KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team hits the road on Saturday afternoon as it takes aim at a season sweep of Northern Illinois.
 

GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (10-18, 7-8 MAC) at NIU (5-23, 1-14)

Date/Time: Saturday, March 1 – 4:30 pm

Site: Convocation Center (DeKalb, Ill.)

Video: ESPN+

Radio: Bronco Media Network

Live Stats: SIDEARM

OPENING TIP

• Western Michigan hits the road on Saturday afternoon to face Northern Illinois.
• The Broncos are coming off of an 82-73 win over Ohio on Tuesday night.
• Chansey Willis Jr. led Western Michigan with a career-high 34 points.
• It was the highest scoring game by a Bronco so far this season.
• Willis also tied his career high with eight assists in the victory.
• Western Michigan enjoyed a 42-32 advantage on the glass against the Bobcats.
• Donovan Williams (10 points, 12 boards) and JaVaughn Hannah (14 points, 10 rebounds) each had double-doubles.
• Western Michigan owns a 64-38 lead in the all-time series against NIU.
• The Broncos survived a late rally to win this season's first meeting, 72-70, back on Jan. 21 at University Arena.
• The Huskies own a 25-20 edge in the series in DeKalb, and have won eight of the last nine meetings on their home floor.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Western Michigan hits the road for the penultimate time in the regular season on Saturday as it visits Northern Illinois. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of an 82-73 victory over Ohio on Tuesday at University Arena. Chansey Willis Jr. paced the Brown and Gold with a career-high 34 points, and also tied his career-best with eight assists. WMU was dominant on the glass, outrebounding the Bobcats 42-32, thanks in large part to double-doubles by Donovan Williams (10 points, 12 rebounds) and JaVaughn Hannah (14 points, 10 rebounds). 

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, WILLIS
Chansey Willis Jr. erupted for a career-high 34 points in Tuesday's victory over Ohio, the team-leading 12th time he has led WMU in scoring this season. It marked the highest point total for a Bronco since Lamar Norman Jr. netted 36 in a win at Houston Christian on Nov. 18, 2022. Willis also equaled his career high in assists with eight in the contest. During MAC play, the junior is second in the conference in both scoring (17.5 PPG) and assists (5.6), tied for fourth in steals (1.8) and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0).

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Western Michigan was plus-10 (42-32) in rebounding on Tuesday thanks in large part to the duo of Donovan Williams and JaVaughn Hannah, who each recorded double-doubles. Williams had 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds to collect his second double-double of the campaign and third of his career. Hannah tallied 14 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to notch the first double-double of his collegiate career. He became the fourth different Bronco to post a double-double this season, joining Williams, Max Burton and Owen Lobsinger.

HANNAH HEATING UP
The 14 points scored by JaVaughn Hannah in Tuesday's win made it six straight games in double-figures for the junior, who has netted double-digit points in 20 of his 26 games this year, including in 12 of 15 MAC contests. Hannah is at 12.4 points per game this season, and is averaging 13.5 points per contest in league play. He has also registered 10 steals in the last four games to bump his season average to 1.3 per game, the 10th-best mark in the conference.

CLEANING THE GLASS
Western Michigan continues to rank among the conference's best on the boards, leading the MAC in offensive rebounding (13.6, 17th in NCAA Division I), ranking second in overall rebounding (38.3, 42nd DI) and fourth in rebounding margin (+4.0). In conference play, the Broncos are averaging a league-leading 14.3 offensive rebounds per game and their 38.5 total boards per contest are second. WMU has two players in the league's top-10 in rebounding, Owen Lobsinger (6.6, 6th) and Donovan Williams (6.2, 9th).

GETTING OFFENSIVE
WMU comes into the weekend ranked 17th in NCAA Division I in offensive rebounding at 13.6 per game. Four Broncos are currently among the top-14 offensive rebounders in the MAC, with Owen Lobsinger pulling down 2.2 per game (9th), JaVaughn Hannah at 1.9 (12th), Max Burton at 1.9 (13th) and Donovan Williams at 1.8 (14th). In league play, Western Michigan has boosted its league-leading total to 14.3 per contest.

SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan comes into Saturday with a 64-38 lead in the all-time series against Northern Illinois. The Huskies own a 25-20 edge in DeKalb, and have won eight of the last nine meetings on their home floor. 

WHEN LAST WE MET
The Broncos took this season's first meeting with NIU, surviving a late rally to pick up a 72-70 victory back on Jan. 21 at University Arena. Western Michigan had five players score in double-figures in the win, with Chansey Willis Jr.'s 18 points leading the way. WMU dominated on the glass to the tune of a plus-15 advantage (42-27), which included 19 offensive rebounds.

ON THE HORIZON
WMU returns home on Tuesday as it welcomes Kent State to town for Senior Night.