CEDAR FALLS – Coming off a milestone victory over the weekend, UNI men’s basketball returns to action at home on Tuesday night as the Panthers look to extend their winning streak to five games, hosting the Evansville Purple Aces in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT with live coverage available on the Panther Sports Network (check local listings) and the Panther Sports Radio Network. Tickets are available for purchase online at UNIpanthers.com/tickets, or by calling the ticket office at 319-273-4849.
As part of Coaches vs. Cancer Week, the Panthers will wear pink shirts and encourage fans to do so as well as part of their annual Hope Always Game.
Coming off a thrilling 61-57 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday, UNI will look to avenge its early season loss to the Purple Aces back on December 2 at the Ford Center. Northern Iowa and Evansville both shot over 50% in a high-scoring battle a month ago in southern Indiana, but ultimately came up short in a 91-89 overtime loss. Since their last meeting the Panthers have won 11 of their last 13 games, while the Purple Aces have struggled, dropping six of ten.
UNI can reach another milestone with a win on Tuesday, sitting on the brink of the program’s 200th win inside the McLeod Center. The Panthers enter the game 199-62 (.759) since the arena opened in November 2006, and are 21-7 all-time against Evansville at home.
In Northern Iowa’s last outing against Southern Illinois, head coach Ben Jacobson secured his 188th win against an MVC opponent, breaking the league’s 68-year old record held by former Oklahoma State coach Henry P. Iba. UNI outmuscled one of the league’s best defensive teams to hold the Salukis under 40% shooting and hold the MVC’s leading scorer scoreless in the first half. Bowen Born finished the night with a team-high 16 points on five-of-eight shooting, while Nate Heise tallied 15 points with eight rebounds and a pair of steals. Tytan Anderson posted a 13-point performance on 50% shooting from the field with three rebounds, as Michael Duax closed with nine points after a strong first half. Jacob Hutson finished with five points.
Heise leads the Panthers through 19 games with a 14.5 points per game scoring average along with six rebounds a game and three double-doubles on the year, while Born is recording 14.4 points per contest. Born also leads the MVC in free throw percentage (.917), shooting 55-of-60 from the charity stripe, while also scoring in double digits in 11 of his last 12 games.
Anderson also leads Northern Iowa with six rebounds a game, and is riding a 51-game streak of scoring at least one point, the longest stretch among active Panthers while maintaining an 11.5 points per game average. At the three-point arc, Trey Campbell is shooting 48.4% to the tune of 8.7 points a game, while Hutson posts UNI’s highest shooting clip at 54.9% with a career-best 8.9 points per game as the Panthers’ key inside man.
Landon Wolf seeks to reach 300 career points with his next five points, with Anderson needing two points to surpass 700 points. Michael Duax can also surpass 200 career rebounds with his next two boards.
UNI is 82-12 (.872) under head coach Ben Jacobson when scoring 80+ points, and have won 20 of its last 25 games when scoring 80 or more points.
EVANSVILLE PURPLE ACES
After an impressive 10-2 start to the season, the Purple Aces have struggled since their final game of 2023, dropping six of their last seven, including a 97-48 loss at Drake on Saturday. Evansville leaned on a 27-point performance from Antonio Thomas in its 91-89 overtime win over UNI on Dec. 2. Ben Humrichous notched 18 points, with an 11-point outing from Joshua Hughes.
Ben Humrichous leads the Aces with 15.6 points a game, with Yacine Toumi recording 10.8 points per game with a team-high 6.6 rebounds. Kenny Stawbridge is averaging 9.8 points per contest, while also ranking third in the MVC in total steals (31).
Evansville remains the least penalized team in the MVC with 14.7 fouls per game. The Aces also remain effective with the league’s best fastbreak offense (12.1 PPG) and bench offense (28 PPG).
Fans encouraged to wear pink in support of the fight against cancer. Tickets available for purchase.
UNI men’s basketball (11-8 / 4-3 MVC) vs. Evansville (11-8 / 2-6 MVC)
Jan. 23, 2023 | 7 p.m. CT
Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,650)
Panther Sports Network (Eric Braley: Play-by-Play / Kevin Lehman: Analyst)
Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst)
