Scouting: NIU @ Buffalo

Posted January 27, 2011 11:00 pm

By Lindsey Willhite

Northern Illinois (7-11, 3-3) at Buffalo (12-6, 4-2)

When: 11 a.m. at Alumni Arena

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

The skinny: The Huskies received a big boost toward their MAC West Division title hopes as Wednesday’s home win over Akron made them the only victorious West team in the opening game of interdivisional play. Xavier Silas’ 39-point outburst against the Zips pushed him into second place on the national scoring charts. At 24.4 ppg, he’s a fraction of a point ahead of Connecticut’s Kemba Walker. East division co-leader Buffalo rides a four-game winning streak into this game. The Bulls’ Zach Filzen owns 62 3-pointers in 18 games while senior PG Byron Mulkey is an overall menace with 3 steals and 4.9 assists per game.