College Basketball: UNI’s Nate Heise picks up first career MVC Player of the Week award

Men’s basketball guard coming off the two highest scoring games of his career last week. UNI visits Northern Illinois on Thursday night.

Published on December 20, 2023
by NIT Publisher

CEDAR FALLS – UNI junior guard Nate Heise has been named the Missouri Valley Conference’s (MVC) Player of the Week, as announced by the league office on Monday afternoon. The selection marks the first time Heise has received the honor in his collegiate career.

Heise, a fourth-year player for Northern Iowa, recorded the two best scoring performances of his career last week, headlined by a career-high 25-point game in UNI’s 74-55 home win over Prairie View A&M. He followed his breakout exhibition up on Sunday afternoon with a 24-point effort in the Panthers’ 100-82 victory against Alcorn State in the McLeod Center.

In last week’s games, Heise shot a combined 77.8% from the floor, including 63.6% from beyond the three-point arc to lead UNI in scoring in both outings, while also averaging seven rebounds per game during the week. His ten rebounds against Prairie View A&M gave him his second career double-double, while his five three-pointers vs. Alcorn State were a new career best.

Through 12 games this year, Heise leads all Panthers in scoring with 184 points (15.3 PPG) and ranks second for UNI with 60 total rebounds (5.7 RPG). He is also Northern Iowa’s leader this season in assists (35), blocked shots (8) and minutes played (391 / 32.6 MPG). Earlier this season, Heise became the 112th member of UNI’s 500 career point club, and currently ranks 85th on the program’s all-time scoring list following his second and third career games this week of 20+ points.

Heise was among three MVC men’s basketball players honored with weekly awards on Monday. Indiana State sophomore guard Ryan Conwell was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week, while guard Chuck Bailey III of Evansville was selected as the MVC’s Freshman of the Week.

A Lake City, Minnesota native, Heise is the son of Tony and Amy Heise, younger brother of former University of Minnesota and women’s professional ice hockey standout Taylor Heise and older brother of Upper Iowa men’s basketball forward Ryan Heise. Nate is currently studying supply chain management at UNI.

Heise and the Panthers return to action on Thursday, Dec. 21 as UNI closes the non-conference portion of the schedule at Northern Illinois. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Illinois, with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.