The Northern Illinois Huskies look to start their season off on a good note against the fifth-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles in Wisconsin. The Golden Eagles are heavily favored to find success with a point spread of -23.5 (-110).

The last time we saw the Huskies, they were defeated by the Kent State Golden Flashes 76-57 in the quarterfinal of the MAC Championship. They had a losing record of 13-19 and this season could be another one of those instances.

In MAC play, they went 9-9 and finished sixth in the conference. Head coach Rashon Burno enters his second season with a record of 22-40 and will aim to shock the country if they land a defiant win.

However, that could be a fairytale. They averaged 72.0 points per game last year and ranked 169^th in the nation. Their offense ranked 250^th in the nation with an efficiency rating of 101.1.

Defensively they did worse, as they allowed 75.0 points per game, ranking 312^th. They also had a defensive efficiency rating of 105.4, ranking 273^rd in the nation. This will need to improve dramatically from a year ago if they want chances to succeed.

The Golden Eagles had high hopes in their previous season, but fell short to the Michigan State Spartans 69-60 in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. With a loaded team, they will try once again to find success.

Head coach Shaka Smart is back at it, with a 48-20 record with the program. The team finished 29-7 last season, with 17-3 in the Big East conference play and were considered the sixth-best team in the country by the end of the regular season.

They had an appealing offense at 79.3 points per game, ranking 23^rd in the nation. They were one of the more efficient teams in that regard, with a rating of 112.9 that ranked 14^th.

Their defense was solid, as they allowed 70.3 points per game against some of the better teams in the country, which ranked 187^th. Their efficiency ranked 121^st, with a rating of 100.0.

MyBookie has the Marquette Golden Eagles as a heavy favorite to win this showdown on their home court. Looking at market analysis, it reveals the Golden Eagles have a 95.8 percent chance of winning.

The Golden Eagles did not finance like they would have hoped last year. Look for them to be on target with a great win here.