DEKALB, Ill. – The Mid-American Conference, in conjunction with the Sun Belt Conference, announced on Tuesday the matchups for the second round of games in the 2025-26 MAC/Sun Belt Challenge, to take place on Saturday, Feb. 7. The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team will host Texas State while the Huskie men's basketball team will travel to Georgia State. 

February's meeting with Texas State will be the second all-time matchup between the NIU women's basketball team and the Bobcats, who are currently 6-7 overall, 2-1 in league play. The first meeting took place on Dec. 6, 1996, in San Marcos, Texas, and was won by the hosts, who were then known as Southwest Texas State. 

The NIU men's basketball team will be meeting Georgia State for the second time in three seasons. The Huskies defeated the Panthers, 70-64, in Atlanta on Nov. 17, 2023, in Georgia State's Capitol Challenge. Georgia State is currently 5-11 this season, including a 2-2 mark in conference play.7

This year marks the third season of the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge, which pits the two conference against each other twice during the season, once in early November and again in February. The Huskie men's basketball team opened the year with a 102-82 victory over ULM in DeKalb while the NIU women's basketball team suffered a 77-56 setback at Southern Miss in its first MAC/Sun Belt Challenge game this season. 

NIU men's basketball is at home tonight, Jan. 6, as it hosts Toledo at 7 p.m. The Huskie women's basketball team is back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at Buffalo, and will return home this Saturday, Jan. 10, against Bowling Green at 2 p.m. 

Tickets for all remaining Huskie basketball home games are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling the NIU Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).