Who’s Playing

N. Illinois Huskies @ Eastern Illinois Panthers

Current Records: N. Illinois 2-5, Eastern Illinois 1-5

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Eastern Illinois has been on the road for four straight, but on Friday they’ll finally head home. They will welcome the N. Illinois Huskies at 3:00 p.m. ET at Groniger Arena. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.

It’s going to take some time for Eastern Illinois to recover from the 81-53 bruising that Valparaiso dished out on Sunday. The match marked the Panthers’ lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Eastern Illinois’ loss shouldn’t obscure the performances of Kooper Jacobi, who almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine rebounds, and Nakyel Shelton, who had 20 points. What’s more, Jacobi also posted a 50% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest he’s posted since back in November of 2023.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Eastern Illinois struggled to work together and finished the game with only seven assists. They were demolished by their opponents in that department as Valparaiso posted 17.

Meanwhile, N. Illinois’ recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their fourth straight defeat. They took an 87-82 hit to the loss column at the hands of Valparaiso. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.

Despite their loss, N. Illinois saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Nasir Muhammad, who posted 21 points, was perhaps the best of all. Muhammad had some trouble finding his footing against DePaul on Saturday, so this was a step in the right direction. Another player making a difference was James Dent Jr., who went 5 for 9 en route to 15 points plus six rebounds.

Eastern Illinois’ defeat was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-5. As for N. Illinois, their loss dropped their record down to 2-5.

Eastern Illinois might still be hurting after the devastating 90-70 defeat they got from N. Illinois in their previous meeting back in November of 2022. Can Eastern Illinois avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We’ll find out soon enough.

Series History

N. Illinois has won both of the games they’ve played against Eastern Illinois in the last 3 years.

• Nov 30, 2022 – N. Illinois 90 vs. Eastern Illinois 70
• Dec 01, 2021 – N. Illinois 55 vs. Eastern Illinois 45