DEKALB, Ill. – The NIU men's basketball team will take on Quincy in its lone exhibition game on Tuesday night, Oct. 28, at the NIU Convocation Center. Tip-off against the Hawks is slated for 7 p.m. and tickets are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling, 815-753-PACK (7225). 

"We are coming off a really good summer," NIU head coach Rashon Burno said last week at media day. "With (16) new guys, I had to figure out how to get these guys on the same page, so we were really intentional on developing on and off the court, the brotherhood that is needed to compete in the MAC."

The Huskies brought in five players with Division I experience, including Chicago native JJ Taylor (Chicago, Ill./San Ysidro) who was a four-star recruit out of high school and began his collegiate career with a season at Memphis and a year at UCF. Taylor is one of two Division I transfers from Chicago as NIU also added Gianni Cobb (Chicago, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) who played in 23 games last year at Columbia after helping Homewood-Flossmoor win a state championship in 2024. 

NIU also added three European players in Dylan Ducommun (Geneva, Switzerland), Ladji Kante (Marseille, France) and Gustav Winther (Roskilde, Denmark). Ducommun averaged 10.8 points and 2.4 rebounds per game last year with the Swiss National Team, helping them win Group A of the first-round pre-qualifiers for the next FIBA World Cup. 

"I think this roster is probably the best constructed roster since I've been here, in regards to depth, size and skill set," said Burno. "Now it's just a matter of continuing to do what we need to do in the weight room, in the training room so that we can be at our best on Tuesdays and Saturdays as we gear towards trying to make it to Cleveland (for the MAC Tournament)."

Quincy comes to DeKalb following a 10-18 campaign a season ago as Brad Hoyt begins his second season as head coach of the Hawks. Max Booher was the leading scorer for Quincy a season ago and returns after averaging 13.0 points per game for the Hawks in 2024-25. Ethyn Brown also scored in double figures for Quincy a year ago at 11.1 points per contest. 

Season tickets for the 2025-26 Huskie men's basketball campaign are on sale now at NIUHuskies.com. Reserved seats are available for $120 with general admission tickets available for just $80, courtside seats and Nelson Club access are also available. For more information, contact the NIU Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225) weekdays between 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or via email at huskiestickets@niu.edu.