Men’s basketball will look to rebound from its Sunday loss when it hosts the MAC West Division-leading Toledo Rockets at 7 p.m. today at the Convocation Center.

The Huskies (12-14, 6-8 MAC) lost their Jan. 22 game against the Rockets, 77-68, in Toledo, Ohio. Toledo forward Justin Drummond recorded a double-double, scoring a game-high 24 points while pulling down 11 rebounds.

The Rockets have four players who average 10 or more points and are led by guard Julius Brown, who averages 15 points per game. They are the highest-scoring team in the MAC, averaging 81 points per game.

“It starts with their point guard Brown; we’re going to have to contain him, but they have five guys that average double figures,” said NIU coach Mark Montgomery. “So you can look at all those other names from [Rian] Pearson to Drummond to [Nathan] Boothe to [J.D.] Weatherspoon. You can’t just stop one of them; you have to slow them down … .

“We’re going to have to control the tempo, play with poise and take care of the basketball.”

Montgomery said the catalyst for the Rockets’ offense is Brown.

“It starts with the point guard position; you have to match his intensity and at the same time go at him and make him defend,” Montgomery said. “You have to be there on the catch if they kick out of the post. He’s very good in transition. You have to be already back instead of running back when he already has the ball …. He’s awfully tough off the dribble, where he takes and makes tough shots from distances and all you can do there is contest it.”

Montgomery said the most important thing for the Huskies will be controlling the tempo, playing their style of basketball.

“You can’t turn the ball over. You have to pound it on the inside and you do have to make some perimeter jump shots,” Montgomery said. “You have to get stops on defense so that we can get out in transition and score the basketball. Controlling tempo is getting to the free-throw line; we have to get fouled in there.”

Offensively, the Huskies will look to continue their inside-out style of play, getting the ball to center Jordan Threloff. Over Threloff’s last 10 games, he is nearly averaging a double-double: 12.7 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game.

“Threloff is a big part of it; when he scores in double figures we have a better opportunity to win,” Montgomery said. “Then teams have to double down or dig in the post, and that frees up some other things. I just think that’s one of our strengths: When you go to Threloff, when you go to [Darrell] Bowie, when you go to [Pete] Rakocevic, whoever’s in the post, if they can get low position on the block.”