Dent and Northern Illinois host Ohio

Northern Illinois Huskies (4-10, 0-2 MAC) at Ohio Bobcats (8-6, 2-0 MAC)

Athens, Ohio; Saturday, 1 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bobcats -20.5; over/under is 148.5

BOTTOM LINE: Northern Illinois takes on Ohio after James Dent Jr. scored 21 points in Northern Illinois’ 68-50 loss to the Kent State Golden Flashes.

The Bobcats have gone 5-0 at home. Ohio is third in the MAC scoring 78.9 points while shooting 46.8% from the field.

The Huskies are 0-2 against MAC opponents. Northern Illinois is 2-8 against opponents with a winning record.

Ohio scores 78.9 points per game, 4.9 more points than the 74.0 Northern Illinois allows. Northern Illinois’ 40.7% shooting percentage from the field this season is 4.0 percentage points lower than Ohio has allowed to its opponents (44.7%).

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: AJ Clayton is averaging 16.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks for the Bobcats.

Dent averages 2.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Huskies, scoring 12.7 points while shooting 36.8% from beyond the arc.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bobcats: 7-3, averaging 79.9 points, 31.5 rebounds, 16.7 assists, 8.6 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.7 points per game.

Huskies: 2-8, averaging 68.5 points, 29.8 rebounds, 12.8 assists, 7.0 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 37.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.7 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up