Mark Montgomery
Northern Illinois has been paired with Eastern Illinois in the 2013 Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters.
The Huskies will host the Panthers at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, in the NIU Convocation Center. In conjunction with the BracketBuster contest, Northern Illinois also will hold its annual alumni day festivities that afternoon.
NIU will participate in the BracketBuster series for the ninth time in school history and will be facing Eastern Illinois for the second time in the event. The Huskies traveled to Charleston for the 2010 version of the BracketBuster, falling to the Panthers, 73-70.
This season, Eastern Illinois has a record of 6-17, 3-7 in Ohio Valley Conference play; the Panthers have won three of their last four games and will return to action Thursday, Feb. 7, when they travel to UT Martin.
Jay Spoonhour, the son of longtime collegiate head coach Charlie Spoonhour, is in his first season as head coach at Eastern Illinois. Northern Illinois leads the all-time series against EIU, 45-43.
In addition to the BracketBuster contest against Eastern Illinois, Feb. 23 will also serve as the Northern Illinois men’s basketball alumni day. The alumni game will take place at 12:30 p.m., with the doors at Gate Two of the NIU Convocation Center opening at 11:30 a.m.
Following the alumni game, the Huskie basketball coaching staff will host a pre-game “Chalk Talk,” with its alums before the contest against Eastern Illinois.
For more information about alumni day, contact Kyle Skarb at (815) 753-9198 or kskarb1@niu.edu. For more information on NIU men’s basketball and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
