Knee Surgery Information

The Northern Illinois men’s basketball team suffered a huge loss on Monday.
 
Sophomore guard Ben Rand will miss the remainder of the season after sustaining a right knee injury during the Huskies’ 94-61 victory over Eastern Michigan on Sunday.

The Rochelle native went down with the injury at the 7:51 mark of the second half after EMU guard Carols Medlock nudged Rand while he was dribbling the ball near the Huskie bench.

Rand immediately fell to the ground in agony. He walked out of the Convocation Center on crutches while sporting a brace over his right knee.

“It’s real unfortunate for Ben,” said NIU coach Rob Judson. “First and foremost because we feel that Ben is a tremendous competitor. We knew that this being his first year, he would have some inconsistencies. We did see that, but as we were coming down the stretch, he was becoming more and more consistent. He was starting to come into his own. It’s a tough break for him and our team as well.”

Rand, who sat out last season after transfering from Iowa, averaged 7.7 points on 56.4 percent shooting in 25 games. He started eight games for the Huskies this season.

The loss couldn’t come at a worse time for NIU, which has two games remaining in the regular season.

“You always want to be at full strength, especially coming down the stretch,” said Judson. “But you don’t have any control over injuries. The one thing about our team is that with our depth, we’ve had a lot of guys playing. We have a lot of experience. The other players will just have to give us more.”

The Huskies, currently tied for first in the Mid-American Conference West along with Western Michigan, close out the regular season on the road at Ball State and WMU. NIU is seeking its first divisional title in school history and the automatic bye to the MAC quarterfinals in Cleveland.

Regardless of Wednesday’s outcome, the Huskies control their own destiny after defeating WMU, 86-60, earlier this season.

Judson expects a plethora of players to replace Rand in the lineup.

“We have played 11 players all year long,” said the fifth-year coach. “We are deep on the perimeter. Mike (McKinney) played well on Sunday and Zach (Pancratz) has played well during the year. There will be times where we could move Ryan (Paradise) off the point and Cory is still there as well. What we need is to play our best.”

Knee Injury  Knee Surgery News

Knee Surgery

Knee Surgery News