Coming off its 42-25 loss against Eastern Michigan, men’s basketball is looking to bounce back today when it faces Kent State.

The Huskies (4-14, 2-4 MAC) didn’t end their two-game Michigan road trip the way they would have liked, but are happy to returning home.

“We are looking forward to our next three games being home,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “You know, it’s always tough to win on the road. After coming off a week of being 1-1, it’s a successful week. That’s our second road win. That’s big, because last year we didn’t have one.”

The Golden Flashes (11-9, 2-4 MAC) are riding a three-game losing streak, most recently losing a heartbreaker to Ohio, 69-68.

Kent State is one of the top scoring offenses in the MAC, as it is ranked No. 3, averaging 69.4 points per game. Kent State is also No. 3 in 3-point shooting field goal percentage in the MAC, shooting 34.6 percent.

The Golden Flashes have two of the top scorers in the MAC in senior forward Chris Evans, who averages 17.1 points per game, and senior guard Randal Holt, who averages 14 points per game.

Evans will be most efficient from inside the paint, under the basket, while Holt can be deadly from behind the 3-point line, as he is tied for the most 3-point field goals made with 47 in 20 games.

NIU’s players will have to be aware of where Evans and Holt are at all times and do their best to slow them down.

“Their strengths are Evans and Holt,” Montgomery said. “Evans is coming in averaging 18 plus a game and Holt’s one of those 13-, 14-point scorers, and they have great size. Their bigs aren’t scoring a lot but they’re big around the basket; they can wear you down. So we have to be ready for Evans. He’s probably the most explosive and athletic guy in the conference.”

The Huskies aren’t worried so much about Kent State going into this game, as they are more focused on themselves and what they need to do to win.

“I think we just need to execute,” said freshman guard J.J. Cravatta. “[We need to] pay attention to our scout, make sure we do the little things on defense, make a couple shots and get ourselves going early.”