UNI to Meet Loyola in MVC Quarterfinals

Friday, March 2

St. Louis, Missouri

12 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

Loyola

UNI Bench vs. Evansville 2018 MVC Tournament

UNI to Meet Loyola in MVC Quarterfinals

3/1/2018 11:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

UNI-MBB-notes-Loyola-2018-3

UNI NOTES (PDF) | LOYOLA NOTES (PDF)

#9 UNI (16-15) vs. #1 Loyola (25-5)
Fri., March 2, 2018 • 12 p.m.
St. Louis, Missouri (Scottrade Center)

WATCH* | LISTEN | STATS
*-blacked out on ESPN3 in Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri

BROADCAST INFORMATION
The UNI-Loyola quarterfinal round MVC Tournament game Friday will be broadcast on the Missouri Valley Conference TV Network.
   Tip is set for just after noon (CT) at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
   Mitch Holthus (play-by-play), Kevin Lehman (analyst) and Tom Ackerman (sideline) will call the contest.

Clearances: FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports Indiana, FOX Sports Kansas City-PLUS, NBC Sports Chicago, FOX Sports GO (within FOX Sports Midwest footprint in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska), ESPN3 (outside state of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

RADIO INFO FOR FRIDAY
Gary Rima (play-by-play) and Kevin Boyle (analyst) will call the action on the Panther Sports Radio Network. The flagship station for Panther athletics is NewsTalk 1540 KXEL.
   The game will also air locally in St. Louis on KTRS (550 AM). Bob Ramsey (play-by-play) and Rich Zvosec (analyst) will call the action.

Television
MVC TV
Play-by-Play: Mitch Holthus
Analyst: Kevin Lehman

Radio, TuneIn App
Panther Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Gary Rima
Analyst: Kevin Boyle
Flagship Station - KXEL 1540-AM
On the Web - www.UNIPanthers.com

SERIES NOTES
All-Time Series: UNI leads, 10-7
Last Meeting: Loyola 70, UNI 47 (Jan. 28, 2018)
UNI is 1-0 vs. Evansville in the MVC Tournament. The only meeting between the two in St. Louis came in the 2015 semifinals with UNI posting a 63-49 victory.

UNI MEN'S BASKETBALL STORYLINES VS. LOYOLA

• The University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team (16-15 overall) will take on No. 1-seeded Loyola on Friday at noon in the quarterfinals of the 2018 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

• The winner of Friday's game will take on the winner of the No. 5 Bradley vs. No. 4 Drake game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the semifinals.

• UNI is looking to become the highest seed to ever reach the MVC Tournament semifinals. Bradley was a No. 7 seed when the Braves reached the 1998 semifinals.

• UNI ranks No. 4 in the nation in scoring defense (62.5 ppg).

• UNI is tied with Southern Illinois for second all-time in the league with five MVC Tournament titles. Creighton holds the MVC record with 12.

• Senior guard Hunter Rhodes is averaging 10.4 points per game since joining the starting the lineup Feb. 13. Rhodes has also dished out a team-high 15 assists in the last five games.

• UNI put the defensive clamps on Evansville's Ryan Taylor, the MVC's top scorer at 22.1 points per game. UNI limited Taylor to two points on 1-of-13 shooting in the opening round victory over the Purple Aces on Thursday, 60-50.

UNI MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTES VS. LOYOLA
TV INFO FOR FRIDAY'S GAME
The UNI-Loyola quarterfinal round MVC Tournament game Friday will be broadcast on the Missouri Valley Conference TV Network.
   Tip is set for just after noon (CT) at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
   Mitch Holthus (play-by-play), Kevin Lehman (analyst) and Tom Ackerman (sideline) will call the contest.

Clearances: FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports Indiana, FOX Sports Kansas City-PLUS, NBC Sports Chicago, FOX Sports GO (within FOX Sports Midwest footprint in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska), ESPN3 (outside state of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

RADIO INFO FOR FRIDAY
Gary Rima (play-by-play) and Kevin Boyle (analyst) will call the action on the Panther Sports Radio Network. The flagship station for Panther athletics is NewsTalk 1540 KXEL.
   The game will also air locally in St. Louis on KTRS (550 AM). Bob Ramsey (play-by-play) and Rich Zvosec (analyst) will call the action.

ALL-TIME SERIES
UNI owns a 10-7 lead in the all-time series vs. Loyola.
   UNI head coach Ben Jacobson is 6-7 vs. Loyola.

UNI VS LOYOLA AT MVC TOURNEY
UNI won the only previous matchup vs. Loyola in the MVC Tournament.
   The Panthers tallied a 63-49 triumph over the Ramblers in the 2015 MVC Tournament semifinals. UNI would go on to capture the 2015 MVC Tournament championship.

UNI vs. Loyola at MVC Tournament
2015 - UNI 63, Loyola 49 - Semifinal

LOYOLA SWEPT SEASON SERIES
Loyola scored a pair of wins over UNI in the regular season. The Ramblers topped the Panthers, 56-50, in the McLeod Center on Jan. 7, 2018.
   Loyola then tallied a 70-47 won over UNI at Gentile Arena on Jan. 28, 2018.

UNI AS 9 SEED AT ARCH MADNESS
This marks the second time that UNI has been the No. 9 seed for the State Farm MVC Tournament. The Panthers are 1-1 as No. 9 seed having picked up a 60-50 victory over Evansville on Thursday.
   The No. 9 seed has gone 14-22 since the tournament moved to St. Louis, while the No. 8 seed has gone 9-28.

LOOKING TO SET A STANDARD
With a victory on Friday, UNI would become the highest seed (No. 9) to reach the MVC Tournament semis.
   The previous lowest seed to advance to the MVC Tournament semifinals was the No. 7-seeded Bradley Braves in 1998. The Braves beat No. 10 seed Drake in the opening round and then knocked off No. 2 seed Creighton in the quarterfinals. Bradley fell to No. 3 seed Missouri State in the semifinals.

UNI's Record By Seed in MVC Tourney
#1 - 6-0
#2 - 6-0
#3 - 0-3
#4 - 4-4
#5 - 2-3
#6 - 2-2
#7 - 1-5
#8 - 0-1
#9 - 1-1
#10 - 1-1

UNI vs. MVC Tourney Opponents
vs. Bradley - 3-2
vs. Creighton - 0-2
vs. Drake - 2-2
vs. Evansville - 4-0
vs. Illinois State - 4-6
vs. Indiana State - 1-1
vs. Loyola - 1-0
vs. Missouri State - 2-2
vs. Southern Illinois - 2-4
vs. Tulsa - 1-0
vs. Wichita State - 3-1

NO. 4 IN SCORING DEFENSE
UNI ranks No. 4 in the nation in scoring defense. The Panthers are giving up 62.9 points per game.

Rk.   Team   W-L   Points
1.   Virginia   26-2   52.1
2.   Cincinnati   25-4   57.5
3.   UCF   17-11   61.2
4.   UNI   16-15   62.5
5.   New Mexico St.   24-5   63.0
6.   UNC Greensboro   24-7   63.3
7.   Loyola   25-5   63.4
8.   Michigan   24-7   63.4
9.   Old Dominion   22-6   63.5
10.   SMU   16-13   63.7

UNI HOLDS MVC TOURNEY RECORD FOR POINTS ALLOWED
UNI owns the MVC Tournament record for fewest points allowed in winning a championship.
   In 2010, UNI gave up 132 points (44.0 ppg) in winning the title with victories over Drake (55-40), Bradley (57-40) and Wichita State (67-52).
   UNI has three of the top-10 defensive scoring performances in MVC Tournament history. UNI gave up 155 points in 2015 and 166 points in 2016 in claiming MVC Tournament titles.

Fewest Points Allowed by MVC Champ
132 (44.0 ppg) - UNI, 2010
147 (49.0 ppg) - SIU, 2006
153 (51.0 ppg) - Tulsa, 1996
155 (51.7 ppg) - UNI, 2015
157 (52.3 ppg) - Creighton, 2007
160 (53.3 ppg) - Indiana State, 2011
161 (53.7 ppg) - Creighton, 2013
162 (54.0 ppg) - Drake, 2008
166 (55.3 ppg) - UNI, 2016
169 (56.3 ppg) - Creighton, 2005

DEFENSE LOCKED IN VS ACES
UNI turned up its defense in a 60-50 win over Evansville Thursday in the MVC opening round matchup.
   The Panthers held Evansville's Ryan Taylor, the MVC's leading scorer at 22.1 points per game, to two points on 1-for-13 shooting from the field.
   UNI limited Evansville to 2-of-14 shooting from 3-point range in the victory.
   The Panthers tied a season-high with seven blocked shots.

RHODES IS ROCK SOLID
Since entering the starting lineup vs. Evansville on Feb. 13, senior guard Hunter Rhodes is averaging 10.4 points per game and has handed out a team-high 15 assists.
   Rhodes is shooting 92.6 percent at the free throw line (25-of-27) on the season.

KOCH AT THE LINE
Senior forward Bennett Koch ranks as the No. 2 active leader in free throws made in Arch Madness games. Koch has made 16 free throws in seven MVC Tournament contests.

CARLSON HAS SCORED IT AT SCOTTRADE CENTER
Senior forward Klint Carlson enters the 2018 MVC Tournament ranked as the fourth active leading scorer.
   Carlson has tallied 53 points in six Arch Madness games.
Carlson Scoring at MVC Tournament
2015
0 pts. vs. Bradley (W, 71-46)

2016
8 pts. vs. Southern Illinois (W, 66-60)
9 pts. vs. Wichita State (W, 57-52 OT)
17 pts. vs. Evansville (W, 56-54)

2017
10 pts. vs. Missouri State (L, 70-64)

2018
9 pts. vs. Evansville (W, 60-50)

CARLSON NABBED ALL-MVC TOURNEY HONORS IN 2016
Klint Carlson averaged 11.3 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game and was also named to the 2016 MVC All-Tournament Team.
   Carlson scored a then career-high 17 points in the MVC title game win over Evansville. Carlson scored nine points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in UNI's 57-52 overtime win over Wichita State.

FIVE MVC TOURNEY TITLES
UNI is 5-1 all-time in MVC Tournament title games.
   The Panthers have won five straight MVC tourney championship contests.
   UNI is tied with Southern Illinois for second all-time in the league with five postseason crowns. Creighton holds the MVC record for tourney titles with 12.

UNI's Results in MVC Title Games
1994 - Southern Illinois 77, UNI 74
2004 - UNI 79, UNI 74 (2 OT)
2009 - UNI 60, Illinois State 57 (OT)
2010 - UNI 67, Wichita State 52
2015 - UNI 69, Illinois State 60
2016 - UNI 56, Evansville 54

ALL-TIME IN MVC TOURNEY
UNI has posted a record of 23-20 all-time in the MVC Tournament.

COACH JAKE IN MVC TOURNEY
UNI head coach Ben Jacobson has the Panthers to a 14-7 mark in the MVC Tournament since taking over the head job in the 2006-07 season.
   Jacobson ranks tied for No. 4 in league history with 14 MVC Tournament victories.
   Dana Altman (Creighton) holds the record with 21.

Jake at MVC Tournament   13-6
Opening Round   1-0
Quarterfinals   5-6
Semifinals   4-1
Championship   4-0

MVC Tourney Coaches, By Wins
1. Dana Altman, CU   21-9
2. Rich Herrin, SIU   17-8
3. Gregg Marshall, WSU   15-8
4. Barry Hinson, MSU/SIU   14-14
Ben Jacobson, UNI   14-7
6. Greg McDermott, UNI   12-5

COACHING TITLES
UNI head coach Ben Jacobson ranks second in MVC history with four tournament titles. He is a perfect 4-0 in MVC title games.
   Dana Altman (Creighton) holds the league record with six MVC Tournament crowns. Altman was 6-0 in MVC title games.

MVC Tourney Coaches, By Titles
1. Dana Altman, CU   6
2. Ben Jacobson, UNI   4
3. Greg McDermott, UNI/CU   3
Rich Herrin, SIU   3
5. Kevin Stallings, ILS   2
Tom Apke, CU   2
Tony Barone, CU   2
Nolan Richardson, TU   2
Gregg Marshall, WSU   2

ONLY TWO HAVE WON TITLES AMONG THIS YEAR'S COACHES
Of the 10 coaches in this year's MVC Tournament only two have won Arch Madness titles - UNI's Ben Jacobson (2009, 2010, 2015, 2016) and Indiana State's Greg Lansing (2011).

PANTHERS IN MVC TOURNEY SINCE '01
UNI has a 19-11 record (with four titles) at the MVC Tournament since Ben Jacobson arrived on staff in 2001-02.
   Prior to that, UNI owned a 4-9 mark all-time (with no titles) at the Valley Tournament.