UNI men's basketball visits Evansville in MVC matchup

UNI men's basketball at Evansville

6 p.m. CT | Jan. 26
Evansville, Ind. | Ford Center (11,000)
ESPN+ (Kyle Peach: Play-by-Play / Marcus Wilson: Analyst)
1540 KXEL: Panther Sports Radio Network (Gary Rima: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI men's basketball takes to the road for the final road trip of the month on Wednesday night to southwest Indiana as the Panthers take on the Purple Aces of Evansville in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.

The Panthers visit Evansville after falling to in-state rival Drake on Saturday night at home in overtime, the UNI's second consecutive game ending in extra time. UNI led by 10 points with just over three and a half minutes to play in regulation, but struggled offensively down the stretch, allowing the Bulldogs to crawl back into contention and tie the game with 7 seconds remaining in the second half. The Panthers were held to just 4 point in overtime as UNI fell to Drake 82-74. AJ Green led the Panthers with a game-high 27 points and 9 rebounds, shooting 5-for-11 from beyond the arc and sinking 10-of-11 free throws. Nate Heise and Tywhon Pickford each scored 8 points for UNI, with Pickford pulling down 8 rebounds. Antwan Kimmons and Austin Phyfe both notched 5 points each.

Evansville enters Wednesday's matchup after splitting a pair of games against Illinois State this past weekend, a schedule change from earlier this month due to COVID-19 roster limitations within the Redbird program. After falling to Illinois State on Friday night in a 38-point rout in Normal, the Purple Aces bounced back on Sunday with 56-53 win at the Ford Center, fueled by a strong second half performance led by Shamar Givance's 18 points. Noah Frederking scored 14 points for Evansville, as Evan Kuhlman notched 12 points.

UNI defeated the Purple Aces back on Jan. 2 in the Panthers' MVC home opener with an 83-61 win, the second largest margin of victory for UNI against Evansville in the history of the series. In that game, 5 Panthers scored in double-digit figures led by AJ Green's 18 points. Trae Berhow posted 16 points, with Noah Carter scoring 15 points. Nate Heise and Antwan Kimmons each notched 10 points. Blaise Beauchamp led Evansville with 14 points three weeks ago at the McLeod Center, with Evan Kuhlman scoring 12 points, and 11 points from Jawaun Newton. Since UNI's win earlier this month, the Panthers have won 4 of the last 6 games, averaging 81.3 points per game, while Evansville has been held to an average of 53.2 points a game during that span.

UNI leads the all-time series against the Purple Aces 33-28, looking to sweep the regular season series against Evansville for 8th time under head coach Ben Jacobson. The Panthers have averaged 74.4 points per game against the Purple Aces in the last 5 meetings, the 3rd largest average against any MVC opponent during that stretch.

PANTHER NOTES

AJ Green sits in 8th on UNI's all-time scoring list with 1,497, 3 points shy of becoming the 7th player in program history to reach 1,500 career points.
AJ Green and Noah Carter rank 2^nd and 4^th respectively in scoring average in league play this season. Green has averaged 18.3 points per game in MVC action, while Noah Carter has posted 17.9 points a game in league play. Missouri State's Isiah Mosley leads the league with 25.3 points per game in conference games.
The Panthers are averaging 79.0 points per game in league play, 7.4 points more than against non-conference opponents (71.6).
The Panthers have scored 80+ points in 8 games this season, with a 6-2 mark in those games.
Noah Carter has scored at least 15 points in 7 of UNI's 8 conference game this season, including a career-high 33 points at Valparaiso on Jan. 19.
UNI has made at least 10 free throws in their 10 of their last 11 games, as well as 21+ free throws in 3 of the last 5 games.
AJ Green leads the MVC in three-point field goals per game with 2.9 per game, which ranks 37th in the nation. Green also leads the conference and ranks 29th in Division I in three-point field goal attempts (140).
The Panthers have made at least one three-point field goal in 35 consecutive games.
AJ Green is first in the MVC in career three-point field goals among active players with 223. Drake's D.J. Wilkins ranks second with 216.
Austin Phyfe is 43 points from passing his father, Steve Phyfe, in career points scored for the Panthers. Steve Phyfe, who played at UNI from 1987-90 and was part of the program's first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament team in 1990, scored 912 career points for the Panthers, ranking 55th in program history.

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