Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball preview: EMU is still in the hunt for its first MAC victory

The Eastern Michigan Eagles return to the Convocation Center on Saturday to host the Northern Illinois Huskies. The Eagles (11-5 overall, 0-3 MAC) are still seeking their first MAC win after losing their first three games in conference play. The Huskies (7-7 overall, 1-2 MAC) are looking to claim their second win in conference play.

The Eagles have yet to win a game in 2015. Their heartbreaking 1-point overtime loss to the Ball State Cardinals marked the first time that they lost a home game since the start of the 2014-15 season. The disappointing Ball State game was followed by yet another 1-point overtime loss, this time to the Miami RedHawks on the road. The Eagles then visited the Golden Flashes of Kent State where they blew a 10-point halftime lead to go on to then lose the game 65-59.

Good thing Rob Murphy is already bald or he would probably be growing gray hairs right now. Hopefully, a return to home court will be good for the Eagles, seeing as how winning there has been pretty typical for them this season. Karrington Ward also had a double-double the last time Eastern played a home game, so who knows?

Northern Illinois, on the other hand, has to finish its back-to-back road-game stretch before returning to its own home court. EMU will be the second away game this week for the Huskies. NIU just suffered an 82-63 road loss to Buffalo on Wednesday. Two Huskies, guards Anthony Johnson and Aaric Armstead, scored in double figures, but the rest of the team could have done much better offensively. On the contrary, FIVE of Buffalo’s players scored in double figures, including a reserve guard.

For EMU, if starting guard Raven Lee and reserve guards Mike Talley and Jodan Price step up on the offensive end like we know they can, the Eagles should be able to give themselves a chance to win. Add in a solid performance from Ward and EMU could very well be 1-3 in MAC play going into next week.

Tip-off for Saturday’s game is set for noon.