The good times are rolling as the NIU men’s basketball team heads to Muncie, Ind. for its MAC West matchup against Ball State.

The Huskies square off with the Cardinals (6-7 overall, 1-0 MAC) tonight at 7 p.m.

NIU (5-8, 1-0) is coming off a defensive game in which it held Toledo to a season-low 35 percent field goal percentage in its 75-51 victory Saturday. Following a victory in their first game in 21 days, the Huskies look to continue its success as they begin their conference run.

“Now you want to keep playing because you want to keep some consistency with the effort,” said NIU head coach Ricardo Patton. “If we become consistent in our effort and maintain in our head what we want to do, we’ll be fine.”

NIU faces a Ball State team that ranks last in the MAC in scoring offense with 58.1 points per game but third in the conference in scoring offense, holding opponents to 61.4 points per game.

The Huskies are the league’s second-best scoring team, averaging 70.2 points per game, but Patton’s focus remains on defense. The second-year coach mentioned how schools recruit players that can score, but defense is what creates positive results.

NIU got a small break on its second conference test as Ball State will be playing without its leading scorer for the remainder of the season. Forward Anthony Newell suffered a broken leg in the second half of the Cardinals’ 46-42 victory over Eastern Michigan Saturday.

The senior averaged 15.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game prior to the injury. Freshman Jarrod Jones provides backup, averaging 10.8 points and 6.5 rebounds of his own.

Sophomore Darion ‘Jake’ Anderson continues to lead the Huskies with 18.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Freshman Mike DiNunno averages 13.2 points per game and leads the team with 36 assists.