Who’s Playing
N. Illinois Huskies @ Valparaiso Beacons
Current Records: N. Illinois 2-4, Valparaiso 3-2
How To Watch
What to Know
The Valparaiso Beacons’ homestand will continue as they prepare to take on the N. Illinois Huskies at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Athletics-Recreation Center. The Beacons are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 79.8 points per game this season.
On Sunday, everything came up roses for Valparaiso against Eastern Illinois as the team secured an 81-53 victory.
Valparaiso can attribute much of their success to Tyler Schmidt, who posted 19 points in addition to three steals. Schmidt had some trouble finding his footing against Lindenwood on Thursday, so this was a step in the right direction. Another player making a difference was Justus McNair, who went 5 for 8 en route to 16 points.
Valparaiso was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Eastern Illinois only posted seven.
Meanwhile, N. Illinois’ recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their third straight loss. They were dealt a punishing 98-52 defeat at the hands of DePaul. The Huskies were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 51-15.
N. Illinois’ loss shouldn’t obscure the performances of Dominic Gooden, who posted ten points plus five rebounds and two steals, and Quentin Jones, who scored 16 points plus six rebounds. Gooden’s performance made up for a slower contest against Elon on Wednesday. Less helpful for N. Illinois was James Dent Jr.’s abysmal 0-5 three-point shooting.
Valparaiso now has a winning record of 3-2. As for N. Illinois, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-4.
