Huskies look to right ship against non-conference rival
Charlie Neibergall | Associated Press
Northern Illinois junior forward Zool Kueth, left, fights for a rebound with Iowa junior guard Joe Wieskamp, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, in Iowa City, Iowa.
December 18, 2020
DeKalb —The men’s basketball team looks for its first win of the season against Chicago State University Friday.
The Huskies will be playing their first game in five days after losing by over 50 points to the third-ranked University of Iowa. Their last game set for Wednesday was cancelled due to positive COVID-19 tests in the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville basketball program. This will also finish non-conference play for the Huskies this season.
The Huskies come into the game winless in five games. In the game against Iowa junior center Adong Makuoi led the team, scoring 14 points on 7 for 10 shooting. The Huskies gave up 23 points to Iowa senior center Luka Garza, who leads the Big Ten conference in scoring at the moment.
Chicago State comes into the game winless as well. They lost their last contest against Illinois State University. They have had to play six out of seven of their games on the road this season, with their only home game being in a loss to the University of North Carolina A&T. Senior guard Xavier Johnson leads the Cougars in points with 9.7 points per game and 2.6 assists per game.
This is the 27th meeting all-time between the two teams, with the Huskies winning the last 26 games, according to the NIU Athletics website. NIU defeated Chicago State Dec. 20, 2019 in their last matchup, 75-60.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the NIU Convocation Center in DeKalb, and will not allow any attendance except for media, coaching staff and players. The game will be aired on ESPN3.
