Northern Illinois at Illinois Chicago

While the Illinois Chicago Flames have had their time in the spotlight this decade, this year the lights have dimmed. In eight outings on the hardwood, the Flames have managed a single two-point win vs. Div-1 competition - hardly what we saw from this team not so long ago. The Northern Illinois Huskies haven't been in the spotlight for quite some time, and this year are just 1-6 to start. The big difference however, is the most difficult schedule the Huskies have faced. They’ll have three Big-10 opponents, a top 25 caliber Northern Iowa team, and MVC Conference's Bradley. This one will be a step down for the Huskies, and often teams respond favorably under this situation. The road team has cashed the last four in this series and the Huskies have enough to make that five. I'll go with Northern Illinois here.