DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team will open the 2026-27 regular season against Grambling on Monday, Nov. 2, at 2 a.m. CT in Rock Hill, S.C. at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center as part of the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon.
The contest will be streamed on the Field of 68 YouTube page and radio coverage will be available with Andy Garcia and Rodney Davis on 94-9 WDKB.
Monday's contest marks the official opening of the Matt Majkrzak era for Huskie men's basketball and also marks the beginning of NIU men's basketball's first season as a member of the Horizon League. The Huskies played a pair of exhibition contest prior to opening the regular season, NIU topped Northern Michigan, 78-43, on Oct. 17, and bettered Toledo, 79-66, on Oct. 25.
Majkrzak brought four players with him to NIU as
Bennett Basich (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead),
Keller Hanson (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice),
Cal Klesmit (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) and
Trevor Polite (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) played for the Wildcats a season ago. Max Wiesbrod (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) began his career at Northern Michigan, playing two seasons for Majkrzak's Wildcats before spending the past two seasons at Northern Iowa. NIU's two freshmen,
Izaya Larthridge (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central) and
Nathan Ramus (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North), both signed with Northern Michigan last fall before enrolling at NIU.
Those seven players are part of a 16-man Huskie roster which does not feature a returnee. This marks the second consecutive season in which NIU has had a complete turnover of its roster.
Majkrzak will look to become just the second Huskie coach since Tom Jorgensen in 1966 to win his NIU debut. The Huskies defeated Washington, 71-64, on Rashon Burno's debut on Nov. 9, 2021.
Grambling posted a 14-19 overall record a season ago, including a 7-11 mark in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. The Tigers lost each of their top nine scorers from a season ago, with Mekhi Fitts the leading returner for Grambling, Fitts averaged 3.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 23 games a season ago.
This will mark the second consecutive season in which the Huskies have opened the year against a school from the State of Louisiana. Last year, NIU topped ULM, 102-82, in the opener in DeKalb as part of the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge.
Following Monday's opener, NIU will travel to Tulsa, Okla., to face the Golden Hurricane on Thursday, Nov. 5. Tip-off against Tulsa is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+.
