DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team returns home for the first time in 2023 as the Huskies host Central Michigan in their Mid-American Conference home opener on Tuesday night, Jan. 9, Tipoff against the Chippewas is scheduled for 7 p.m. and tickets are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling the NIU Ticket Office at (815) 753-PACK (7225).
Tuesday’s contest will also be available on ESPN+ as well as 94-9 WDKB and the Varsity Network app.
NIU is back home after playing 11 of its last 12 games on the road, including the first two conference games of the year at Akron and Buffalo.
Keshawn Williams (Chicago Heights, Ill.) leads the Huskies in scoring at 17.9 points per game, fifth-best in the MAC. Williams is the only player in the conference to rank in the top-25 in scoring, rebounding (23rd; 4.7 pg), assists (22nd; 2.4 pg), field goal percentage (12th; 47.2), three-point percentage (22nd; 35.3) and free throw percentage (17th; 80.0).
David Coit (Columbus, N.J.) is NIU’s second-leading scorer at 13.8 points per game, 17th in the conference. Coit had five steals last time out against Buffalo, the most by a Huskie in a game since Kaleb Thornton recorded six on March 2, 2021. Coit is tied for sixth in the league with 1.5 steals per game.
Harvin Ibarguen (Cali, Colombia) made his fourth consecutive start against Buffalo, netted a new career-high 13 points along with a career-best seven rebounds.
Central Michigan comes to DeKalb with a 6-9 overall record, including a 1-1 mark in conference play after falling at Eastern Michigan, 62-56, last time out (Jan. 7). The Chippewas lead the MAC in three-point field goal defense, holding opponents to just 29.2 percent shooting beyond the arc, they are also second in the league in rebounding at 38.3 boards per game.
Tuesday’s contest will be the 113th all-time between the Huskies and Chippewas with NIU leading the series, 58-54. NIU holds a 40-16 advantage all-time against CMU in DeKalb.
