Men's Basketball | January 23
DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team heads on the road for the second time this week as the Huskies travel to Muncie, Ind., to take on Ball State on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 24. Game time against the Cardinals is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN+ as well as WDKB 94-9 FM.
On Tuesday (Jan. 20) at Ohio, the Huskies rallied from down 16 in the second half to within three in the final seconds, but NIU's attempt to tie came up empty as the Bobcats escaped with an 80-77 victory.
Dylan Ducommun (Geneva, Switzerland) scored a team-high 23 points against Ohio, one shy of his career high. Ducommun had led the Huskies in scoring a team-high seven times this season.
Makhai Valentine (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) has scored 20-or-more points in three of the last five games and is averaging 18.6 points per game during that stretch, shooting 42.5 percent (17-of-40) from three and 85.7 percent (18-of-21) from the free-throw line.
In the last three games since returning to the starting lineup,
Gianni Cobb (Chicago, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) is averaging 10.0 points, 4.7 assists and 3.3 steals per game while shooting 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the free-throw line.
The Cardinals bring a 6-13 overall record into Saturday's matchup, including a 2-5 mark in league play. Ball State is coming off a 68-67 victory at Central Michigan last time out (Jan. 20). Ball State has two players scoring in double figures, led by Armoni Zeigler at 12.9 points per game. Davion Hill adds 12.3 points per contest for the Cardinals.
Ball State ranks second in the MAC, and 44th nationally, in fouls per game, committing just 15.6 fouls per contest.
Saturday's matchup will be the 106th all-time meeting between NIU and Ball State, the two teams split last season, each winning on its home floor. NIU is looking for its first win in Muncie since 2022.
Following Saturday's contest, NIU will return home on Tuesday, Jan. 27, when the Huskies host Western Michigan. Game time against the Broncos is scheduled for 7 p.m. and tickets are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.
