A trend has formed throughout all of MAC basketball: play a conference game on the road and receive an automatic loss.

Of the 13 men’s basketball teams in the MAC, only one has a winning record on the road.

In fact, the overall record for MAC schools on the road is 26-63, a winning percentage of about 29.

“The MAC is a tough place to play this year,” NIU coach Rob Judson said. “Any team can beat any other team. Especially when it’s on the road.”

That one team with a winning record is Bowling Green. The second-place team in the West, BGSU is 4-3 when heading to other MAC schools.

Unfortunately for NIU, they haven’t fared nearly as well. The Huskies are 0-8 away from the Convocation Center. And if Judson wants his team to get just one road win in MAC play, his team is going to one last shot.

NIU will travel to Ypsilanti, Mich. for a rematch against Eastern Michigan at 6 p.m. today.

When these two teams played on Jan. 22, NIU’s Todd Peterson celebrated his 21st birthday by turning in a career-high 31 points.

NIU may need another top performance to make up for the loss of forward Paige Paulsen. The junior is day-to-day and listed as questionable for the game.

Paulsen suffered a mild concussion against Kent State on Feb. 6. The South Dakota native played against Central Michigan, but missed the team’s last game against Toledo.

“We hope he will be back,” Judson said. “But he took a shot to the jaw against Central Michigan and hasn’t been the same since. Losing him is going to be hard to overcome.”

If Paulsen doesn’t play, that would mean the Huskies would have an eight-man lineup and would hurt NIU’s interior defense, but Judson isn’t worried.

All that matters to the fourth-year coach is that when his team leaves Michigan, it leaves with a win.