CEDAR FALLS – UNI men’s basketball will put its early unbeaten record on the line on Sunday afternoon as the Panthers take on the reigning Big West Conference champion UC Irvine Anteaters for the first time in program history.
Tip-off is scheduled for 1p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center, with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network with J.W. Cox and Kevin Boyle on the call.
Sunday’s matchup comes on the heels of Northern Iowa’s impressive 87-68 win over co-Horizon League preseason favorite Milwaukee on Thursday night. UNI shot over 50% from the field for a second consecutive game and also sank 50% of its shot attempts from three-point range, while dishing out 21 assists and seven total blocks.
Tytan Anderson finished the night with a game-high 19 points with a career-best four made three-point shots and four assists game-high four assists. Trey Campbell tallied 16 points on 60% shooting with seven rebounds and a pair of blocks, while Jacob Hutson posted a 15-point performance with a team-high eight boards and three blocked shots. Both RJ Taylor and Leon Bond III scored 11 points, as Will Hornseth scored eight points off the bench and Ben Schwieger adding five points in a reserve role.
Scoring 96 points in their season opener against Dubuque and 87 against Milwaukee, the Panthers are 87-12 (.877) when scoring at 80 points or more under head coach Ben Jacobson.
SCOUTING UC IRVINE
The Anteaters make their first-ever trip to Cedar Falls after a 66-51 road victory at Loyola Marymount on Friday night. Andre Henry led the way with 17 points as Ben Leuchten notched an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double.
UC Irvine posted a 24-10 record last season with a 17-3 league record to capture the Big West regular season title. After falling to Long Beach State in their conference tournament opener, the Anteaters earned an at-large bid to the NIT, where they fell to Utah by nine points. UC Irvine is once again favored to win the league title.
Under the leadership of head coach Russell Turner, the Anteaters have averaged 74 points per game in victories over Chapman and Loyola Marymount. UC Irvine led the Big West with 77.6 points a year ago.
Leuchten and Henry, along with preseason all-conference guard Justin Hohn and Devin Tillis are averaging over ten points a game early in the season.
UNI men’s basketball (2-0 / 0-0 MVC) vs. UC Irvine (2-0 / 0-0 Big West)
1 p.m. CT | Cedar Falls, Iowa
McLeod Center (6,650)
ESPN+ (Eric Braley: Play-by-Play / Kevin Lehman: Analyst)
Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst)
LIVE STATS