DEKALB, Ill. (Interstat) — A surging Toledo team looks to continue its climb in the Mid-American Conference when it visits struggling Northern Illinois on Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.

The Rockets (8-6) have won three straight, including a 78-75 road victory at Central Michigan on Saturday to open MAC play. The Huskies (5-9) have dropped their last two, falling 77-73 at Kent State on Saturday.

Toledo’s recent success has been fueled by guard Kyler VanderJagt, who is averaging 18.3 points over the last three games. He scored 23 points in 32 minutes against Central Michigan. Forward Austin Parks added a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds in that win.

Northern Illinois will counter with guard Makhai Valentine, who is coming off a career-high 27 points in the loss to Kent State. He has scored in double figures in five straight games and recorded a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) at Elon on Dec. 13.

The Huskies have struggled defensively, allowing 81.3 points per game during their current three-game losing streak. They will face a Toledo offense that has scored 84 or more points in two of its last three contests.

Historically, the road team has won the last three meetings in this series. Toledo will aim to extend that trend and improve to 2-0 in conference play, while Northern Illinois seeks its first MAC win to halt its slide.

The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. CST tip-off.