Men's Basketball Host In-State Rival Drake

SATURDAY'S ACTION:

UNI vs Drake | Saturday, February 8 | 3 PM | McLeod Center | Cedar Falls, Iowa

THE SERIES
The Panthers and Bulldogs will meet up for the 76^th time in program history on Saturday night. The Panthers hold the all-time series edge 48-27. Head Coach Ben Jacobson is 19-9 against Drake, holding a 10-3 record in the McLeod Center and a 7-6 record on the road against the Bulldogs. Coach Jacobson is 2-0 against the Bulldogs in Arch Madness. The Panthers have won 9 of the last 11 contest. UNI is 19-5 since the 2008-09 season.

THE PANTHERS
• Jacobson has now surpassed Barry Hinson with 286 career wins, ranking 4th all-time for a MVC coach.

•The Panthers are a perfect 12-0 inside the McLeod Center this season. The Panthers have finished undefeated in the McLeod Center twice, the 2009-10 and the 2014-15 seasons.

• The Panthers are now 59-6 when scoring 80+ points under Ben Jacobson, and are 10-0 in contest scoring over 80 points this season.

• UNI has made at least one 3-Pointer in 650 straight games – the longest active streak in the Missouri Valley Conference.

• AJ Green made 44 consecutive free throws (Dec 22-Jan 22), breaking the UNI record of 32 straight set by Bill McCoy. Green's 44 consecutive made free throws is tied 6th best in MVC history.

• The Panthers have made 48.4% from the field this season, a mark that ranks 2nd in the MVC and 12th in the NCAA.

• Making 76.6% at the free throw line the Panthers lead the MVC.

• The Panthers are holding opposing offenses to 64.6 PPG this season, the third fewest in the league trailing only SIU and Loyola.

• UNI is averaging 75.6 PPG in Valley play, leading the league in scoring through 11 games.

• AJ Green has averaging 22.4 PPG against Valley opponents, leading the league.

• Austin Phyfe has hauled in 8.5 RPG in league play, leading the league. Phyfe has now recorded 6 double-doubles, second most in the MVC.

THE BULLDOGS
• Drake, the defending regular-season MVC Champions, are three games behind league-leading UNI in the Valley standings.

• Drake is 2-6 in road games this season with a 23-point MVC road win at Evansville to its credit.

• Garrett Sturtz has led Drake off the bench lately, scoring in double figures in four of the last five games, including a career-high 18 points against SIU. Sturtz is one of just 24 players in the country averaging more than 6.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while playing in less than 24 minutes per game.

• Sophomore Liam Robbins has scored in double figures in 14 of the last 16 games including a career-high 29 points against Bradley in his last outing.

• Robbins recently became the school record holder for blocks in a season with 67. He ranks 13th nationally in blocks per game with 2.79 per game.

• Roman Penn ranks 26th nationally in assists with 5.9 per game this season. He has had six or more assists in 15 games has a 28-to-5 assist-to-turnover ratio in the last six games.

• Drake has had eight or fewer turnovers in four of its last seven games. In league games, Drake's 16.8 assists per game are nearly three more than the next closest team and the Bulldogs boast the league's top assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.38.

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Men's Basketball Host In-State Rival Drake

Players Mentioned

AJ Green

Austin Phyfe

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University of Northern Iowa Athletics