Northern Illinois hosts Kent State after Garcia's 21-point outing

Kent State Golden Flashes (19-9, 14-4 MAC) at Northern Illinois Huskies (8-20, 5-13 MAC)

DeKalb, Illinois; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EST

LINE: Northern Illinois -8.5; over/under is 132

BOTTOM LINE: Kent State visits the Northern Illinois Huskies after Andrew Garcia scored 21 points in Kent State's 73-71 win against the Central Michigan Chippewas.

The Huskies have gone 2-7 in home games. Northern Illinois is 2-11 when it wins the turnover battle and averages 12.8 turnovers per game.

The Golden Flashes are 14-4 in conference matchups. Kent State is seventh in the MAC with 23.8 defensive rebounds per game led by Malique Jacobs averaging 5.4.

The teams meet for the second time in conference play this season. Northern Illinois won 65-63 in the last matchup on Jan. 12. Kaleb Thornton led Northern Illinois with 17 points, and Sincere Carry led Kent State with 16 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Anthony Crump is averaging 5.9 points for the Huskies. Trendon Hankerson is averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Northern Illinois.

Carry is averaging 18.6 points, 4.6 assists and 1.5 steals for the Golden Flashes. Jacobs is averaging 10.3 points over the last 10 games for Kent State.

LAST 10 GAMES: Huskies: 3-7, averaging 66.9 points, 28.4 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 6.0 steals and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.8 points per game.

Golden Flashes: 10-0, averaging 74.9 points, 33.3 rebounds, 12.8 assists, 5.9 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 48.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.8 points.

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