DeKALB | All eyes won’t be on Bowling Green’s Martin Samarco tonight.

When NIU (4-17, 1-8) hosts the Falcons (11-11, 2-7) tonight at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center, Huskies guard Mike McKinney will receive all the attention.

The senior needs only six points to become the 26th Huskie to score 1,000 career points. McKinney should have no trouble scoring the necessary points, as he averages 13.4 per game.

“Mike’s consistency has come through this season,” NIU head coach Rob Judson said. “His consistency has allowed him to join an excellent group of NIU players over the years.”

To stop Samarco, the MAC’s leading scorer at 20.1 points per game, Judson said the Huskies must limit his looks at the basket.

“They run a lot of screens for him,” Judson said. “We have to be sharp off of screens on the ball.”

Samarco’s success aside, Bowling Green has struggled offensively. The Falcons possess the ninth-ranked scoring offense in the MAC, averaging 64.9 points per game. NIU’s 65.9 points per game place puts the Huskies sixth in the conference.

What Bowling Green lacks offensively, it makes up for on the defensive end. The Falcons hold opponents to 39.7 percent shooting from the field, placing them second in the MAC. BGSU’s 65.4 points per game allowed are fifth-best in the conference.

Turnovers plagued the Falcons in the their last game, which saw Bowling Green take a 16-point beatdown at the hands of the MAC West-leading Toledo Rockets. In the game, Bowling Green committed 23 turnovers, leading to 19 Toledo points. BGSU will try to avoid making those same mistakes against the Huskies.