figures in three of the last five games and is averaging 9.0 points per game during that stretch.
The Bobcats have an 8-6 overall record, including a 2-0 mark in league play. Ohio is a perfect 5-0 at home this season. Four players score in double figures for Ohio, led by AJ Clayton's 16.4 points per game, Clayton also averages a team-high 6.6 rebounds per contest. AJ Brown adds 11.6 points per game, Jackson Paveletzke is scoring 11.4 points per contest and Aidan Hadaway chips in 10.1 points per game.
Ohio ranks second in the MAC, and 84th nationally, in free throw percentage at 74.7 percent as a team, Brown is shooting a team-high 86 percent individually.
The Bobcats have won four-straight in the series against NIU and have also won four consecutive games against the Huskies in Athens, with the last Huskie road win coming in 2019.
Following Saturday's game, NIU will return home for the next two contests as the Huskies host Miami on Tuesday, Jan. 14, and Central Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 18. Tickets for both games are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.
