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GAME NOTES: The Northern Illinois Huskies hope to put an end to a nine-game skid as they travel to face the Eastern Illinois Panthers in a Bracketbuster event at Lantz Arena.

Eastern Illinois comes into tonight's matchup a winner of four straight, including Tuesday night's victory at UT-Martin, 83-68. The win improved the Panthers' record to 15-11 on the season and 9-7 in Ohio Valley Conference action. Prior to the current win streak, Eastern Illinois was losers of six out of seven games.

Northern Illinois fell victim for the ninth consecutive time, 90-81, on the road against Western Michigan on Wednesday night. Before the drastic losing streak occurred the Huskies were winners of six straight and seven out of their last eight games. They are currently 4-9 in the Mid-American Conference.

Tonight's game marks the 86th meeting between the teams. Eastern Illinois hopes to tie up the series, with the Huskies holding a slim 43-42 advantage.

Zavier Sanders led the way for Eastern Illinois by scoring 16 points as the Panthers defeated UT-Martin 83-68 on Tuesday night. James Hollowell and Jeremy Granger both added 13 points, while T.J. Marion netted 11. Eastern Illinois was leading 35-25 at halftime after shooting 51.7 percent in the first stanza. The Panthers wouldn't let up in the second half, improving their efficiency to 60.0 percent from the floor en route to the comfortable victory. The defense was fierce in the tussle, coercing UT-Martin into 19 turnovers on the night. The win improved Eastern Illinois' record to 15-11. They are 8-4 at home so far this season and host a Northern Illinois team that struggles mightily on the road (3-10).

Xavier Silas leads Northern Illinois into Charleston as the team's top scorer, netting an impressive 19.6 points per game. Darion Anderson follows with 10.6 ppg, while diming out a team-high 86 assists on the year. The Huskies shoot a mediocre 40.8 percent, while its opponents convert on 43.9 percent of their attempts from the floor. Their last time out, the Huskies fell to Western Michigan, 90-81. Despite the loss, Silas dropped in 23 points, while Sean Kowal added 17. Northern Illinois held the lead at the intermission, 35-32, but fell apart in the second half when its defense let up an astounding 58 points on 61.5 percent shooting from the floor by Western Michigan. The Huskies were outmuscled under the rim, as they lost the rebounding war 40-28, including 14-8 on the offensive boards.

These teams come into tonight's battle heading in two completely opposite directions. Eastern Illinois is in the midst of building a sizeable winning streak, while the Huskies are mired in a huge slump. Look for the Panthers to stroll to an easy home victory in this one.