Going 5-2 in the month of January, the NIU men’s basketball team finished better than such touted Big 10 programs as Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State.

On Saturday, the Huskies (10-9, 6-3) got off on the right foot for the month of February, with an 18-point drubbing of visiting Ball State in front of 4,206 fans.

Winning six of their last seven games, the Huskies were facing an increasingly hot Cardinal team that won three of its last four coming into DeKalb. But NIU doused any potential thoughts of victory Ball State (8-11, 3-6 MAC) had early on, when they went into halftime with a 42-23 lead.

Holding the lead the entire game, NIU’s lead grew to as many as 25 points.

“After Wednesday [a 101-100 loss to Akron] we knew we had to play a lot harder all game long or we’d be in the same situation,” said NIU forward Marcus Smallwood, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. “We played really hard and practiced really hard the last few practices and that really showed.”

The win marks the first time NIU has swept a regular season series with Ball State since the 1971-72 season.

In the Huskies’ earlier season win against the Cardinals on Jan. 11, Perry Smith led the way with 29 points. Smith, a 6-foot-4 junior guard, finished again as the team leader on Saturday, this time with 24 points.

“We made him look like an all-American,” Ball State coach Tim Buckley said. “And the last two times we played he’s done a hell of a job.”

Chris Williams, the leading scorer in the MAC with a 22.6 points per game average, finished with 17 points on 1-of-7 three-point shooting for Ball State.

“He’s our leader and he didn’t play the way he needs to play in order for us to be successful, and everyone else sort of followed suit,” Buckley added.

Of NIU’s last seven games, Saturday marked the first time Smallwood, a 6-foot-6 junior did not register a double-double.

“I talked with Marcus’ dad in the airport on the way back from South Florida and he said, ‘Marcus can get 10 [rebounds] every game,’” NIU coach Rob Judson said. “So, we set that goal. If Marcus can average a double-double, that will open spots.”

Despite missing the mark, Smallwood continued to leave a lasting impression on Buckley.

“If we cut him open and took a look at the size of that heart, I don’t know if we could fit it in the Convocation Center,” Buckley said. “The thing I’m most impressed with Marcus Smallwood is that he doesn’t just get rebounds, he gets all the tough rebounds when the game is on the line and you need to make a play. We show film of him to our guys so our guys can learn how to do those things.”

An Aurora native, Buckley didn’t understand his team’s dismal play.

“We’re back home and we’re in front of our families here,” he said. “We’ve got four guys from Illinois and if that can’t get your team going then I don’t know what does.”

Anthony Maestranzi contributed 10 points for the Huskies, and Jay Bates finished with 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor.

“The key to Jay is that he doesn’t look to score — that’s when he scores,” Judson said. “That’s the kind of basketball that we need from our point guard.”