DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team will take to the floor on Saturday, Oct. 17, as the Huskies host Northern Michigan in an exhibition contest at the NIU Convocation Center. Tipoff against the Wildcats is scheduled for 2 p.m. and tickets are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling the NIU Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).
Saturday's contest is the first unofficial game of the Matt Majkrzak era as the new Huskie head coach leads NIU against the program he had led for the past seven seasons.
Along with Majkrzak, four Huskies,
Bennett Basich (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead),
Keller Hanson (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice),
Cal Klesmit (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) and
Trevor Polite (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) played at Northern Michigan last season while a fifth,
Max Weisbrod (DeForest, Wis./DeForest), played two years with the Wildcats before spending the last two seasons at Northern Iowa.
All 16 players on the NIU roster this season are newcomers, including 14 transfers and two freshmen. Among the transfers, five scored in double figures a season ago at their respective schools.
Colin Hardrick (Milwaukee, Wis./Wauwatosa West) netted 15.5 points per game at Drury University,
Brayden Gross (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville HS) averaged 13.0 points per game at Walsh University, Klesmit scored 12.2 points per game at Northern Michigan,
Uzziah Buntyn (Round Rock, Texas/Stony Point) averaged 12.1 points per game at South Dakota and
Nino Carter-Smith (Detroit, Mich./Warren De La Salle) scored 11.0 points per game at Lake Superior State.
NIU is entering its first season as a member of the Horizon League after competing in the Mid-American Conference since 1997. NIU's 20-game Horizon League slate will begin in early December with a trip to Green Bay. The Huskies were picked to finish 10th in the league's preseason poll, released on Oct. 7.
Northern Michigan is led by first year head coach Keil Ganz, who was an assistant for Majkrzak with the Wildcats from 2023-25. Last season, Ganz was an assistant at Green Bay. The Wildcats finished with a 28-7 overall record a year ago, 16-4 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to win the league's regular season title before advancing to the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals. Charlie Miller is the leading returning scorer for Northern Michigan. Miller averaged 6.6 points and 2.3 rebounds a season ago, playing in 35 games, including 24 starts.
Following Saturday's contest, the Huskies will have one more exhibition game on Sunday, Oct. 25, at Toledo before opening the 2026-27 regular season on Monday, Nov. 2, against Grambling at 2 a.m., in Rock Hill, S.C. as part of the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon.
