The final road game of the season for the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team is on Saturday, February 25 in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The Huskies vs. Central Michigan game will be broadcast live on ESPN3, 94-9 WDKB, and The Varsity Network app on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.
The Huskies’ second road game of the week is on Saturday. On Tuesday (Feb. 21), they went to Ohio and lost 77-68 to the Bobcats. With 11 points and 10 rebounds against Ohio, Anthony Crump (Inkster, Mich.) recorded his second consecutive double-double. Crump has recorded double-doubles in three of his last four games, averaging 13.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game over that span.
Darweshi Hunter (Phoenix, Ariz.), who scored 17 points against the Bobcats, led the team. In the last six games, Hunter has scored at least double digits in six of them, averaging 13.5 points per game.
At Ohio, Bolingbrook, Illinois, native Kaleb Thornton nearly recorded a double-double with 10 points and 9 assists. Thornton ranks 51st in the nation and third in the MAC with an average of 4.9 assists per game. Thornton leads the MAC in assists per game with 6.4, and he also leads the league in steals per game with 2.4 in conference play.
In conference play, NIU has two other statistical leaders: Harvin Ibarguen (Cali, Colombia) leads the MAC in field goal percentage with 81%, and David Coit (Columbus, New Jersey) leads the MAC in free throw percentage with 94%.
The Chippewas have a record of 10-18 overall and 5-10 in league play heading into Saturday’s matchup. Last time out, on February 21, Central Michigan lost 63-35 to Buffalo. CMU has the most blocks per game in the MAC. Additionally, the Chippewas are second in the league in field goal defense, holding opponents to just 42.9 percent and 33.3%, respectively.
Coit scored a game-high 23 points and Zarique Nutter (Newark, N.J.) added a career-best 22 in NIU’s 73-54 victory over Central Michigan on January 10 in DeKalb. In the series against Central Michigan, NIU has prevailed in three of the last four overall.
The Huskies will play their final two games of the regular season at NIU on Tuesday, February 28, against Buffalo and Eastern Michigan on Friday, March 3.
