UNI Men's Basketball Hosts Evansville

This Weekend's Action:

Saturday, January 26 – Cedar Falls, Iowa (McLeod Center)
UNI vs. Evansville – 7 pm | ESPN+ | Audio | Stats |

Full Game Notes
Tickets available here.

THE PANTHERS

• The Panthers move to 8-12 on the season at 3-4 in the MVC after falling to Southern Illinois on Wednesday, January 23.

• The Panthers take on the Purple Aces of Evansville on Saturday in the McLeod Center.

• Head Coach Ben Jacobson is 258-162 all-time, 17-9 against the Aces, and 10-2 in the McLeod Center against Evansville.

• UNI has made at least one 3-pointer in 614 straight games – the longest active streak in the Missouri Valley Conference.

• AJ Green dropped 22 points in the Panthers loss to the Salukis. The freshman guard went 8-14 from the field and made 6 threes. Green ended with 4 assists and recorded 3 steals.

• Freshman AJ Green leads all Panthers in scoring, averaging 15.4 points per game. Green's 15.7 PPG in league play rank 4th in the MVC.

• Sophomore Tywhon Pickford and freshman AJ Green rank in the top 3 in free throw percentage in MVC games. Green leads the league going 17-20 while Pickford ranks 3rd making 15 of his 19 free throw attempts.

• The Panthers have given up the fewest points in MVC play, giving up only 62.6 points per game.

• The Panthers average 8.1 three-pointers per game in MVC play, third-most in the league.

• Four Panthers rank in the top 25 in made three-pointers per game in the MVC. AJ Green ranks 5th (2.1), Trae Berhow ranks 7th (2.0), Wyatt Lohaus ranks 16th (1.4) and Spencer Haldeman ranks 25th (1.1)

• The Panthers average only 11.1 turnovers in Valley play, leading the league in fewest turnovers.

• Luke McDonnell ranks 2nd in the league with 3.1 offensive rebounds per game in league play while Trae Berhow hauls in 4.4 defensive rebounds per game, ranking him 15th in that category.

THE PURPLE ACES

• The Purple Aces are 9-11 overall in the 2018-19 and 3-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

• Evansville has Valley wins over Missouri State, Loyola and a double-overtime victory over Drake.

• The Aces are coming off back to back losses, falling to Illinois State 78-70 and Drake 78-66.

• The Aces average 71.9 points per game this season and have four players averaging over ten points per game.

• In league play, the Aces have averaged 66.7 points per game while surrendering 67.9 per contest.

• UNI and Evansville rank 8th and 9th in the league in field goal percentages while the Evansville defense holds their opponents to a .419 field goal percentage, ranking second lowest in the league.

• The Aces defense in one of the top in the league in 2018-19. The Aces hold Valley opponents to just .259 from beyond the three-point arc, the lowest three-point field goal percentage in the league.

• K.J. Riley leads the Aces in scoring, averaging over 14 points per game the junior guard also leads the team in assists and is second in rebounding.

• Shea Feehan and Marty Hill each record over ten points per game and forward John Hall leads the Aces in rebounding.

• The Aces are led by first-year head coach Walter McCarty. McCarty has been on the staff of the Boston Celtics since 2013, working with head coach Brad Stevens.

• From 2007-2010, he was an assistant under Rick Pitino at the University of Louisville and spent the 2010-11 campaign working on Jim O'Brien's staff with the Indiana Pacers.

• A native of Evansville, McCarty was a standout at Harrison High School before attending the University of Kentucky in 1993. He played a pivotal role in the 1996 National Championship team that went 34-2, averaging 11.3 points per game.

THE STREAK

UNI has made at least one 3-Pointer in 614 straight games – the longest active streak in the Missouri Valley Conference. The last time UNI failed to make a 3-Point basket came Feb. 3, 2000, vs. Southern Illinois in a 72-58 Panther victory in the UNI-Dome. UNI went 0-for-4 from 3-Point land vs. the Salukis in that contest.

TOP DEFENSE

The Panthers have given up the fewest points in league play. Four games in the Panthers surrender just 62.6 PPG.

1. UNI 62.6
2. Valparaiso                      62.9
3. Loyola 62.9
4. Southern Illinois 63.7
5. Bradley 64.4

TURNOVERS

The Panthers have recorded 77 turnovers in league play, the fewest in league play.

1. UNI                                  77
2. Loyola                             78
3. Missouri State 80

MVC GAMES THIS WEEKEND
Sat., Jan. 26
Drake vs Valparaiso
Bradley vs Missouri State
Evansville vs UNI
Sun., Jan. 27
Indiana State vs Illinois State
Southern Illinois vs Loyola

MVC STANDINGS
                                MVC    Overall
School                  W-L       W-L
Loyola                   5-2 12-8
Valparaiso 5-2 12-8
Drake 4-3 15-5
Illinois State 4-3 11-9
Indiana State 3-4 11-8
Southern Ill. 3-4 10-10
Evansville 3-4 9-11
Missouri State 3-4 9-11
UNI 3-4 8-12
Bradley 2-5        10-10

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Players Mentioned

Trae Berhow

AJ Green

Spencer Haldeman

Wyatt Lohaus

Luke McDonnell

Tywhon Pickford

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