Wednesday, November 14th, 4:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Breslin Center (14,759) -- East Lansing, Michigan. Television: ESPNU. Home Record: Chicago St. 0-0, N. Michigan 0-0. Away Record: Chicago St. 0-2, N. Michigan 0-0. Neutral Record: Chicago St. 0-0, N. Michigan 0-1. Conference Record: Chicago St. 0-0, N. Michigan 0-0.

GAME NOTES: The Chicago State Cougars and the Northern Michigan Wildcats will collide this evening in the CBE Classic from East Lansing. This meeting is basically a consolation game for both teams. Chicago State had the unenviable task of facing Michigan State in front of its home crowd last evening, and the result was a lopsided 86-53 setback. The Cougars began their season on Saturday afternoon with a 96-85 loss to Cal State Northridge. As for Northern Michigan, it is coming off last night's 60-53 loss to UL-Monroe. That game marked the season opener for the Wildcats, who were recently selected to finish third in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Chicago State shot a lowly 28.6 percent from the floor last night, the most obvious reason that they were blown out by Michigan State. The Cougars finished with only 10 assists against 13 turnovers and suffered a 53-31 rebounding disadvantage. Put simply, they were dominated in every major aspect of the game, and a step down in competition level this evening will do the squad good. David Holston scored 18 points against Michigan State, while teammates John Cantrell and Chidozie Chukwumah added 10 points each. In the opener against Cal State Northridge, Holston played extremely well in defeat, as he scored 29 points on the strength of 6-of-11 shooting from three-point range and 9-of-9 from the foul line. Cantrell added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars.

There are a few obvious reasons that Northern Michigan fell short in its game against UL-Monroe last night. The Wildcats shot just 36.5 percent from the floor in the clash, including a horrendous 6-of-29 showing from three-point range. They also turned the ball over 19 times and suffered a 38-29 rebounding disadvantage. That game marked the season opener for Northern Michigan, and if that game is any indication of what's to come, Jerard Ajami will be the go-to guy at the offensive end on the floor. The lone bright spot against ULM, Ajami connected on 11-of-20 field goal attempts en route to 27 points, and he played 40 minutes in that clash. The only other double-digit scorer was Tyler Kazmierkoski with 10 points.

Expect a close game between Chicago State and Northern Michigan, as the teams appear to be evenly matched. Give a narrow edge to the Cougars.

Predicted Outcome

Chicago State 63, Northern Michigan 60