After two conference games on the road, the NIU men’s basketball team will return home to play Ball State at 2:05 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center.

It will be the first of three straight conference home games for the Huskies.

“We’re looking forward to playing again,” NIU coach Rob Judson said. “One of the key things we have to do is keep them off the free-throw line because they shot a lot of free throws in Muncie, [Ind.].”

In the game on Jan. 20, Ball State shot 34 free throws compared to NIU’s 18.

Ball State senior Matt McCollom made a then-career-high 12 free throws on 14 attempts. McCollom bested his career high when he made 14 free throws against Akron on Feb. 4.

The Mt. Zion native is shooting .860 from the free-throw line this season, which ranks him first in the MAC and 22nd in the nation.

McCollom was one of four starters in double figures in scoring the last time Ball State played NIU.

Ball State’s leading rebounder Cameron Echols also is an Illinois native.

From Chicago’s Simeon High School, Echols is 11th in the conference at 6.4 rebounds per game.

For the Huskies, a non-conference date with Bradley on Feb. 21 will be the only away game in the next two weeks.

NIU is expected to use the same starting lineup as it did against Toledo on Wednesday, Judson said.

The combination of guards Mike McKinney, Walter Thompson and Perry Smith along with Rome Sanders and James Hughes inside accounted for 54 of the team’s 61 total points against Toledo.

It is undecided if senior forward Marcus Smallwood, who has missed the last two games because of a coach’s decision, will play on Saturday, Judson said.

Smallwood is 10th in the conference in scoring (14.7 ppg) and first in rebounding (9.8 rpg).

The last time the two teams played, Ball State broke a three-game losing streak, beating the Huskies 71-65 at Worthen Arena.

Ball State also was 6-1 at home when the two teams last met, but the Cardinals have lost two straight games and five of the last six.

NIU has lost six straight and eight of its last nine.