So far this season Miami University has faced teams like USC, Illinois, Kansas and Cincinnati. Tonight, it will add Northern Illinois to the list.

The Huskies (5-13 overall, 2-4 MAC) return home to the face the Redhawks (8-10, 2-4) tonight at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

While the Huskies have struggled this season, DeKalb has been kind to them. They have a 5-2 home record. On the other end, Miami-Ohio is just 3-8 on the road.

Miami may be struggling this season, but at the same point last year, it had an identical record. The Redhawks went on to win the MAC and earn an NCAA Tournament appearance, where they lost by two to Oregon.

“Coming off last season, we know they’re a big team to be playing,” NIU senior Shaun Logan said. “They play very good defense and do a lot of little things very well.”

That defense ranks first in the MAC and, on average, gives up just 61 points per game. A big part of that defense is the physical play of senior Tim Pollitz.

The 6-foot-5, 238-pound forward is also a force on the offensive end as well. Pollitz is second in the MAC in scoring, averaging 16.4 points per game. He also pulls down over seven rebounds a game.

Logan will have the difficult task of guarding Pollitz. Though he has two inches on him, Logan is giving up over 30 pounds.

“I really need to focus in defensively,” Logan said. “I’m going up against someone physical but is also versatile. He can step out and make a shot so I have to play up on him.”

What remains to be seen is if Miami’s Michael Bramos will miss his fourth straight game due to injury. The junior forward is second on the Redhawks in scoring and is capable of hitting three-point shots.

Junior guard Kenny Hayes has stepped up in his absence and will likely be active again if Bramos is not ready to go.

NIU will need to control the boards to be successful. Miami ranks last in the MAC in rebounding, an area in which the Huskies have dominated lately. The Redhawks average 29.2 rebounds per game while the Huskies pull down 35.4.

One area in which NIU needs to improve is closing out games. Despite pulling out a close win over Ball State last week, NIU dropped two games to Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green by four points each in the past two weeks.

“It’s going to come down to us staying focused and playing hard and smart for the whole 40 minutes,” NIU forward Sean Smith said. “We need to do a better job of building on a lead when we get it and not letting the other team back in it.”

The Huskies are coming off a 63-59 loss to Bowling Green in which freshman Jake Anderson led all scorers. Anderson scored 18 points while pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds. He is averaging 9.4 points per-game.