Northern Illinois will begin its season against Grambling State at 3 a.m. Eastern Time on Monday morning, and the unusual tip-off has forced the Huskies into a preparation plan that looks far closer to a late-night road trip than a standard opener. Matt Majkrzak has kept most of the schedule close to normal, but the week still includes a midnight-style practice, an overnight room check and a sleep routine built around the timing of the Field of 68 Tip-off Marathon in Rock Hill, S.C.
The game is one of eight across two venues in the marathon, and the odd hour has made sleep, meals and recovery part of the story as much as the basketball itself. Northern Illinois are trying to treat it like a normal game week, even if the clock says otherwise.
Majkrzak keeps the week as normal as possible
Majkrzak said the aim is not to overcomplicate things. He described the approach as treating it like a Sunday game, with the main priority being to avoid putting extra doubt into the players’ minds.
“The biggest thing is not overthinking it,” he said. “Not putting doubt in their minds.”
That mindset has shaped the Huskies’ routine. On Friday, Northern Illinois are scheduled to fly at noon, then practice at 11:30 p.m. after arriving in South Carolina later that evening. Majkrzak then plans a room check at 4 a.m. and wants the players awake before they settle into a 4 a.m. to noon sleep window.
It is unusual preparation, but the coach’s message is simple: keep the body clock as close to normal as possible, even if the game itself is anything but normal.
The weekend is built around recovery
Saturday and Sunday follow the same logic. Northern Illinois have no team activities until 1 p.m. on Saturday, then practice again at 5 p.m. On Sunday, their assigned shootaround is set for 5 p.m. in the evening before the 3 a.m. opener against Grambling State.
Majkrzak also suggested that if the team can sleep until noon on Saturday and again until noon on Sunday, the late start begins to feel more manageable. As he put it, “All of the sudden it just becomes kind of a normal later game night.”
That is the challenge for Northern Illinois: to make a 3 a.m. game feel routine enough that it does not become a distraction.
Grambling State have their own adjustments
Grambling State are working through the same unusual schedule in a different way. Joe Gallo said the team will probably have players taped at the hotel, and he does not expect them to reach the arena until 4:30 or 4:45.
The Warriors are scheduled for a 9:30 a.m. practice in Rock Hill on Saturday, then a 2:30 p.m. flight from Boston to Charlotte. On Sunday, they have a 9:25 a.m. practice in Rock Hill and are aiming for the players to be asleep around 7 p.m.
So while the location is fixed, the routines around it are anything but standard. Both teams will be dealing with the same strange clock, but Northern Illinois appear intent on controlling the parts they can control.
When the Huskies and Grambling State finally tip off at 3 a.m. Eastern Time on Monday, the basketball will matter as much as ever. But so will the ability to stay sharp through a schedule that has been designed as much around sleep as around scouting.
