KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Following a pair of road tilts, the Western Michigan men's basketball team returns to Kalamazoo for a pair of home games this week, starting on Tuesday night as it welcomes Northern Illinois to University Arena. 

GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (6-15, 2-6 MAC) vs Northern Illinois (8-13, 4-4 MAC)

Date/Time: Tuesday, Jan. 31 – 7 pm

Site: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)

Tickets: wmubroncos.com/tickets

Video: ESPN+

Radio: Bronco Media Network

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

OPENING TIP

• Western Michigan begins a two-game homestand on Tuesday night as it welcomes NIU to University Arena.
• The Broncos are coming off of a 70-69 loss on Saturday night at Central Michigan.
• Lamar Norman Jr. led the three Broncos in double-figures with 27 points. 
• Seth Hubbard added a career-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
• Western Michigan grabbed 15 offensive rebounds on Saturday, its most in a conference game thus far this season. 
• The Broncos lead the league in both rebounding margin (+7.3/game) and     offensive rebounding (12.4).
• Tuesday marks the 99th all-time meeting between WMU and Northern Illinois.
• Western Michigan is 62-36 all-time against the Huskies, including a 39-9 mark in Kalamazoo.
• Northern Illinois won the lone meeting between the two last season, picking up a 75-56 victory at University Arena. 

HOMEWARD BOUND
Western Michigan begins a two-game homestand on Tuesday night as it welcomes Northern Illinois to University Arena. This will be the first of two meetings in a span of less than two weeks for WMU and NIU, who will meet again in DeKalb on Feb. 11.

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of a 70-69 defeat at rival Central Michigan on Saturday night. WMU held the lead for the vast majority of the game, but the Chippewas rallied late, and Brian Taylor hit the go-ahead three in the final seconds to seal the CMU victory. Lamar Norman Jr. led Western Michigan with a game-high 27 points, while Seth Hubbard added a career-high 16 points. 

CRASHING THE BOARDS
Western Michigan won the rebounding battle for the 15th time in 21 games on Saturday. The Broncos grabbed 15 offensive rebounds against CMU, their highest total against a MAC opponent thus far in 2022-23.  The 15 offensive boards led to 19 second-chance points, which tied a season high.

WMU VS NIU
Tuesday evening marks the 99th all-time meeting between Western Michigan and Northern Illinois. The Broncos own a 62-36 all-time record against NIU, including a dominant 39-9 mark in Kalamazoo. Last season, the Huskies won the lone meeting, 75-56, at University Arena, ending a 14-game home winning streak for WMU against NIU.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Northern Illinois had a three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday against Ball State. NIU's David Coit ranks 10th in the MAC in scoring at 15.9 points per game, and has upped his scoring to 18.5 points per game in league play, which is tied for sixth. 

HANNAH HEATING UP
JaVaughn Hannah has been heating up for the Broncos since the beginning of conference play. The freshman is averaging 9.8 points per game in league play, and has hit 13-of-25 (.520) of his three-pointers in MAC games, which is third-best in the conference.

CLEANING THE GLASS
After ranking near the bottom of the Mid-American Conference in most rebounding categories a season ago, Western Michigan has turned things around this season and is currently atop the league in both rebounding margin (+7.3/game) and offensive rebounding (12.4), as well as tied for second in overall rebounding (38.1). Nationally, the Broncos are currently 14th in rebounding margin, 33rd in offensive rebounding and 46th in overall rebounding.

MAKING HIS MARK
Markeese Hastings enters the week second in the MAC in total rebounds (207, 24th nationally), rebounds per game (9.9, 17th nationally) and defensive rebounds per game (7.0, 20th nationally). The redshirt junior pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds on Jan. 6 at Toledo, one of 12 20-rebound games in DI this year. He is one of just three players from a mid-major conference to have a 20-rebound game, joining Weber State's Dillon Jones and Chattanooga's Jake Stephens. 

SCORIN' NORMAN
After netting 27 points on Saturday at CMU, Lamar Norman Jr. has scored in double-figures in 46 of his 50 games as a Bronco. The senior has led Western Michigan in scoring 37 times during his tenure in the Brown & Gold, including 12 times this season. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native is also just 37 points away from becoming the 45th player in WMU program history to score 1,000 career points. Norman enters the week fifth in the MAC in scoring at 18.5 points per game.  

LONG RANGE LAMAR
Lamar Norman Jr. leads the MAC and ranks 38th nationally with 62 made three-pointers, and is second in the league and 19th nationally at 3.1 made three's per game. 

380 AND COUNTING
WMU has made at least one three-pointer in 380 straight games dating back to 2011. 

HALFTIME LEADS TURN INTO W'S
The Broncos own a 54-21 record over the last five seasons when leading at halftime, including a 5-1 mark this season.

ON THE HORIZON
Western Michigan is at home again on Saturday afternoon as it hosts Buffalo.