DeKALB — Men’s basketball finalized their 2020-21 non-conference schedule Tuesday, by securing games against teams in Big East and Big Ten Conferences.

The Huskies will travel Dec. 3 to Wintrust Arena in Chicago to square off against the DePaul University Blue Demons. This match-up comes the day after the Huskies host Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville at home.

This will be NIU’s 33rd time squaring off against the Blue Demons, but the first since the 2014-15 season when the Huskies suffered a 78-67 loss on the road. 

DePaul finished last season with an overall record of 16-16. Recording key wins against the University of Iowa, University of Minnesota, Butler University and Marquette University. The Blue Demons started last season with a record of 12-1 before losing 15 of the team’s last 18 games.

The team’s other marquee matchup comes Dec. 13 when the Huskies travel to Iowa City, Iowa to face off against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  The Hawkeyes are currently ranked fifth in the AP Preseason poll.

The Huskies last faced the Hawkeyes during the 2017-18 season where NIU upset Iowa at Carver arena 98-75. 

Iowa finished the 2019-20 campaign with a record of 20-11, claiming fifth in the Big Ten conference. Currently Iowa is scheduled to face the 16th-ranked University of North Carolina Tar-Heels and the top-ranked Gonzaga University Bulldogs, along with its Sunday tip-off versus the Huskies.

The Huskies now have five games rounding out their non-conference schedule. Three home games and two on the road. 

The team opens up non-conference play at 6 p.m. Nov. 25 at home against the University of Illinois–Chicago Flames. Viewers can watch the game on ESPN 3 or stream live on ESPN+.