GAME NOTES: With two home wins already under their belt, the Idaho Vandals will hit the road for the first time to take on the Northern Illinois Huskies in a non-conference matchup at the Convocation Center.

Idaho opened its season with a 12-point win over Eastern Oregon, then followed it up by defeating South Dakota State on Monday, 82-77.

Northern Illinois easily took down Roosevelt in an exhibition matchup prior to the start of the 2014-15 campaign, then coasted past Aurora with a resounding 30-point victory, 86-56, on Saturday.

This contest between Idaho and Northern Illinois will represent the first-ever meeting between the sides in their program histories.

South Dakota State lost plenty of talent from its roster in the offseason, but the Jackrabbits still retain enough to make them a threat this season. So for Idaho to host the Jackrabbits and hand them their second loss on the year is a big win moving forward for the Vandals. Mike Scott topped the squad with a 23- point effort against SDSU, and Bira Seck contributed a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Sekou Wiggs chipped in with 14 points and Connor Hill added another 11 points. Although Idaho shot 43.3 percent from the floor in the win, the team connected on 53.3 percent of its attempts from 3-point distance. The Vandals also held the Jacks to 1-of-9 shooting from 3-point range in the second half.

The Big Sky Conference Vandals are led by four players through two games that are averaging scoring totals in double figures. Scott is at the top of the list after his 23-point performance against South Dakota State, netting 15.0 ppg with a team-high nine assists. Wiggs follows that up with 13.5 ppg, and then Arkadiy Mkrtychyan's 12.0 ppg comes in third on the team. Seck is averaging a double-double through two contests with a 10.5 ppg mark and 10.0 rpg average. The team's 79.5 ppg as a unit will get a serious test from Northern Illinois.

Northern Illinois gets back talented scorer Dontel Highsmith this season after tearing his ACL 11 games into the 2013-14 campaign and was sidelined for the year. Prior to his injury, Highsmith was averaging 10.5 ppg - the only player on the roster last season to average a scoring total in double digits. Darrell Bowie (9.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and Jordan Threloff (9.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg) return to the lineup as the favorite big men, while role players Aaric and Aaron Armstead, and Travon Baker come back for another shot at the league title. After two consecutive five-win campaigns, Northern Illinois broke out last season with a 15-17 overall record, and will look to improve on that in 2014-15.

The Huskies went without Highsmith in their first game back against Aurora, and they performed just fine. Threloff dominated with a 17-point, 16- rebound double-double, which matched Aaric Armstead's 17 points for a team high. Armstead chipped in with eight boards of his own in a contest that saw NIU register 56 rebounds on the night (the team held a 56-25 rebounding advantage in the game). Although the Huskies didn't shoot well from beyond the arc (14.3 percent), they managed to sink 48.3 percent of their attempts from the floor and 28-of-35 from the free-throw line.

This game for Idaho will be a true test, especially if Highsmith (still questionable after knee surgery last season) is cleared to play. Either way, the Huskies pack a punch with Armstead, Baker and Threloff all contributing on both ends of the floor. The Vandals will need to use that scoring burst to try and down the Huskies, but on the road it might be difficult.