Scouting: Northern Illinois @ Ball St.

Northern Illinois (4-8, 0-0) at Ball St. (6-6, 0-0)When: 1 p.m. at Worthen ArenaRadio: WSCR 670-AMThe skinny: The Huskies, whose only loss in their last four games came against nationally ranked Temple, open MAC play at defending West Division co-champ Ball State. The Cardinals, coached by West Aurora grad Billy Taylor, love to pound the ball to 6-foot-9 sophomore Jarrod Jones (14.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg). Ball State makes just three 3-pointers per game, so the Huskies should feel free to surround Jones. NIU has begun to see the full benefit of Xavier Silas' presence. The MAC West player of the week (and the MAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the week) owns averages of 23.3 points and 4.5 rebounds over the last four games. Six-foot-1 guard Jake Anderson continues to pace NIU with 7.1 rebounds per game.