The final stretch of the regular season hasn’t been kind to Ohio. In the span of two weeks, an Ohio team that was in the race for a Mid-American Conference regular season championship has lost three of its past four games and dropped to third place in the conference standings.
Ohio can recoup its losses and bounce back to second place with a win over Northern Illinois in DeKalb, Illinois Friday night.
The Huskies (8-21, 5-14 MAC) are far removed from the MAC Tournament picture. They haven’t won a game since mid-February and are locked into a losing season for the second year in a row.
Here’s a second look at Northern Illinois ahead of Ohio’s regular season finale:
Game information
Opponent: Northern Illinois
Venue: NIU Convocation Center
Time: 8 p.m. EST
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Ohio IMG Sports Network
Live stats: Live stats are provided here.
Meet the opponent
Probable starters
00 Keshawn Williams
13 Adong Makuoi
01 Trendon Hankerson
50 Anthony Crump
02 Kaleb Thornton
Individual statistical leaders
Points: Williams (16.4 points per game)
Rebounds: Crump (4.8 rebounds per game)
Assists: Thornton (4.0 assists per game)
Field goal percentage: Makuoi (53.1%)
3-point percentage: Edward Manuel (36.4%)
Free throw percentage: Zool Kueth (86.7%)
Team statistical profile
Points per game: 64.3
Rebounds per game: 32.1
Assists per game: 11.3
Turnovers per game: 13.7
Field goal percentage: 41.9%
3-point percentage: 32.3%
Free throw percentage: 67.1%
Northern Illinois since Game 1
The Huskies are 3-10 since they lost to the Bobcats inside The Convo in late January. They’ve been eliminated from qualifying for the MAC Tournament and have lost their last five games. The Huskies have also regressed on offense. They haven’t scored more than 75 points in a game since a loss to Miami on Jan. 22, and they tote the worst scoring offense in the MAC.
Player to watch
Williams — Although the Huskies have crashed and burned, Williams is one of the few bright spots on the roster. The sophomore leads the Huskies in points per game and has only been held under 10 points by a conference opponent once this season. When Northern Illinois last played Ohio, Williams racked up 12 points.
