DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team travels to Akron on Tuesday, Feb. 18, for a matchup against the first-place Zips. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m..
Quentin Jones scored a team-high 21 points last time out against Ball State. Jones currently leads the Mid-American Conference in scoring at 16.5 points per game. Jones has scored in double figures a team-high 22 times, including eight games of 20-plus points. In the last six games, Jones is averaging 19.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.
James Dent Jr. is ranked 16th in the MAC in scoring (13.8 ppg), 15th in rebounding (5.4 rpg) and 16th in assists (2.8 apg). Dent is one of just two players in the MAC to rank in the top-20 in the conference in scoring, rebounding and assists, along with Da’Sean Nelson (Eastern Michigan).
NIU has made 229 three-point field goals this season, tied for the third-most in a single-season in school history. The school record is 238, set in 2015-16.
The Zips bring a 20-5 overall record into Tuesday’s contest, including a perfect 12-0 record in league play. Akron currently holds the nation’s longest win streak at 13 games, ahead of Towson (12), George Mason (11) and Yale (10). The Zips are second in the country in assists, averaging 18.8 per contest. Akron is also third nationally with 11.4 three-point field goals per game, fourth with 31.2 three-point attempts per contest and sixth in scoring at 84.6 points per game
Akron has won four-straight in the series against the Huskies, with NIU’s last victory coming on Feb. 17, 2022, in Akron, 66-63.
NIU will return home on Saturday, Feb. 22, as it hosts Eastern Michigan in the second half of a “Cram the Convo” doubleheader at 3:30 p.m. The NIU women’s basketball team will open the day against Eastern Michigan at 1 p.m..
