2017–18 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team
American college basketball season
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 .
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
Name
Number
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Notes
Dontel Highsmith
34
G
6'2"
200
Senior
Dowagiac, MI
Graduated and transferred to Cleveland State
Marin Maric
34
C
6'11"
250
Senior
Split, Croatia
Graduated and transferred to DePaul
Laytwan Porter
14
G
6'2"
165
Sophomore
Rockford, IL
Transferred
Nick Wagner
14
G
6'3"
190
Freshman
Galesville, WI
Transferred
Marshawn Wilson
14
G
6'3"
205
Sophomore
Oakdale, MN
Left school during season[7]
2017 recruiting class
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
^ Burton, Tom. "Coach's seat gets warmer" . Northern Star Online . Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017 .
^ "Northern Illinois vs. Eastern Michigan – Game Recap – March 6, 2017 – ESPN" . ESPN.com . Retrieved August 16, 2017 .
^ a b Nicol, Scott A. "Men's basketball staff sees shake up" . Northern Star Online . Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017 .
^ "Cleveland State University" . Cleveland State University . Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017 .
^ "Lamar Chapman Joins NIU Men's Basketball Staff – Northern Illinois University" . NIU Athletics . Retrieved January 9, 2018 .
^ Garcia, Eddie. "Alumnus becomes assistant men's basketball coach" . Northern Star Online . Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2018 .
^ "Men's basketball: Wilson, NIU part ways" . Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017 .
^ "Verbal Commits" . www.verbalcommits.com . Retrieved July 10, 2017 .
^ Men's Basketball Season Opener Postponed
^ "Men's Basketball vs Marquette on 12/18/2017 - Box Score" .