The Central Michigan Chippewas (10-18) will host Northern Illinois (11-17) in Mid-American Conference action on Saturday. NIU won the first meeting 73-54 at home when these teams met on January 10.
Northern Illinois is 7-8 in the MAC after losing three straight games and would be the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament if the season ended today. The MAC only allows eight teams into the tournament, and NIU has a chance to surpass Buffalo (also 7-8) for the sixth seed.
.@GoHuskiesMBB Heads to Central Michigan Saturday for Final Road Game https://t.co/Hxn7BUUnEf
— NIU Huskie Athletics (@NIUAthletics) February 24, 2023
The Huskies are 241st in the nation according to KenPom, 211th in adjusted defensive efficiency, and 273rd on offense. The Huskies will be without their leading scorer Keshawn Williams (17.9 ppg), for the rest of the season. Williams was injured in an 80-62 loss to Buffalo on January 7. Since Williams' injury, the Huskies are 7-6. With Williams out, NIU is led by 5'11 sophomore David Coit (15.9 ppg).
As a unit, the Huskies are third in the MAC shooting 47% and fifth making 36% from three, but dead last shooting 64% from the charity stripe in conference games. NIU struggles on the boards in MAC play, ranking 11th with a -5.3 rebounding margin.
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $100 1st w/ promocode WandW!