NorthIowaToday.com

Founded in 2010

News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region

College Basketball: UNI to face second top-25 opponent in St. Bonaventure

CEDAR FALLS – UNI men’s basketball (1-3) returns to the floor this weekend to take on its second top-25 opponent in No. 16 St. Bonaventure.

The undefeated Bonnies (5-0) were selected as the unanimous favorite to win the Atlantic 10 Conference title. They jumped in the rankings after winning the Charleston Classic on Sunday, taking down Marquette in the finals, 70-54.

Saturday’s matchup marks the third all-time meeting between UNI and St. Bonaventure and first since the 1993-94 season. The Bonnies were victorious by a score of 74-63 in 1992 on home court, and again the following year, 74-70 in a game played in the UNI-Dome.

For UNI, Trae Berhow looks to continue his hot shooting hand after scoring a season-high 23 points last week at Arkansas, including seven three-point field goals. Berhow moved past former Panther and current Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse for seventh in program history with 172 career shots during a week that saw him garner MVC Player of the Week recognition.

St. Bonaventure, the reigning Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament champion, is led by Kyle Lofton, averaging 17 points per game through the Bonnies’ first five games this season. Lofton recorded a season-high 22 points Bonnies’ Charleston Classic semifinal game against Clemson. Senior Jaren Homes is also out to a strong start for St. Bonaventure, scoring 17 or more points in four of his first five games. Lofton, along with fellow senior Osun Osunniyi, were both selected to the Atlantic 10’s preseason first team.

UNI Notes

UNI head coach Ben Jacobson ranks fourth all-time in MVC history in total victories, with 301 as a coach in the league. Henry Iba is the all-time leader with 486 wins at Oklahoma State during their tenure in the Conference. Eddie Hickey (Creighton/Saint Louis) is next with 337 and Dana Altman of Creighton has 327. Jacobson’s 160 MVC wins also rank fourth (behind the same three).

Junior guard AJ Green is one of six MVC student-athletes on the Watch List for the 2021-22 Lou Henson National Men’s Basketball Player of the Year award. The MVC has the most of any league.

AJ Green, UNI
ShanQuan Hemphill, Drake
Tyreke Key, Indiana State
Roman Penn, Drake
Isiaih Mosely, Missouri State
Gaige Prim, Missouri State

UNI has four current players on the program’s top-100 all-time scoring list with AJ Green at No. 18 (1,230 points), Trae Berhow at No. 46 (1,273 career points between UNI and Pepperdine with 973 points at UNI), and Austin Phyfe at No. 69 (795 points). Tywhon Pickford moved up to tie for No. 85 this week (663 points).

AJ Green ranks seventh in the nation in free throw percentage at 87.7%. He’s also 17th in Division I for scoring average, with 17.1 points a game and 26th for 2.51 points per game.

Trae Berhow leads the Panthers with 22 total rebounds, averaging 5.5 per game. Austin Phyfe has posted 17 boards in four games played this season.

The Panthers lead the Missouri Valley Conference in defensive rebounding percentage with 107 as a team vs. opponents’ offensive rebounding at 26 for a percentage of 80.5%.

The Panthers are 18-44 all-time against opponents ranked in the AP top-25 poll. UNI’s last win against a top-25 program came on Dec. 10, 2019, at No. 23 Colorado, their 10th win against a top-25 team as a Missouri Valley Conference member.

UNI men’s basketball vs. No. 16 St. Bonaventure
1 p.m. CT / 2 p.m. ET Nov. 27
St, Bonaventure, N.Y. | Reilly Center (5,480)
ESPN+
1330 KPTY-AM / 107.3 HANK-FM

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Even more news:

Watercooler
Copyright 2024 – Internet Marketing Pros. of Iowa, Inc.
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x