UNI men's basketball heads to Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City

UNI men's basketball vs. San Francisco (NABC Hall of Fame Classic)

11:30 a.m. CT | Nov. 21, 2022
Kansas City, Mo. | T-Mobile Center (18,972)
CBS Sports Network (Chick Hernandez: Play-by-Play / Chris Walker: Analyst)
Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play)

UNI men's basketball vs. Wichita State/Grand Canyon (NABC Hall of Fame Classic)

10:30 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. CT | Nov. 22, 2022
Kansas City, Mo. | T-Mobile Center (18,972)
CBS Sports Network (Chick Hernandez: Play-by-Play / Chris Walker: Analyst)
Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI men's basketball will make its first appearance in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' (NABC) Hall of Fame Classic ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in downtown Kansas City against the University of San Francisco and either Wichita State or Grand Canyon.

The Panthers will play their first game in 10 days following a 68-53 loss at Richmond on Nov. 11, and following the cancellation of their game against No. 18 Virginia in Charlottesville on Nov. 14.

UNI matches up with San Francisco for the first time ever in its opening game on Monday. The Dons are one of three Panther opponents this season that reached last year's NCAA Tournament, having fell to Murray State in the opening round last March.

An old rivalry could be renewed in the UNI's second game should UNI meet Wichita State on Tuesday. The Panthers and Shockers have not met since Wichita State's 2017 departure from the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) for the American Athletic Conference (AAC).

The Panthers go to Kansas City having split its first two all-time meetings with Grand Canyon, and look to take a 2-1 series lead in a consolation or championship game. UNI defeated the Antelopes 82-58 in Phoenix in its last matchup in 2019.

UNI PANTHERS
Bowen Born led UNI with a team-high 17 points in its previous game against Richmond, as Tytan Anderson notched his first career double-double with a career-best 13 points and 10 rebounds. Nate Heise tallied 10 points with a pair of steals in the loss, while Trey Campbell and Betz both finished with 6 points.

The Panthers were held to 32.8% shooting from the field against Richmond, struggling to finish shots inside the paint and from three-point range.
Entering the third game of the season, Heise has a chance to become the 112th member of UNI's 500 career point club, sitting 10 points shy of 500. At the charity stripe, Born enters Monday's contest with the Dons with an 85.2% career free throw percentage, the fourth highest mark in school history while also sitting two made free throws away from 100 as a Panther.

SAN FRANCISCO DONS

The Dons were picked in a tie with BYU to finish third in the WCC preseason poll. Senior guard Khalil Shabazz was the lone Don selected to the Preseason All-WCC Team.

San Francisco posted a 24-10 record last season with a 10-6 mark in conference play. The Dons fell short of upsetting top-ranked Gonzaga in the semifinal round of the WCC Tournament, but received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Chris Gerlufsen is in his first season as head coach of the Dons, having succeeded Todd Golden following the previous season. Gerlufsen previously served as acting head coach at Hawaii in 2019-20 with an 8-5 record.
San Francisco notched a gutty 67-60 win in its previous game at Fresno State. Tyrell Roberts led with a game-high 22 points as Zane Meeks recorded a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double.

WICHITA STATE SHOCKERS

Entering their sixth season in the AAC, the Shockers were tabbed eighth in the AAC preseason poll.
Wichita State went 15-13 during the 2021-22 season, with a 6-9 record in league play. The Shockers fell in the opening round of the AAC Tournament to Tulsa, 73-67.
Isaac Brown enters his third season as Wichita State's head coach. This is his first Division I head coaching opportunity.
UNI leads the all-time series against the Shockers, 29-25. The Panthers seek their first win over Wichita State since the semifinal round of the 2016 MVC Tournament, when UNI rallied to defeat the Shockers 57-52 in overtime en route to a conference tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth.
The Shockers narrowly edged Richmond 56-53 in their last outing on Thursday night in Virginia. Jaykwon Walton led WSU with 20 points, with James Rojas notching 15 points and 6 rebounds.

GRAND CANYON ANTELOPES

The Antelopes were selected as the Western Athletic Conference's (WAC) preseason favorite to win the league title with eight of 13 first place votes. Junior guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. was picked as the conference's Preseason Player of the Year and First Team Preseason All-WAC. Rayshon Harrison and Gabe McGlothan were also named Preseason Second Team All-WAC.
Posting a 23-8 season a year ago with a 13-5 mark in the WAC, Grand Canyon finished fourth in the league standings in 2021-22, reaching the WAC Tournament semifinals before falling to top-seeded New Mexico State by five points.
Former Valparaiso and Vanderbilt head coach Bryce Drew enters his third season in Phoenix with the Antelopes. Drew has compiled a record of 40-15 in his first two seasons with Grand Canyon, helping the Antelopes to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history in 2021.

PANTHER NOTES

Under head coach Ben Jacobson, UNI is 23-16 when competing in early season non-conference tournaments. The Panthers have won four tournament titles under his leadership (2010 iBN Las Vegas Classic, 2011 South Padre Island Tournament, 2015 Cancun Challenge, 2019 Cancun Challenge-Riviera Division)
San Francisco is the second of 9 opponents this season for UNI that made a national postseason tournament last year. Three Panther opponents played in last season's NCAA Tournament (Richmond, San Francisco, Murray State), with 6 teams in the NIT (Toledo, Towson, St. Bonaventure, Belmont, Missouri State). Drake also competed in the CBI Tournament.
UNI is 4-4 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference. The Panthers last win over a WCC opponent came on Nov. 22, 2013 at the Paradise Jam against Loyola Marymount, 90-81.
Ben Jacobson is 6 wins away from passing Dana Altman as the third winningest coach in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) history. Jacobson has recorded 322 career wins at UNI, while Altman notched 327 victories at Creighton from 1994 to 2010.
The Panthers are 77-9 under Ben Jacobson when scoring 80 or more points.

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