For the remainder of the season, the Huskie basketball team will have a bullseye on its back.

NIU (13-9, 9-3 MAC) brings its MAC West leading record to Ypsilanti, Mich., where the Huskies will battle Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Huskies have a half game lead over Central Michigan with six conference games left. The two teams have yet to play this season, but will square off twice in the next three weeks. The first coming next Saturday at the Convocation Center.

However, NIU can’t overlook the Eagles.

“Every game is our most important game from here on out,” NIU forward Marcus Smallwood said.

Smallwood had his best game of the season against EMU on Jan. 18 when he shot 11-of-14 for 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds – eight offensive.

The Huskies can equal their season-long winning streak of five games on Saturday. They have won nine of 10 and are 6-0 on the road in the MAC.

“We have to understand that any place in the conference you walk into, you’re walking into unchartered territory,” NIU assistant coach Donald Whiteside said. “It’s like a battleground, and you’re going to war. It doesn’t matter what the attendance is, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing against, it doesn’t matter who is missing from their team, you’re gonna be at war. As long as our guys stay focused on just going in, staying together and taking on whatever we may face as a group, we’ll be all right.”

Rebounding (37.6 per game) and scoring (79.3 points per game) are EMU’s strengths as they rank 1st and 2nd in the conference, respectively.

Ryan Prillman, the Eagle’s senior forward, is seventh in the MAC in scoring with 18.5 points a contest. Sophomore guard Michael Ross averages 5.2 assists per game, good for second in the MAC, but has the best assist to turnover ratio in the conference (2.2/1).

Whiteside believes the key to stopping Ross will be to try and take the ball out of his hands. As for Prillman, just knowing where he is on the court at all times is necessary.

The Eagles will try and pull off the upset, after being embarrassed at Buffalo 90-66 Tuesday. The win was the first in the MAC for the Bulls this season.

The Huskies are 5-1 against MAC West foes, with their only loss coming against Bowling Green 64-63 on Jan. 4.