“The road to the Final Four” is the line CBS uses to promote its telecasts of college basketball. It appears more and more likely that the NIU men’s basketball team is going to be on that road.

With 20 wins under their belts and a commanding hold on first place in the Mid-Continent Conference, the Huskies aren’t making hotel reservations at the Final Four site yet, but are expecting to be still playing ball come tournament time.

“I think we’re a deserving team. I think we are one of the best 64 teams in the country,” head coach Jim Molinari said.

Winning the M-C Conference Tournament would assure NIU of a spot in the NCAA tourney. The Huskies (20-2 overall) took a step closer to that goal by winning their twelfth loop game in 13 tries, 74-69 in double overtime Monday night.

“It was a great victory. It showed the character of our team,” Molinari said of NIU’s eighth-straight win. “For a coach it’ll always be exciting to win 20 games. It’s exciting for our team.”

But before the Huskies can look forward to sailing into postseason action, NIU’s schedule for the coming weekend features two teams that have been knocking the wind out of a lot of teams’ sails.

Wisconsin-Green Bay, Saturday’s road foe, owns the only visiting-squad victory at Chick Evans Field House this season. Top-20 Nebraska hosts the Huskies Monday night.

“There’s a long way to go,” Molinari said. “Green Bay is a very important game (but) every game we play is important. This is a very tough week. From hard to harder to impossible.”

So far, the NIU players have met the challenge. “They’re enjoying it. To do what we’ve done is a credit to them,” said Molinari, who admits his frantic schedule sometimes prevents him from enjoying NIU’s success.

“I probably won’t sit back and enjoy it fully until the season is over,” the second-year coach said, “(but) this is a special season.”