KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team continues its homestand on Tuesday evening as it welcomes Northern Illinois to University Arena.

Fans planning to attend the game, please note that with the university closed on Tuesday for all but essential personnel, the maintenance of parking lots, campus roads and sidewalks may be limited. Please exercise caution and allow extra time when navigating these areas. Additionally, the student-athlete academic recognition and Greek Night activities have been postponed to a later date in the season.
 

GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (4-13, 1-4 MAC) vs NIU (4-13, 0-5)

Date/Time: Tuesday, Jan. 21 – 7 pm

Site: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)

Tickets: wmubroncos.com/tickets

Video: ESPN+

Radio: Bronco Media Network

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

OPENING TIP

• Western Michigan continues its homestand on Tuesday evening as it welcomes Northern Illinois to University Arena.
• The Broncos are coming off of an 85-76 loss to Buffalo on Saturday. 
• Chansey Willis Jr. led Western Michigan with 21 points, giving him double-digit points in all nine of his games.
• He also nabbed a career-high six steals against the Bulls, one shy of WMU's single-game program record. 
• Willis' six steals were part of a season-high 13 for Western Michigan's defense. 
• Owen Lobsinger paced the Broncos on the glass with a career-high 14 rebounds. 
• The Broncos lead the MAC in offensive rebounding (13.4), and are second in overall rebounding and rebounding margin.
• Western Michigan leads the all-time series 63-38, and owns a dominant 40-10 mark against Northern Illinois in Kalamazoo.
• Last season, the Broncos won the lone meeting, 95-90, in overtime.

HOMESTAND FINALE
Western Michigan wraps up its homestand on Tuesday evening as it welcomes Northern Illinois to University Arena.

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of an 85-76 loss to Buffalo on Saturday afternoon. Chansey Willis Jr. paced Western Michigan with a game-high 21 points, while JaVaughn Hannah was also in double-figures with 16. Owen Lobsinger led the Brown and Gold on the glass with a career-high 14 boards.

BRONCO BANDITS
Western Michigan collected a season-high 13 steals on Saturday against Buffalo. Chansey Willis Jr. led the way with a career-high six steals, which was one away from tying the single-game program record. The six steals also marked the most by any MAC player in a single game in 2024-25. The Broncos forced the Bulls into a total of 17 turnovers, tied for the second-most forced by the WMU defense so far this season.

WILLING HIS WAY TO THE TOP
Chansey Willis Jr. has made a big impact in his first nine games as a Bronco. On Saturday against Buffalo, Willis paced Western Michigan with 21 points, giving him double-digit points in all nine of his appearances. For the season, the junior is averaging 16.0 points, 5.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals. He has not quite played enough games to qualify for the overall league leaders, but he would rank fourth in the MAC in scoring, second in assists and sixth steals. 

OWEN-ING THE GLASS
Owen Lobsinger led Western Michigan with a career-high 14 rebounds on Saturday against Buffalo. It was his third double-digit rebounding performance of the season, and the seventh time he's led the Broncos in rebounding. For the season, Lobsinger is tied for second in the MAC at 7.5 rebounds per game. In league play, he is nearly averaging a double-double, with 10.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest.

CRASHING THE BOARDS
Western Michigan continues to be one of the top rebounding teams in the conference, ranking atop the MAC in offensive rebounding (13.4) and second in both overall rebounding (38.7) and rebounding margin (+4.8). In MAC play, the Broncos are tied for the top spot in rebounding at 39.4.

GETTING OFFENSIVE
After leading the MAC in offensive rebounding in each of the first two seasons under head coach Dwayne Stephens, the Broncos are atop the conference again, averaging 13.4 offensive boards per contest, which ranks 35th in NCAA DI. WMU has three of the league's top-11 offensive rebounders in Owen Lobsinger (2.2, 8th), Max Burton (2.1, 9th) and Donovan Williams (1.9, 11th). In conference play, Western Michigan is averaging a league-leading 14.4 offensive boards per game, with Lobsinger's 3.2 offensive rebounds tied for third in the MAC.

HANNAH HEATING UP
JaVaughn Hannah netted 16 points on Saturday, giving him 10 or more points in four of WMU's first five league games. Of his 27 career double-digit scoring performances, 16 have come during conference play for the reigning MAC Sixth Man of the Year.

SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan owns a 63-38 lead in the all-time series against Northern Illinois. The Broncos have been especially dominant at home, holding a 40-10 mark against the Huskies in Kalamazoo. The two teams met just once last season, with the Brown and Gold coming away with a 95-90 overtime victory at University Arena.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
NIU enters Tuesday as the lone team without a conference win. The Huskies are one of the nation's best at forcing turnovers, ranking second in the league and 51st nationally at 14.4 per game. They are third in the MAC and 47th in DI with a +2.8 turnover margin.

THE ROAD AHEAD
Western Michigan hits the road for its next two contests, starting on Saturday evening as it heads to Mount Pleasant for the first of two matchups with rival Central Michigan.