2017–18 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team represented Northern Illinois University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Huskies, led by seventh-year head coach Mark Montgomery,[1] played their home games at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Illinois as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 13–19, 6–12 in MAC play to finish in last place in the West Division. They lost in the first round of the MAC Tournament to Kent State.

2017–18 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionWest Division
2017–18 record13–19 (6–12 MAC)
Head coachMark Montgomery (7th season)
Associate head coachJon Borovich
Assistant coaches
  • Lamar Chapman
  • Brandon Watkins
Home arenaConvocation Center
2017–18 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
East
Buffalo †15–3 .833  27–9  .750
Kent State9–9 .500  17–17  .500
Miami (OH)8–10 .444  16–18  .471
Bowling Green7–11 .389  16–16  .500
Ohio7–11 .389  14–17  .452
Akron6–12 .333  14–18  .438
West
Toledo13–5 .722  23–11  .676
Eastern Michigan11–7 .611  22–13  .629
Ball State10–8 .556  19–13  .594
Western Michigan9–9 .500  17–15  .531
Central Michigan7–11 .389  21–15  .583
Northern Illinois6–12 .333  13–19  .406
† 2018 MAC Tournament winner

Previous season

The Huskies finished the 2016–17 season 15–17, 7–11 in MAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place in the West Division. As the No. 9 seed in the MAC Tournament, they lost in the first round to Eastern Michigan.[2]

Offseason

Coaching changes

Following the season, assistant coach Lou Dawkins left the school to take an assistant coach position at Cleveland State.[3][4] Assistant coach Jason Larson was not retained by the school following the season.[3]

On April 28, 2017, the school hired Lamar Chapman as an assistant coach.[5] On October 12, Brandon Watkins was hired as an assistant to round out the coaching staff.[6]

Departures
NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Dontel Highsmith34G6'2"200SeniorDowagiac, MIGraduated and transferred to Cleveland State
Marin Maric34C6'11"250SeniorSplit, CroatiaGraduated and transferred to DePaul
Laytwan Porter14G6'2"165SophomoreRockford, ILTransferred
Nick Wagner14G6'3"190FreshmanGalesville, WITransferred
Marshawn Wilson14G6'3"205SophomoreOakdale, MNLeft school during season[7]

2017 recruiting class
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Safir 'Gairges' Daow
SG		 Australia Victory Rock Prep School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Eugene 'Marlo' Brown
SF		 Detroit, MI DME Academy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Owen Hamilton
#37 C		 Prescott, WI Prescott High School 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sep 18, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Rod Henry-Hayes
SG		 Zion, IL Zion-Benton Township High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 5, 2016.

    Source[8]

    Schedule and results
    Date
    time, TV    		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Non-conference regular season
    Nov 10, 2017*
    7:00 pm    		 St. Francis (IL)
    Postponed (Unsafe court conditions), Make-up Nov 16[9]    		 Convocation Center 
    DeKalb, IL
    Nov 14, 2017*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3    		 Green Bay W 85–65  1–0
    		 Convocation Center (858)
    DeKalb, IL
    Nov 16, 2017*
    7:00 pm    		 St. Francis (IL) W 70–60  2–0
    		 Convocation Center (514)
    DeKalb, IL
    Nov 20, 2017*
    4:00 pm, Flohoops.com    		 vs. Penn
    Gulf Coast Showcase quarterfinals    		 L 80–93  2–1
    		 Germain Arena (823)
    Estero, FL
    Nov 21, 2017*
    12:30 pm, Flohoops.com    		 vs. Florida Atlantic
    Gulf Coast Showcase consolation round    		 L 67–77  2–2
    		 Germain Arena (841)
    Estero, FL
    Nov 22, 2017*
    10:00 am, Flohoops.com    		 vs. Manhattan
    Gulf Coast Showcase 7th place game    		 W 70–68  3–2
    		 Germain Arena (868)
    Estero, FL
    Nov 26, 2017*
    3:30 pm    		 Rockford W 105–53  4–2
    		 Convocation Center (649)
    DeKalb, IL
    Nov 29, 2017*
    8:30 PM, ESPN3    		 Milwaukee L 62–75  4–3
    		 Convocation Center (1,216)
    DeKalb, IL
    Dec 2, 2017*
    2:05 PM, WAC Digital Network    		 at Chicago State W 95–77  5–3
    		 Jones Convocation Center (463)
    Chicago, IL
    Dec 4, 2017*
    8:00 PM, ESPNU    		 at Iowa State L 80–94  5–4
    		 Hilton Coliseum (13,894)
    Ames, IA
    Dec 9, 2017*
    12:00 pm, ESPN3    		 Central Connecticut W 61–55  6–4
    		 Convocation Center (641)
    DeKalb, IL
    Dec 18, 2017*
    6:00 pm, FS1    		 at Marquette L 70–79  6–5
    		 BMO Harris Bradley Center (12,532)
    Milwaukee, WI
    Dec 21, 2017*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3    		 UIC W 69–63  7–5
    		 Convocation Center (889)
    Dekalb, IL
    Dec 29, 2017*
    7:00 PM, BTN Plus    		 at Iowa L 75–98  7–6
    		 Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,665)
    Iowa City, IA
    MAC regular season
    Jan 2, 2018
    7:00 pm, ESPN3    		 Kent State W 75–61  8–6
    (1–0)    		 Convocation Center (918)
    DeKalb, IL
    Jan 6, 2018
    2:30 pm, ESPN3    		 at Ohio L 68–78  8–7
    (1–1)    		 Convocation Center (7,066)
    Athens, OH
    Jan 9, 2018
    6:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at Bowling Green L 57–66  8–8
    (1–2)    		 Stroh Center (2,013)
    Bowling Green, OH
    Jan 13, 2018
    3:30 pm, ESPN3    		 Eastern Michigan W 72–66  9–8
    (2–2)    		 Convocation Center (1,144)
    DeKalb, IL
    Jan 16, 2018
    6:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at Buffalo L 67–95  9–9
    (2–3)    		 Alumni Arena (2,098)
    Amherst, NY
    Jan 20, 2018
    1:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at Akron L 67–82  9–10
    (2–4)    		 James A. Rhodes Arena (3,378)
    Akron, OH
    Jan 23, 2018
    7:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at Bowling Green W 93–62  10–10
    (3–4)    		 Convocation Center (883)
    DeKalb, IL
    Jan 27, 2018
    6:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at Western Michigan L 72–79  10–11
    (3–5)    		 University Arena (3,116)
    Kalamazoo, MI
    Jan 30, 2018
    6:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at Central Michigan L 67–81  10–12
    (3–6)    		 McGuirk Arena (1,820)
    Mount Pleasant, MI
    Feb 3, 2018
    3:30 pm, ESPN3    		 Miami (OH) L 65–81  10–13
    (3–7)    		 Convocation Center (1,280)
    DeKalb, IL
    Feb 6, 2018
    6:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at Toledo L 77–82  10–14
    (3–8)    		 Savage Arena (3,861)
    Toledo, OH
    Feb 10, 2018
    3:30 pm, ESPN3    		 Buffalo W 90–88 OT 11–14
    (4–8)    		 Convocation Center (1,565)
    DeKalb, IL
    Feb 13, 2018
    7:00 pm, ESPN3    		 Central Michigan L 72–80  11–15
    (4–9)    		 Convocation Center (799)
    DeKalb, IL
    Feb 17, 2018
    3:30 pm, ESPN3    		 Western Michigan W 75–67  12–15
    (5–9)    		 Convocation Center (1,743)
    DeKalb, IL
    Feb 20, 2018
    6:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at Ball State L 68–77  12–16
    (5–10)    		 Worthen Arena (3,745)
    Muncie, IN
    Feb 24, 2018
    11:00 am, ESPN3    		 at Eastern Michigan L 53–82  12–17
    (5–11)    		 Convocation Center (1,821)
    Ypsilanti, MI
    Feb 27, 2018
    7:00 pm, ESPN3    		 Toledo L 67–97  12–18
    (5–12)    		 Convocation Center (869)
    DeKalb, IL
    Mar 2, 2018
    7:00 pm, ESPN3    		 Ball State W 66–65  13–18
    (6–12)    		 Convocation Center (1,007)
    DeKalb, IL
    MAC Tournament
    Mar 5, 2018
    7:00 pm, ESPN3    		 (12) at (5) Kent State
    First round    		 L 59–61  13–19
    		 MAC Center (2,024)
    Kent, OH
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    All times are in Central Time.

    Source[10]

    References
    1. Editor, Tom Burton | Assistant Sports. "Coach's seat gets warmer". Northern Star Online. Retrieved 2017-08-16.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
    2. "Northern Illinois vs. Eastern Michigan – Game Recap – March 6, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
    3. Editor, Scott A. Nicol | Sports. "Men's basketball staff sees shake up". Northern Star Online. Retrieved 2017-08-16.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
    4. "Cleveland State University". Cleveland State University. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
    5. "Lamar Chapman Joins NIU Men's Basketball Staff – Northern Illinois University". NIU Athletics. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
    6. Writer, Eddie Garcia | Sports. "Alumnus becomes assistant men's basketball coach". Northern Star Online. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
    7. "Men's basketball: Wilson, NIU part ways". Retrieved 2017-08-16.
    8. "Verbal Commits". www.verbalcommits.com. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
    9. Men's Basketball Season Opener Postponed
    10. http://www.niuhuskies.com/boxscore.aspx?id=8762&path=mbball
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