Men's Basketball Face Crusaders Saturday Night

This Weekends Action:

Saturday, February 23 – Cedar Falls, Iowa (McLeod Center)
UNI vs Valparaiso – 7 p.m. | ESPN3 | Audio | Stats |

Full Game Notes

THE PANTHERS
• The Panthers move to 13-15 on the season at 8-7 in the MVC after defeating the Bears of Missouri State on Wednesday.

• The Panthers take on the Crusaders (14-14, 7-8 MVC) of Valparaiso on Saturday.

• Head Coach Ben Jacobson is 263-165 all-time, 2-1 against the Crusaders and 1-0 at home against Valparaiso.

• The Panthers jump from 180 to 167 in the NET rankings, 5th in the MVC behind Loyola (125), Drake (136), Southern Illinois (146), and Missouri State (159).

• The Panthers are on a 3 game winning streak, the longest of the season.

• UNI has made at least one 3-pointer in 622 straight games – the longest active streak in the Missouri Valley Conference.

• Senior guard Wyatt Lohaus finished with 22 points against Missouri State on Wednesday, leading the Panthers to a second-half comeback victory over the Bears. Lohaus went 9-15 from the field and hauled in 6 rebounds to give the Panthers their 8th MVC victory.

• Spencer Haldeman has been on fire off the bench in February. Haldeman averages 7.8 PPG this season but has averaged 12.2 PPG in the month of February.

• Freshman AJ Green leads the Panthers in scoring in his first year with the team. Green averages 15.1 points per game, ranking 7th in the MVC.

• The Panthers lead the MVC in made three-pointers with 127, (8.5 per game).

• The Panthers average only 10.5 turnovers in Valley play, tied for fewest in the league with Loyola. The Panthers also rank third with a 1.47 turnover margin.

• Three Panthers rank in the top 10 in three-pointers per game. AJ Green ranks 8th (1.9), Spencer Haldeman ranks 9th (1.9) and Trae Berhow ranks 10th (1.7). Senior Wyatt Lohaus comes in at 22nd making 1.3 per game.

THE CRUSADERS
• The Crusaders are 14-14 overall and 7-8 in the MVC this season.

• After a 4-0 start to conference play, the Crusaders have struggled as of late, winning three of their last eleven games.

• The Crusaders dropped two games in overtime against Missouri State and Indiana State and are 1-2 in overtime competitions with their lone victory coming against SIUE on Nov 2.

• The Crusaders have three players averaging over ten points in Valley play in Derrik Smits (12.4), Javon Freeman (10.8), and Ryan Fazekas (10.5).

• Smits ranks 15th in Valley scoring this season and is one of two players in the Valley's top 25 to not have made a three-pointer, joining Illinois States Phil Fayne.

• Deion Lavender leads the Crusaders in rebounding with 80 total boards and has recorded a team-high 45 assists in league play, ranking 5th in the league.

• Valparaiso's defense has limited Valley opponents to just 64.1 points per game, fourth best in the league.

• The Crusaders are led by 6th-year head coach Matt Lotich. Lottich was hired as the 22nd head coach in the history of the Valpo men's basketball program in April of 2016.

• Lottich, who had served the previous three seasons as an assistant coach on the Crusaders' staff, became just the program's fifth head coach in the last 36 years.

• Valpo broke the previous school record for wins in a season during the 2014-2015 campaign, winning 28 games and earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Then, the 2015-2016 season saw Valpo win a program-record 30 games and advance to the NIT championship game.

• Lottich brings nearly a decade of professional playing experience to the head coaching position at Valparaiso University. Lottich spent eight years playing professionally in Japan for the Oita Heat Devils and the Osaka Evessa, earning All-Star recognition four times.

• Lottich also played one season in Germany in the Bundesliga for the Dusseldorf Giants, played one season in New Zealand in the NBL for the Harbor Heat and was a member of the New Jersey Nets' summer league team in 2004.

THE STREAK
UNI has made at least one 3-Pointer in 622 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.

HOT IN FEBRUARY
Junior guard Spencer Haldeman has been a force from off the bench this season averaging 7.8 points per game. Haldeman has been on fire in February with four straight games in double digits, averaging 12.2 points per game in the month of February. Haldeman has shot 43.1% from the field and has knocked down 14 three-pointers.

MVC GAMES THIS WEEK
Sat, Feb 23
Valparaiso vs UNI
Indiana State vs Missouri State
Evansville vs Bradley

Sun, Feb 24
Drake vs Illinois State
Loyola vs Southern Illinois

MVC STANDINGS
MVC Overall
School W-L W-L
Drake 10-5 21-7
Loyola 10-5 17-11
Missouri State 9-6 15-13
UNI 8-7 13-15
Bradley 7-8 15-13
Illinois State 7-8 14-14
Southern Illinois 7-8 14-14
Valparaiso 7-8 14-14
Indiana State 6-9 14-13
Evansville 4-11 10-18

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Trae Berhow

AJ Green

Spencer Haldeman

Wyatt Lohaus

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