NIU men’s basketball will begin its annual six-game swing against MAC East opponents on the road, starting with Kent State today.

Last year, the Huskies (2-15, 1-4) posted a 1-5 record against MAC East teams. NIU hasn’t won more than two games against MAC East opponents since 2007 when they beat Ohio and Bowling Green in back-to-back games.

NIU won two out of its last four games before losing twice in double digits to Toledo and Ball State. The Huskies have a lot to remember if they want to earn their first road win.

“When you go on the road, you definitely have to take care of the ball, and you definitely have to rebound,” said NIU coach Mark Montgomery. “But, you have to make shots, too, and we have to do all three of those things if we’re going to win on the road.”

Kent State (12-6, 2-3) finished first in the MAC East last year with a 25-12 record. Even though the Golden Flashes have gone through a coaching change, they still boast the returning MAC player of the year in guard Justin Greene.

“Greene will be important for us to stop,” said Huskies’ guard Zach Miller. “He’s a big body. He’s really good in the low-post from 15 feet in, so I think stopping him will be our first priority,”

Greene leads the Golden Flashes in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game, but the senior guard has a lot of help surrounding him.

“Their guards are very talented; senior Michael Porrini is a skilled point guard, senior Carlton Guyton can create and junior Randal Holt is averaging 12 points a game,” Montgomery said. “They have guys who can come off the bench and score as well.”

After allowing both Toledo and Ball State to score 70 plus points, it will be important for the Huskies to play better defense against Kent State.

“Kent State is very good in transition,” Miller said. “They like to push, and they like to throw lobs, so it will be key for us to communicate and get back on defense.”

Despite two straight losses, NIU has improved dramatically over the past six games, thanks in part to tenacious rebounding. The Huskies improvements on the boards has them ranked third in the MAC in offensive rebounding and fourth in defensive rebounding.

Freshman swingman Abdel Nader has also helped the Huskies start to play much more competitively, as he has scored in double figures in six of the last eight games. Nader is the second leading scorer among freshman in the MAC, averaging 10.9 points per game.

Winning a game on the road against a perennial division winner is going to be a daunting task for NIU, which much prefers the cozy Convocation Center atmosphere to any other arena.

“It is of course hard to win on the road, but we have to make more shots on the road,” said NIU guard Stian Berg. “It’s easier to make shots at home where we have the support of the home crowd.”

For Montgomery, consistency is still the main attribute he wants out the Huskies. Other than getting their third win of the year, Montgomery would like to see the Huskies play hard for the entirety of the ball game.

“For a young team, we just have to maintain consistency; I want to make sure we’re competitive for the whole forty minutes,” Montgomery said. “The game against Western Michigan went down to the last five minutes. And in the game against Toledo, I thought we only played well for about half that game. So for this game, other than winning, I want to make sure that we sustain our energy and our effort the whole time.”