DEKALB, Ill. – Five NIU teams are in action in the first week of the New Year, including home games for the Huskie men's and women's basketball teams. Gymnastics will open its regular season this week at Kent State while women's tennis and wrestling will also be in action. 

Men's Basketball
Tuesday, Jan. 6: vs. Toledo, 7 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Audio | Live Stats | Buy Tickets

NIU men's basketball makes its first home appearance of 2026 on Tuesday night as the Huskies welcome Toledo to DeKalb. NIU is coming off a narrow, 77-73, setback against Kent State in which the Huskies rallied from down 21 at halftime to close to within two in the final minutes. Makhai Valentine scored a career-high 27 points in the contest, the most by a Huskie in a game this season. The Rockets come to DeKalb with an 8-6 overall record, 2-0 in league play. A full preview of Tuesday's contest will is available now on NIUHuskies.com. 

Women's Basketball
Wednesday, Jan. 7: at Buffalo, 5 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Audio | Live Stats
Saturday, Jan. 10: vs. Bowling Green, 2 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Audio | Live Stats | Buy Tickets

The Huskies look to snap their current losing streak this week with games at Buffalo on Wednesday and against Bowling Green on Saturday at the Convocation Center. NIU had three players score in double figures last Saturday in a 74-56 loss to Ball State. Nevaeh Wingate and Nadechka Laccen each had a team-high 13 points with Teresa Mbemba adding 11 off the bench. Wingate has scored 40 points over the last three games. 

Head Coach Jacey Brooks faces her former program in Buffalo for the first time on Wednesday night. Brooks was the associate head coach for two seasons before taking the helm of the Huskies this season. NIU has won three of the last five meetings against the Bulls. On Saturday the Bowling Green Falcons come to DeKalb. The two sides split last season's two games with the home team winning each. The Huskies came back from down 21 points in the second half to win 84-77 in double overtime on Senior Day last year. 

Previews for each game will be available on NIUHuskies.com during the week.

Gymnastics
Sunday, Jan. 11: at Kent State, 12 p.m. 

The 2026 NIU Gymnastics regular season kicks off this weekend with the Huskies traveling to Kent State. In the Red-Black Dual on Friday, Dec. 19, junior Mikayla Brown posted a 38.550 all-around score, including a 9.700 on beam. NIU had a strong showing on vault in the exhibition, with three Huskies scoring a 9.750.

The Golden Flashes won the MAC regular season championship last season, going 6-0 in conference.

Wrestling
Friday-Saturday, Jan. 9-10: at NWCA National Duals (Cedar Falls, Iowa) – Live Scoring

The Huskies wrestling program will make their first appearance at the NWCA National Duals on January 9 and 10 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Huskies are one of ten Division I teams to compete at the two-day event, which features four of the top eight placing teams from a year ago. Action kicks off at 2 p.m. on January 9 for the Huskies as they will have five matches over two days.

NIU was last in action at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships where Blake West claimed a first-place finish at 125 pounds as he went undefeated on the weekend. Devon Dawson earned runner-up honors at 285 pounds and was awarded the Elias, John, & Pete George Sportsmanship Award. Landen Johnson and Markel Baker also placed for the Huskies as they finished in sixth as a team with 70.5 points.

Women's Tennis
Friday-Sunday, Jan. 9-11: at Northwestern Invitational

NIU women's tennis is heading to Evanston, Ill. this weekend for the Northwestern Invitational, competing against both the Wildcats and DePaul Blue Demons. The teams will play two rounds of doubles on Friday with singles matchups beginning on Saturday.

The Huskies were last in action at the NIU Huskie Indoor Invitational in the fall, where NIU went 10-2 in doubles and both Rebeca Garcia Miralles and Theodora Kousiou each won their singles flight.