One of the lures that encouraged the NIU men’s basketball team to join a conference was the attraction of a legitimate shot at an NCAA Tournament bid.

Evidence that it wasn’t a false hope is surfacing this season.

Going into the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament at Wisconsin-Green Bay starting March 3, the Huskies are three wins away from a guaranteed spot at the NCAAs.

The winner of the M-C Tournament gets an assured spot in the NCAA Tournament, and the Huskies obviously hope to be more than spectators once NCAA Tournament time comes. These seven teams stand in their way.

Wisconsin-Green Bay—(21-6, 13-3). The Phoenix were the preseason M-C favorites and showed the Huskies why in their two meetings.

UW-GB came into a packed Chick Evans Field House in mid January and halted NIU’s 11-game winning streak with a 63-57 triumph.

Star UW-GB guard Tony Bennett personally assured that the Huskies would not avenge their loss when he poured in 21 points in the Phoenix‘ 61-53 victory Feb. 16.

Eastern Illinois—(16-11, 10-6). The Panthers provided the Huskies with two widely different games this season. In their first meeting, NIU enjoyed a relatively comfortable 59-47 home victory. The second game was anything but comfortable. Eastern took the Huskies to two overtimes before falling to NIU 74-69.

Cleveland State—(12-15, 8-8). The Vikings were another two-time victim at the hands of the Huskies. Andrew Wells exploded for 21 points in NIU’s 59-44 win at Cleveland. The return game at the fieldhouse was closer, but NIU prevailed 65-48.

Northern Iowa—(12-17, 8-8). The Panthers also fell twice to the Huskies in league action. At the UNI Dome, NIU won 75-64 behind Donnell Thomas’ 22 points. The Huskies performed a similar dismantling of the Panthers, 77-51, at the fieldhouse in the rematch.

Western Illinois—(13-14, 6-10). The Leathernecks gave the Huskies two tough battles. Although NIU won both matches, it was by a combined three points.

The first meeting featured a balanced NIU attack with four Huskies scoring in double figures in NIU’s 69-68 win. The second meeting between the teams proved to be just as tough with the Huskies holding on for a 59-57 victory.

UIC—(15-14, 5-11). The Flames fell twice to the Huskies this season. NIU handed coach Bob Hallberg’s squad only its third loss against eight victories with a 65-45 thumping in early Jan. Over 4,000 fans packed Chick Evans Field House to witness the NIU triumph.

On Thursday, the Huskies closed out their regular season with a 71-70 win against the Flames.

Akron—(15-12, 6-10). The Zips provided NIU with one of its highlights of the season: a stellar defensive effort at Akron that resulted in a 48-30 Huskies’ win. The Zips did better in the rematch but fell again to NIU by a final of 75-62.

Valparaiso—(5-22, 2-14). The Crusaders, as the last-place team in the conference, have been eliminated from the tournament. For the record, NIU beat Valparaiso by 79-55 and 72-42 margins.