WALDRON GRAIN & FUEL

12/19 03:43 CST Central Michigan faces Northern Illinois following Claerbaut's 31-point outing Central Michigan faces Northern Illinois following Claerbaut's 31-point outing By The Associated Press Central Michigan Chippewas (4-7) at Northern Illinois Huskies (4-7) DeKalb, Illinois; Saturday, 3 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Central Michigan takes on Northern Illinois after Nathan Claerbaut scored 31 points in Central Michigan's 85-65 win against the Olivet Comets. The Huskies have gone 3-1 in home games. Northern Illinois is the MAC leader with 12.3 offensive rebounds per game led by Gustav Winther averaging 2.5. The Chippewas have gone 0-5 away from home. Central Michigan is seventh in the MAC giving up 77.4 points while holding opponents to 45.7% shooting. Northern Illinois scores 77.5 points per game, 0.1 more points than the 77.4 Central Michigan gives up. Central Michigan's 45.3% shooting percentage from the field this season is 3.0 percentage points lower than Northern Illinois has allowed to its opponents (48.3%). The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play. TOP PERFORMERS: Makhai Valentine is averaging 12.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals for the Huskies. Daemar Kelly is averaging 9.3 points over the last 10 games. Logan McIntire averages 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Chippewas, scoring 7.5 points while shooting 32.3% from beyond the arc. Claerbaut is shooting 61.6% and averaging 13.8 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Huskies: 3-7, averaging 75.0 points, 33.1 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 6.9 steals and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 42.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.5 points per game. Chippewas: 3-7, averaging 72.6 points, 31.8 rebounds, 16.4 assists, 6.2 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 44.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.5 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.