By Woodrow Carroll
The Northern Illinois University men’s basketball program last week showed the unpredictable sports world.
First, playing at home and favored, the Huskies dropped an 83-78 decision to the New York Albany University Great Danes. Two days later in Terre Haute, Ind. against the Sycamores of Indiana State, the Huskies won, 67-57.
The Northern Illinois men’s basketball team has a paucity of home games this season. Ten of the 13 non-conference games are on the road or at neutral sites Last week’s game against Albany, was Northern’s lone home game this month.
The Great Danes of the America East Conference, were slight underdogs against Northern Illinois. It mattered little! The visitors from New York grabbed an early lead and fought off any Huskies’ comeback.
Northern Illinois was a decided underdog against Indiana State. The Sycamores were 9-3 and 15-20-point favorites. When the home team went ahead 6-0 nobody seemed surprised.
Undaunted by Indiana State’s fast start, Northern Illinois settled in and by halftime was ahead, 35-29. Superb defensive play in the second half was key to the Huskies’ 10-point victory. Northern Illinois, 4-9, was led in scoring by Keshawn Williams with 32 points and David Coit with 19 points.
The game with Indiana State closed out the non-conference portion of the Huskies’ schedule. From here on out, it will be MAC (Mid-American Conference games only. There will be road games at Akron, January 3 and Buffalo January 7.
• In Fall 2003, the Northern Illinois football team played at Alabama. Early on, the Crimson Tide scored a touchdown, however, Northern Illinois blocked the extra point attempt and returned it for a two-point score. So, instead of trailing 7-0, the Huskies trailed, 6-2.
Northern Illinois fought back from that point and went on to defeat Alabama, 19-16, in one of the biggest victories in Northern Illinois history.
• The MAC put six teams in bowl games this season. When MAC-member Miami (Ohio) lost, 24-20, to Alabama-Birmingham in the Bahamas Bowl, things looked bleak for the MAC.
Then came the two-point turnaround! Playing in the Idaho Potato Bowl, Eastern Michigan trailed 13-0 to San Jose State when EMU blocked an extra point attempt and returned it for as two-point score. From there, Eastern Michigan scored 33 straight points on the way to a 41-27 victory.
Not long after Eastern Michigan’s victory, Toledo edged Liberty, 21-19, in the Boca Raton Bowl. Toledo, the MAC champion, was ahead, 21-7 before Liberty scored twice in the fourth quarter to make the score close.
A missed extra point after Liberty’s first score forced Liberty to go for a two-point conversion after the second touchdown. Liberty failed to connect and Toledo has its victory.
• Former Northern Illinois football head coach Jerry Kill has won that one-time elusive bowl victory. Kill’s New Mexico State Aggies defeated Bowling Green of the MAC, 24-19 in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit Monday, Dec. 26. Prior to that victory, Kill had guided Northern Illinois into two bowl games then took Minnesota into three postseason games.. Each time Kill’s charges ended up on the short end of the score.
New Mexico State, 7-6, came on strong late in the season to earn a bowl berth. The Las Cruces- based Aggies have struggled for decades to field winning teams. Northern Illinois will play at New Mexico State in 2024 and In 2027, the two sides will play in DeKalb.
• Bowl pecking order! Four MAC teams, Miami (Ohio), Eastern Michigan, Toledo, and Bowling Green, each will have played in a bowl game prior any Big Ten team is in a bowl game.. The bog-money games come later! First for the Big Ten will be Wisconsin against Oklahoma State, Tuesday this week, in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl (see page 9).
Nine Big Ten teams qualified for bowl games with Michigan and Ohio State in the Final Four championship semifinals.
Conference bragging rights are on the line.