November 17, 2024
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NIU men’s basketball to open season at Big East champ Marquette

Women’s schedule front-loaded with road games; both schedules feature inaugural Sun Belt-MAC challenge

By Shaw Local News Network
Northern Illinois Huskies head coach Rashon Burno talks to his team Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, during their conference matchup against Buffalo at the Convocation Center at NIU.

Northern Illinois Huskies head coach Rashon Burno talks to his team Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, during their conference matchup against Buffalo at the Convocation Center at NIU. (Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.com/Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.co)

The NIU men’s basketball team will be tested from the start, opening the 2023-24 season against Big East champ Marquette.

The schedule, released by the school Wednesday, also includes trips to DePaul, Northwestern and Iowa.

“We are very excited about our schedule for this season,” NIU head coach Rashon Burno said. “Our nonconference schedule includes a number of quality opponents at home as well as high-level, local opponents on the road. The nonconference will provide a good test for us as we prepare for the challenge of Mid-American Conference play. I can’t wait to get the new season started.”

The women’s schedule also was released on Wednesday, with the Huskies playing the first three games on the road before their first home game Nov. 21 against Lindenwood.

The women play six of their first seven on the road before five straight home games, starting Dec. 10 against Detroit Mercy and ending with the first two conference games against Eastern Michigan and Miami on Jan. 3 and 6, respectively.

“The nonconference slate this season is a good balance of long-standing in-state and regional rivals and new faces that will help us prepare for Mid-American Conference play,” said head coach Lisa Carlsen, who is entering her ninth season at the helm of the Huskies. “The MAC-SBC Challenge is an exciting development to see how we stack up against another great women’s basketball league. Every year, the MAC proves to be one of the most competitive mid-major leagues in the nation and we’ll be ready for league play come January.”

Both the men and women will take part in the inaugural MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, with one game at home and one game on the road against Sun Belt teams. The women head to Arkansas State for the season opener Nov. 9, then will host a Sun Belt team on Feb. 10. The men host Appalachian state on Nov. 11 then will head to a Sun Belt team on Feb. 10.

The second game for both the men and women will be determined in January based on national rankings to try and cultivate close matchups.

The game against Appalachian State is the men’s home opener, with conference play starting at Ohio on January 6.

Both conference tournaments are the week of March 13 in Cleveland. The full schedules can be viewed at NIUathletics.com.

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