Akron (13-3, 3-0) at Northern Illinois (9-7, 2-1) – 8:00 PM EST (ESPN+)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to DeKalb, Illinois where Northern Illinois will play host to the Akron Zips. Akron is one of two teams still unbeaten in MAC play along with their rival Kent State. Outside of the MAC, Akron’s most notable win came against Tulane in the DC Holiday Hoops Fest back in December before a loss to Liberty in the championship game. In conference play, a win at Eastern Michigan was followed by a pair of home wins against Western Michigan and Ball State. Loren Jackson averages 16.6 points a game for the Zips; former UD transfer Xeyrius Williams averages just under a double-double (14.3 PPG/9.6 RPG) as well.
Northern Illinois also had their high point of the year in late November/early December with a 6-game winning streak; their highlighted wins included Oakland along with Western Illinois and SIU-Edwardsville on the road. After a stretch that saw the Huskies lose four of five, they did their conference opener at Buffalo before a tough loss at Central Michigan. In their last outing, NIU defeated Central Michigan 71-68. Eugene German leads Northern Illinois with over 20.4 points a game.