The Northern Illinois Huskies will head on the road to the James H. Hilton Center in Ames, Iowa on Tuesday evening for a non-conference showdown against the Iowa State Cyclones.
Both teams come into this game hoping to rebound from their first defeat of the season. Iowa State dropped its first road game to Oregon State while the Huskies fell short at home to Northern Iowa over the weekend. Can the Huskies bounce back with the first win of the year on the road versus Iowa State on Tuesday night?
Huskies' comeback comes up short vs. Northern Iowa
Northern Illinois struggled to execute in the first half and ultimately fell short 64-54 to Northern Iowa in the season-opener on Saturday. The Huskies trailed by as many as 20 points early in the second half but fought back behind a spirited effort from senior guard Eugene German, who finished with a game-high 21 points in the loss. German didn’t have much help on the offensive end though, as no other Huskies’ players scored in double-figures, as Northern Illinois shot just 34.9 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from 3-point range on the evening.Broadcasters for the NIU-Oakland game today were discussing Eugene German's NBA aspirations.
— Khobi Price (@khobi_p) November 26, 2018
The 2017-18 MAC's leading scorer worked out for the Bulls and Bucks in May before withdrawing from the 2018 NBA Draft.
German is averaging 21 points and 4 assists per game this year. pic.twitter.com/H1PTr94QNU
Mark Montgomery’s squad enters the week ranked No. 157 in the latest KenPom rankings after one game. The Huskies come in scoring only 98.0 points per 100 possessions (181st in the NCAA) while sporting an effective field goal percentage of 39.7 percent. While it’s hard to put too much stock into stats after just one game, the Huskies rank outside of the top-250 inefficiency at all three levels, which will be something to keep an eye moving forward.
On defense, the Huskies have given up 97.8 points per 100 possessions (148th in the NCAA) but they will have to find a way to force turnovers on the defensive end. In their season-opening loss to Northern Iowa, the Huskies forced only seven turnovers. Crashing the glass could also be a problem for this team, which comes into this game ranked No. 320 in the nation in average height at 75.6 inches.
Haliburton emerging as a star for Cyclones
Iowa State fell to 1-1 on the season after suffering a tough 80-74 loss on the road to Oregon State over the weekend. Rasir Bolton had 16 points while Tyreke Haliburton added 15 points, seven rebounds, and 12 assists for the Cyclones, who trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half. The Cyclones were unable to withstand the Beavers’ barrage from 3-point range, as Oregon State connected on 12 of their 21 3-point attempts on the night.Tyrese Haliburton (@TyresesPieces) had a nice game overall on D yesterday v TTU. Even though there were a few times he got caught taking risks and falling for fakes, he did a nice job getting back in those plays after doing so. Quick feet and active, good anticipation, and LONG. pic.twitter.com/S483NiRnS9
— Spencer (@SKPearlman) January 17, 2019
Haliburton’s early-season play has been catching the attention of NBA scouts. The 6-foot-5 point guard is averaging a ridiculous 13.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 13.0 assists per game. He’s also wreaking havoc defensively, where he has racked up four steals per game over the first two contests.
Steve Prohm’s squad comes into the week slotted at No. 5 in the latest KenPom rankings following a 1-1 start. The Cyclones come in scoring 107.6 points per 100 possessions for the season (24th in the NCAA) and they’ve been efficient with the basketball through their first two games. Thanks in large part to the play of Haliburton, Iowa State has been able to play fast without turning the ball over. They have gotten their shots up in an average of just 14.3 seconds on the offensive end (28th in the NCAA) but they have turned the ball over on only 12.8 percent of their offensive possessions (24th in the NCAA). However, they haven’t gotten to the free-throw line enough in the early going, and when they have, they’ve left too many points at the line. Iowa State ranks 324th in the nation in free throw rate and they have shot just 63.6 percent from the charity stripe as a team for the season (223rd in the NCAA).
Team Trends
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Northern Illinois
- Huskies are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
- Huskies are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games.
- Huskies are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Iowa State
- Cyclones are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 home games
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