NIU’s men’s basketball team will look to win its seventh home game in a row at 7:05 p.m. today against Eastern Michigan at the Convocation Center.

The Huskies won their final two games last season, and they have won all five games played at the Convo. Center this season.

NIU (6-8 overall, 1-3 MAC) will have to do without freshman guard Ryan Paradise.

Paradise will be out indefinitely with a reoccurring wrist injury. Paradise originally injured his wrist while playing at Naperville Central High School.

“It’s a reoccurring injury from a fracture that he suffered during his senior year of high school,” NIU coach Rob Judson said. “This is unfortunate for Ryan because he has been gaining confidence and making a lot of nice plays for this team.”

The Huskies won their last six games against Eastern Michigan (6-5, 1-2), including an 88-79 win last year at home when forward Marcus Smallwood scored 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.

After a 2-4 start, the Eagles have won four of their last five games.

“Eastern is playing well right now,” Judson said. “They are feeling good about their progress, and they are going to come here expecting to continue.”

EMU is led in scoring by Chicago-area native John Bowler (Niles Notre Dame H.S.) at 13.7 points per game. The 6-foot-8 forward also averages 7.7 rebounds per game.

“The guy who is doing well is John Bowler,” Judson said. “We’ll have to do a good job of playing one-on-one defense on him because he has some good moves in the post.”