Less than one year after being crowned MAC regular season and tournament champions, Central Michigan finds itself with the worst record in the league.

CMU (3-17 overall, 0-10 MAC) will look for its first conference win of the season today when NIU (7-13, 2-8) visits Mt. Pleasant for a 7:05 tipoff in a game that Fox Sports Net will televise.

NIU has won only one game away from the Convocation Center when it defeated UIC 54-53 at the Gazette-Hawkeye Classic in Iowa City.

The Chippewas have lost 10 straight games with their last win coming Dec. 30 against Tri-State University. However, on Dec. 6, CMU defeated Notre Dame 69-68 when 5-foot-6 Joe Carr hit a three pointer at the buzzer.

CMU and NIU have been in similar situations this season. Both teams have had to rely on younger players to fill voids left by graduated seniors.

“We are very similar,” NIU coach Rob Judson said. “We have young guys filling big roles on the perimeter.”

Central Michigan lost three starters from last season, including MAC Player of the Year Chris Kaman.

T.J. Meerman entered this season as the team’s leading returning scorer at 5.6 points per game.

NIU returned two starters but primarily has used freshmen and sophomores to fill vacancies left by Jay Bates and Mike Morrison.

Gerrit Brigitha has filled in for Kaman this season and averages 16.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

Brigitha is only one of two players in the MAC to rank in the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding.

“It starts with the big man in the middle,” Judson said. “He’s not quite Chris Kaman, but he fills the same role.”