The NIU men’s basketball team will hit the road to Central Michigan and try to end a two-game slide.

Having dropped their last two decisions in DeKalb, the Huskies take the court at 6 p.m. in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. to try to right the ship against last place CMU (3-13 overall, 1-7 MAC). Despite losing three of its last four, NIU (9-7. 4-4) has still managed stay at the top of the MAC West.

Over the past couple games, the Huskies struggled offensively, shooting 31 percent against Ohio and 37 percent in a loss to Kent State. Luckily, the MAC’s No. 1 field goal percentage team found its shot Tuesday night against Toledo as it made 65 percent.

“Our offense has to start with physical screens for each game,” coach Rob Judson said. “Last night our offensive moved the ball around well.”

With the kink out of the offense, it’s up to the defense to shut down the Chippewas.

The Huskies are letting their opponents score an average of 70.9 points, which ranks them 11th out of 12 teams in the MAC. But the Chippewa offense hasn’t been lighting up scoreboards either as they are dead last in the MAC with 56.9 points per game.

“We have to do a better job of challenging jump shooters and blocking shots,” Judson said. “Central Michigan shoots much better at home. We have to have a more focused effort on contesting their shots.”

The fifth-year coach knows his team has to do more than shut down CMU’s shooters. Judson is putting a big emphasis on being able to out-rebound the Chippewas.

“Every time that we’ve been even on the boards or won, we’ve put ourselves in a position to win,” Judson said. “Rebounds will be a key in this game.”