Preview: Northern Illinois at Ball State

MUNCIE, Ind. (Interstat) — Two teams seeking momentum in the Mid-American Conference will meet Saturday when Ball State hosts Northern Illinois at Worthen Arena.

Both the Huskies (6-12) and Cardinals (6-13) enter with identical 2-5 records in MAC play, making this a contest to gain ground in the league standings.

Northern Illinois looks to bounce back from a narrow 80-77 road loss at Ohio on Tuesday. In that game, guard Dylan Ducommun scored 23 points, continuing a stretch of strong offensive performances. Over his last seven games, Ducommun is averaging 14.3 points, including a 23-point outing against Ohio and a 19-point game against Buffalo. His scoring will be crucial for a Huskies team that has lost five of its last six.

Ball State arrives with some confidence after snapping a five-game skid with a 68-67 road win at Central Michigan on Tuesday. The Cardinals are led by guard Armoni Zeigler, who has been on a scoring tear. Zeigler poured in 28 points in a win over Ohio on Jan. 16 and followed that with a 30-point effort in a loss at Akron. He scored 17 in the victory over Central Michigan and has averaged 21.1 points over his last seven contests.

The matchup features two of the conference’s top recent scorers in Ducommun and Zeigler. Northern Illinois will need to contain Zeigler, while Ball State’s defense, which allows an average of 74.2 points per game, must find an answer for Ducommun.

Historically, Ball State holds a 58-35 advantage in the series and has won the last three meetings. The teams will meet again in DeKalb on Feb. 28.

Saturday’s game tips off at 2 p.m. EST as both programs aim to climb out of the bottom half of the MAC standings.