The UNI Panthers (10-4, 0-2 MVC) men’s basketball team will look to snap a three-game losing skid when the Indiana State Sycamores (10-3, 1-1 MVC) come to the McLeod Center on Wed., Jan. 4. Tip is schedule for 7 p.m.
TIPPING OFF…
• UNI is ranked No. 23 in the latest Collegiate Basketball News RPI.
• UNI’s strength of schedule is ranked No. 5 in the nation according to the Collegiate Basketball News.
• UNI is 0-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play for the first time since the 2000-01 season when the Panthers opened league play with seven straight defeats.
• The last time UNI was two games under .500 in league play came near the end of the 2007-08 season when the Panthers were 7-9 before closing with two league wins to finish the year at 9-9.
• Indiana State holds a 22-20 all-time lead in the series vs. UNI. The Sycamores won both matchups against the Panthers last season, including a 76-74 win in the McLeod Center.
• UNI head coach Ben Jacobson is 6-5 all-time vs. Indiana State.
• Freshman Seth Tuttle tied a career-high with 16 points in Sunday’s game vs. Evansville. Tuttle tallied his second career double-double against the Purple Aces as he also recorded 10 rebounds.
• Junior guard Marc Sonnen started his first game of the season – second of his career – in Sunday’s game vs. Evansville. Sonnen drained a trio of 3-pointers and scored a season-high 14 points against the Purple Aces. Sonnen is averaging 8.8 points per game this year.
• Junior forward Jake Koch tied a career-high with 10 rebounds against Evansville. Koch also dished out six assists, recorded two steals and blocked a shot in Sunday’s game on ESPNU.
• Junior guard Anthony James leads the Panthers in scoring at 13.5 points per game. James has reached double-figure scoring in 11 games, including three contests of 20 or more points.
• The Panther bench has provided quite a spark this season providing 22.1 points per game. Freshman guard Deon Mitchell came off the bench for the first time in his collegiate career against Evansville and posted 14 points for the Panthers.
• UNI is 10-4 on the season with some stark contrasts in the numbers between the wins and the losses. In UNI’s 10 wins, the Panthers are averaging 72.6 points per game and giving up 57.4 points per game. In UNI’s four losses, the Panthers are averaging 56.5 points per game and giving up 68.5 points per game. UNI is shooting 48.2 percent in its 10 wins, but that number drops to 35.0 percent in its four losses.
• UNI returns eight letterwinners and three starters from last year’s Panther squad that posted a mark of 20-14.
• UNI’s streak of three consecutive 20-win seasons is the longest active streak in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Head coach Ben Jacobson is in his sixth season at the helm of the Panther program having posted a career mark of 119-61.
• Jacobson ranks No. 4 on the Panthers’ all-time wins list trailing only O.M. “Hon” Nordly (166), Eldon Miller (164) and Jim Berry (144).
SCOUTING INDIANA STATE
Indiana State is 10-3 on the season and 1-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play … Indiana State began its league season with a 79-64 loss at Drake, before bouncing back with a 77-66 win vs. Bradley on Saturday … the Sycamores have three players averaging 10.0 or more points per game – Dwayne Lathan (11.5 ppg), Carl Richard (10.3 ppg) and Jake Odum (10.2 ppg) … Indiana State posted a 61-55 win at No. 25-ranked Vanderbilt on Dec. 17.
