Fresh off a pair of road victories last week, the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team returns home to host conference-leading Kent State on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the NIU Convocation Center.
Tuesday’s contest is student appreciation night with prizes raffled off for students throughout the game. The first 150 students in attendance will also receive free pizza.
The matchup with the Golden Flashes will be available on ESPN+, as well as 94-9 WDKB and The Varsity Network app.
Last week, NIU won at Miami and at Eastern Michigan as the Huskies improved to 3-3 in conference play. David Coit (Columbus, N.J.) led the way as he averaged 22.5 points per game for the week, shooting 63 percent (17-of-27) from the field and 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from three-point range, he also averaged 4.5 assists per game for the week.
The Huskies led wire-to-wire on Saturday (Jan. 21) at Eastern Michigan, getting off to a red-hot start in the first half shooting 72.4 percent (21-of-29) from the field, its best single half since shooting 75.9 percent (22-of-29) in the second half against Bowling Green on Jan. 23, 2018.
Zarique Nutter (Newark, N.J.) is averaging 16.0 points per game over the last four contest, shooting 52.3 percent (23-of-44) from the field. Darweshi Hunter (Cincinnati, Ohio) is averaging 13.5 points per game during that same four-game stretch, shooting 55 percent (11-of-20) from three-point range.
Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill.) ranks seventh in the MAC in three-point percentage, shooting 41.9 percent (18-of-43), and seventh in assists with 3.5 per contest. In league play, Thornton leads the MAC with 2.8 steals per game.
The Golden Flashes come to DeKalb with a 16-3 overall record, including a 6-0 mark in conference play. Kent State has won 10-straight games, tied for the third-longest streak in the country, and is coming off an 86-65 victory over Ball State on Friday night (Jan. 20). Kent State leads the MAC, and ranks 14th nationally, in field goal defense, holding opponents to 38.8 percent shooting.
Last season, the Huskies and Golden Flashes split a pair of meetings, with both teams winning on the road.
Following Tuesday’s contest, the NIU will be back in action at home on Saturday, Jan. 28, as part of a Huskie basketball doubleheader. The NIU women’s basketball team will host Bowling Green at 1 p.m., followed by the Huskie men’s basketball game against Ball State at 3:30 p.m.
