Game Notes as Downloadable PDF 
DEKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois will travel to Ypsilanti, Mich., for the second time in eight days Sunday, when the Huskies take on host Eastern Michigan in the opening round of the FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament, beginning at 1 p.m. CST at EMU's Convocation Center. The Huskies and Eagles will be meeting for the first time in postseason play.
NIU is coming off Thursday's 60-58 win over visiting Toledo. Junior guard Xavier Silas tipped-in an altered missed lay-up by Darion "Jake" Anderson with 1.3 seconds remaining, officially erasing a seven-point second half deficit, and leading the Huskies to their second win in the final three regular season MAC contests.
Silas scored a game-high 24 points, and he was joined in double figures by Sean Kowal, who scored 12 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Tyler Storm added a season-best nine points on two first half three-pointers. Toledo was led by Malcolm Griffin's 17 points, leading a threesome in double figures, including Justin Anyijong's 14-point, 10-rebound double-double output.
The Rockets' lead was extended to 50-43 with 5:44 remaining, after a field goal by Griffin. But NIU answered with 10 of the last 14 points, trimming the deficit to 54-53 at the 2:34 mark, and forced the Rockets into three turnovers in the final 1:14 to complete the comeback.
NEXT UP ...
With a win, Northern Illinois would advance to the MAC Tournament quarterfinals, and face third-seeded Akron, Thursday (March 11) beginning at 1 p.m. CST, at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena.
GAME DATA
Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan will be going head-to-head for the first time in the FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament, but for the fourth time in less than 12 months ... Northern Illinois be looking to record its first win over EMU in Ypsilanti since Jan. 29, 2006 ... Sunday's meeting will mark the seventh against Eastern Michigan under the direction of third-year NIU head coach Ricardo Patton -- EMU owns a 4-2 edge in those contests ... Seven of NIU's last eight games have been decided by six or less points, including Thursday's 60-58 win over Toledo ... Northern Illinois has either owned the lead, or forced a tie in the final seven minutes, in each of the last eight games ... Five of those contests were either tied, or saw NIU hold at least a one-point lead in the last three minutes ... With his 12 points versus Eastern Michigan last Saturday (2/27/2010), junior guard Darion "Jake" Anderson, who is slated to make his 75th career start Sunday, passed George Bork (1960-63) for 18th on the all-time scoring list at NIU ... Anderson's 1,143 career points leaves him 12 tallies short of tying Donald Whiteside (1,155) for 17th all-time ... Junior guard Xavier Silas has scored a MAC second-best 473 points this season -- he is 27 points short of becoming the first NIU player to score 500 or more points in a single season since Leon Rodgers poured in 596 tallies during the 2001-02 campaign ... Junior center Sean Kowal, who is averaging 13.7 points and 8.0 rebounds over the past seven games, has paced the Huskies in rebounding in each of the last five contests.
WITH A WIN, NIU WOULD ...
» Improve to 7-4 versus MAC-West opponents this season
» Record a win in the first-round of the MAC Tournament for the first time since the 2002-03 season
» Clinch its first-ever postseason win over Eastern Michigan
WITH A LOSS, NIU WOULD ...
» Fall in its first MAC Tournament game for the seventh-straight season, dating back to 2003-04
» Finish its season with a 10-20 overall record for the second-consecutive year
» Drop to 6-5 versus MAC-West opponents this season, and lose its fifth-straight game versus EMU in Ypsilanti
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Northern Illinois enters Sunday's game with a 10-19 overall record, 6-10 in the Mid-American Conference, and occupying the No. 11 seed in the FirstEnergy MAC Tournament. The Huskies are 3-12 on the road this season, but two of those wins took place against MAC-West foes (Ball State and Toledo).
The Huskies are being led offensively by junior guard Xavier Silas, who is averaging a MAC second-best 19.7 points per game, including 20.4 points per contest in conference play. Junior backcourt mate Darion "Jake" Anderson has provided 10.9 points per game in MAC action, while junior center Sean Kowal, who ranks second in the MAC in field goal percentage (.575), has added 10.5 points with a team-leading 7.1 rebounds per league game.
In conference play, the Huskies led the league in offensive rebounds (14.00 rpg), while ranking second in both blocks per game (4.06) and rebounding margin (+2.4). NIU also ranked third in assists per game (13.94) and defensive rebounds (24.75 rpg).
On the road, Northern Illinois is averaging 63.6 points per game, and allowing its opponents to score 74.1 points per contest. Silas is scoring 17.1 points per game in 13 road contests, while Kowal has added 10.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per road outing. The Huskies have dropped seven-straight decisions on the road, dating back to an 81-75 setback at Central Michigan on Jan. 23.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Eastern Michigan enters Sunday's game with a 16-14 record, and finished the regular season with an 8-8 mark in MAC play. The Eagles, who will be playing their third home game in the past eight days, are 10-4 at the Convocation Center this season. EMU is coming off a 56-55 home loss (3/4/2010) versus Central Michigan, that with a win, would have secured the MAC-West title and No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
The Eagles feature two-of the MAC's top-five scorers in senior point guard Carlos Medlock (16.3 ppg) and junior forward Brandon Bowdry (16.0 ppg). Senior forward Justin Dobbins is scoring 12.2 points per game, and leads the MAC in field goal percentage (.620).
In MAC play, Eastern Michigan ended the regular season ranked in the top-five of five different statistical categories, including scoring defense (62.6 ppg), blocks per game (3.44), turnover margin (+1.00), offensive rebounds (11.19 rpg) and three-point field goals per game (6.19).
LAST TIME AGAINST EASTERN MICHIGAN
Junior guard Darion "Jake" Anderson recorded his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Sean Kowal was just one point shy of his second-straight double-double, but Northern Illinois collectively missed 16 free throws, and fell short in a 66-60 decision at Eastern Michigan last Saturday at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich.
The Huskies held statistical advantages over EMU in field goals (22-18), three-pointers (7-4), rebounds (53-52) and blocks (10-4), but were whistled for a season-high 35 personal fouls. Northern Illinois went 9-for-25 from the free throw line, while the Eagles recorded a 26-of-48 effort. The Huskies committed just nine turnovers in the game, including only three miscues in the second half.
In a defensive-minded battle that saw a combined 19 ties and lead changes, the Huskies owned a game-high seven-point lead with just over 10 minutes remaining. But led by its senior tandem of point guard Carlos Medlock and forward Justin Dobbins, the Eagles quickly erased the deficit, and out-scored the Huskies 17-12 over the final 4:37, including 12 free throws.
Junior guard Xavier Silas' 19 points led the Huskies in scoring for the 16th time this season. Eastern Michigan was led by Medlock, who scored a game-high 25 points and corralled a team-high tying 11 rebounds. Dobbins turned in a double-double with 17 points and 11 boards.
Notables from the Jan. 16 match-up (77-69 NIU win): There were a combined 14 ties and lead changes in the game ... NIU out-scored the Eagles in the second half, 41-35, and led by two (36-34) at halftime ... Neither team recorded a field goal in the final 3:47, and EMU was held without a converted field goal for the last four minutes ... The Huskies' largest lead was 15 points (59-44) with 10:19 remaining ... The Huskies were 18-of-18 from the free throw line in the second half ... The Eagles were just 1-for-10 from three-point range in the second stanza.
FAMILIAR SEEDING
Northern Illinois, making its 15th overall appearance in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, is occupying the No. 11 seed in the event for the fourth-straight season, and the fifth time overall. The Huskies were also seeded 11th in the 2001 tournament. NIU is 0-4 all-time in the MAC Tournament as the No. 11 seed. Since the MAC instituted its expanded format for the postseason tournament prior to the 1999-2000 season, 11th-seeded teams have a combined 3-10 record. The best finish for a team seeded No. 11 was Ohio in 2003, which advanced to the semifinals.
TOURNEY TIDBITS
Northern Illinois' lone MAC Tournament championship came in 1982. The Huskies defeated Ohio (70-68) in the quarterfinals, edged Bowling Green (67-66) in the semifinal round, and outlasted Ball State (79-75) in overtime to garner the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies also advanced to the championship game of the MAC Tournament in 1982. Northern Illinois is 1-8 all-time in first-round MAC Tournament games, 4-3 in quarterfinal contests, 2-2 in the semifinals and 1-1 in the MAC Championship game. From 1980-1988, the "first-round" of the tournament began in the quarterfinals. The Huskies' most common opponent in the MAC Tournament has been Toledo, whom NIU has squared off against four times since 1980. NIU has never faced Akron, Bowling Green or EMU in the postseason MAC Tournament.
MADNESS IN THE AIR?
Fresh off its first win in the month of March since the 2006-07 season, Northern Illinois enters the postseason with hopes of making a run at the FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament championship. Since joining the NCAA Division I ranks prior to the 1967-68 season, NIU owns a 41-45 all-time combined record in the month of March. The Huskies' last winning record in March came in the 2005-06 season, when NIU went 2-1.
SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR?
Junior center Sean Kowal, who led the MAC in field goal percentage last season, is making a strong push for the league's Sixth Man of the Year award down the stretch of the regular season. Over the past seven games, Kowal is averaging 13.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game on a 56.5 field goal percentage. Kowal has come off the bench in 18 games this season, 13 in MAC play, but ranks third on the team in minutes played (25.0 mpg), and is the Huskies' leading rebounder. Kowal has recorded three double-doubles, 10 double-digit scoring outputs and has led the Huskies in rebounding on 12 occasions, including in each of the past five contests. He pulled down a career-high tying 13 rebounds last Saturday at Eastern Michigan.
ONE OF THE LEAGUE'S FINEST
Junior guard Xavier Silas, playing his first season in the Mid-American Conference, has cemented himself as a legitimate Player of the Year and First-Team All-MAC candidate. The Colorado transfer ranks second in the MAC in scoring (19.7 ppg), seventh in free throw percentage (.806), 18th in rebounding (5.4 rpg), sixth in three-point field goals made per game (2.13), and 18th in minutes played (30.75 mpg). In conference games, Silas has upped his scoring to a MAC second-best 20.4 points per game, ranks eighth in free throw percentage (.832), 18th in rebounding (5.6 rpg), fourth in three-pointers per contest (2.25) and is 17th in minutes played (31.56 mpg). He has scored 20 or more points 10 times this season, boasts a total of 20 double digit scoring outputs, and has been the Huskies' leading scorer on 17 occasions.
ELITE COMPANY
Junior guard Darion "Jake" Anderson swiped a season-high four steals at Eastern Illinois (2/20/2010), and in the process, secured himself an impressive place in the Huskie basketball annals. Anderson became the first player in program history to score at least 1,000 points, pull down 400 or more rebounds, dish out at least 200 assists and swipe 100 or more steals. Anderson followed it up with a career-high tying five steals against visiting Central Michigan on Feb. 24. He is currently ranked ninth all-time in career steals (108) at NIU.
SHARING THE WEALTH
Northern Illinois, one of the top rebounding teams in the Mid-American Conference, boasts three players that are averaging at least five rebounds per game during league play, and one (Lee Fisher) that is tearing down 4.9 caroms per MAC game. Sean Kowal leads the Huskies with 7.1 rebounds per MAC game, followed by guards Darion "Jake" Anderson (5.6) and Xavier Silas (5.6 rpg).
POINT `N SHOOT
As simple as it may sound, the Northern Illinois men's basketball team is at its best when it is shooting the ball well. The Huskies are 7-0 when shooting a better percentage than their opponent this season, and 21-6 over the past three campaigns. In addition, the Huskies are 5-2 when shooting 35 percent or better from three-point range this season.
FIRST-HALF SUCCESS IS KEY
As the old cliche' goes, it's not how you start, but how you finish. But how it starts may be just as important for the Northern Illinois basketball team. Under head coach Ricardo Patton, when the Huskies lead at halftime, they have compiled a record of 19-10. When NIU trails at intermission, it is just 5-48 the past two-plus seasons.
HUSKIES PICKED SECOND IN MAC-WEST
One year after being picked to finish sixth in the Mid-American Conference West Division, Northern Illinois was slotted second in the 2009-10 preseason media poll, as announced by the conference office on Oct. 28. In addition, junior guard Darion "Jake" Anderson was named to the preseason West Division All-MAC team for the second-consecutive season. The Huskies were picked second behind division favorite Central Michigan.
