Practicing day after day, training in the weight room countless hours, but sitting on the bench without any playing time. This is the unselfish approach that NIU freshman James Hughes has decided to take.

The 6-foot-10 Hughes decided to redshirt his freshman season so that he could bulk up for his upcoming four years at NIU.

He isn’t the only Huskie that has taken this road — NIU sophomore Bryson McKenzie did the same a year ago.

“It’s tough knowing that you’re training your first year for your last,” McKenzie said. “It’ll make you faster, stronger, quicker for those later years.”

Hughes and McKenzie both know the choice to sit out a year to better their skills is the right one, but it took Hughes until January to realize his role is for the Huskies’ future.

“It’s a different state of mind, sitting on the bench and not playing,” Hughes said. “I’m not benefiting next year only, I’m benefiting now too. I’m getting better on the practice court and in the weight room. The hardest thing is just getting in the state of mind that yeah you’re not gonna play, you just gotta watch your team.”

Rockets looking for revenge

NIU (14-11, 10-5 MAC) and Toledo (11-14, 5-10 MAC) will square off at 3:05 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center.

The Huskies beat the Rockets on Jan. 8 at Toledo 72-65, nine days after Toledo won 81-76 against then No. 15 ranked Michigan State.

“Your next game is always the most important,” Judson said. “What we did back in January is irrelevant right now. What Toledo did in January is irrelevant right now. The teams that will be successful are the teams that play in the moment.”

Road warriors, still?

Last Tuesday, the Huskies had something happen to them for the first time this season – a conference road loss. Miami (Ohio) defeated NIU 59-56 to put NIU into fourth overall in the MAC.

“It was a learning experience, but we were mad,” McKenzie said. “We didn’t play as well as we should have.”

NIU is now 7-1 away from the Convocation Center in the MAC.

Race to the finish

To say that the MAC is up in the air is an understatement. On Tuesday alone, the top four teams in the conference all changed positions and now one game separates them.

Miami defeated NIU to move from fourth in the conference into first place. Since NIU was in the loss, the team dropped from third to fourth. Kent State fell from second to third after a loss at Marshall, and Central Michigan, who was in first, fell victim to Akron 70-69 at home.

“We knew at the beginning of the year it was going to be an extremely even conference,” NIU coach Rob Judson said. “Nothing is clear as we head into the final three games for each team. It’s going to come down to every game really mattering and the team that’s going to be able to win the close games is probably the one that’s gonna finish out on top.”

The top three teams get first round byes and automatic bids to Cleveland’s Gund Arena for the MAC Tournament.