According to NIU basketball coach Rob Judson, his team has made positive steps, but the University of South Florida looks to put a halt to those steps when they come to Chick Evans Field House tonight for a 7:05 p.m. game.

After falling by a narrow margin to Sam Houston State and then overcoming Texas Southern, NIU (1-3) has some momentum coming into tonight.

“Our mission is just to continue to improve and continue to get better,” said Judson. “We made some good strides at our tournament in Milwaukee and we want to continue to improve.”

But don’t expect South Florida (6-0) to be a light test for the Huskies.

The undefeated Bulls are led by seniors B.B. Waldon (6-foot-8, 210) and Altron Jackson (6-foot-6, 180), who both contemplated forgoing their senior years to enter the NBA Draft.

“Waldon and Jackson are future pros,” said Judson. “They are guys who are going to be playing as a profession and it will be a real challenge for us to play against that level of athlete.”

The probable starting lineup will stay the same as the past two games, according to Judson. Five-foot-11 Walter Thompson, 6-foot-3 Sean Ezell, 6-foot-4 Perry Smith, 6-foot-6 Marcus Smallwood and 6-foot-6 Leon Rodgers will be on the court for tonight’s opening tip.

The responsibility of matching up with Jackson and Waldon will fall on the shoulders of Smith and Rodgers, respectively, to start the game.

While Smith has a pro-style player to match up with, he is keeping his focus.

“We are approaching this game just like any other game,” said Smith. “We just want to come out and play hard and stay focused. They have a big name school and a lot of reputation, but we’ve just got to go out and play hard, and by the end of the 40 minutes the hardest working team is going to show.”

While USF has started the season strong, they received nine votes in the most recent ESPN/USA Today Top 25 poll, landing them at the No. 39 spot.

“South Florida is an excellent team and they have two very good players in Waldon and Jackson,” said Judson. “This is a team that I think will be right at the top of Conference USA and should be an NCAA tournament team.”