Coming off a defeat at the hands of Loyola in its home opener, NIU men’s basketball looks to earn its first home victory against the University of Illinois at Chicago tonight.

The Huskies (1-3) will also look to bounce back against the Flames (4-1), as UIC took down NIU last season, 62-55. UIC also leads the all-time series between the in-state rivals, 22-15.

The Flames will look to stay hot as they are in the midst of a three-game winning streak, most recently defeating Southeast Missouri, 56-45.

Senior center Josh Crittle was the key for the Flames in that game, posting his first career double-double, scoring 17 points while grabbing 12 rebounds.

Over the last two games, Crittle, a transfer from the University of Central Florida, averaged 15 points and eight rebounds, which garnered him the Newcomer of the Week award in the Horizon League.

Senior guard Gary Talton has been a big part of the Flames’ success this season, as well. Talton was named the Co-Player of the Week in the Horizon League for averaging 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the Flames’ two victories last week.

Talton and Crittle, along with junior forward Hayden Humes and senior guard Daniel Barnes, all average more than 10 points per game and will be a challenge for the Huskies defense.

“They are red-hot, they are 4-1, they have a very good point guard in Talton,” said NIU coach Mark Montgomery in a news conference. “We are definitely going to have to slow him down and keep him in front of us. They picked up a good transfer from UCF, Crittle, space-eater, five-man who can step out and shoot it. They also have Humes, a four-man who can really stretch the floor … so we are definitely going to have to bring our defensive intensity, make sure we get back in transition and contain their scorers.”

The Huskies have been led by freshman guard Akeem Springs, who leads the team in points with 12 points per game. He is coming off back-to-back games in double figures.

The Huskies will need someone else to step up and help score the basketball if they want to take down the Flames.

“Everyone knows that we have to pick up our scoring,” Montgomery said in a news conference. “We are going to need a second and third double-figure scorer in this game, it can’t just be Springs. Hopefully we can pick up some offense from some other guys and get our transition game going where we can get out and score some easy baskets.”