Williams, Northern Illinois Huskies square off against the Ball State Cardinals

Northern Illinois Huskies (6-16, 3-9 MAC) at Ball State Cardinals (11-13, 6-7 MAC)

Muncie, Indiana; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST

LINE: Ball State -8.5; over/under is 145.5

BOTTOM LINE: Keshawn Williams and the Northern Illinois Huskies take on Payton Sparks and the Ball State Cardinals on Tuesday.

The Cardinals have gone 8-3 at home. Ball State ranks fifth in the MAC with 24.3 defensive rebounds per game led by Sparks averaging 5.2.

The Huskies are 3-9 in MAC play. Northern Illinois is 3-9 in games decided by 10 points or more.

The teams play for the second time this season in MAC play. The Cardinals won the last meeting 74-67 on Jan. 28. Tyler Cochran scored 17 points points to help lead the Cardinals to the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Luke Bumbalough is shooting 38.9% from beyond the arc with 2.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Cardinals, while averaging 11.7 points. Sparks is averaging 14.6 points and 9.8 rebounds over the last 10 games for Ball State.

Kaleb Thornton is averaging 8.5 points and 3.8 assists for the Huskies. Williams is averaging 19.9 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 50.0% over the last 10 games for Northern Illinois.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 4-6, averaging 76.5 points, 33.1 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 5.0 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.3 points per game.

Huskies: 2-8, averaging 71.0 points, 29.4 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 6.0 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.7 points.

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