Northern Illinois Huskies vs Northern Iowa Panthers

Northern Illinois comes off an 89-70 victory over Benedictine. They have a strong backcourt with 6-5 Quentin Jones (15.2 ppg) and 6-5 senior James Dent Jr. (13.6 ppg). Northern Illinois lost just 87-82 to Valparaiso as a +9.5 underdog and beat Monmouth, 79-66, as a dog. Northern Iowa shoots 68.9% from the free-throw line and has lost four of six. They were favored over UC Irvine but got blown out, 80-60, and struggled offensively in recent losses to North Texas (68-48) and St. Bonaventure (68-56). Play Northern Illinois on the moneyline. 

This is a good mid-major rivalry as the 5-7 Morthern Iowa Panthers take on the 6-4 Northern Illinois Huskies. Northern Iowa has not been shy putting up shots, and their first 11 games has seen eight of them push past the total as the Panthers offense has shot the ball well at 47% on the season, and has also connected on 37.1% from deep. Northern Illinois has similar numbders but have played a much less ambitious schedule with winds over Calumet College, and Illinois Tech. It has skewed the numbers as they averaged 100 PPG vs. the two cupcakes while shooting 57% from the field and allowing just 51.5 PPG. Take these numbers away and I see a distinct advantage tonight for the Panthers. Make the play on Northern Iowa.

Northern Illinois had one of its best seasons in years as it finished 17-17 and made it to the MAC Tournament semifinals. The Huskies return guard Eugene German, who scored 20.4 points per game and hit on 87 3-pointers.  Forward Lacey James (8.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg) returns along with guard Rod Henry-Hayes. The Huskies won four of their last five games last season and coach Mark Montgomery has the program headed in the right direction. Northern Iowa is picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Panthers come off a 16-18 season and return four starters and they hope to get off to a better start than last year when they lost five of their first eight games. They did beat Old Dominion on 58-53 on Tuesday while shooting only 34.5 percent while making just 6 of 31 from three-point range. That kind of offense won't get it done today. Play Northern Illinois.