Panther men's basketball opens league play at Bradley

UNI men's basketball at Bradley

7 p.m. CT | Nov. 30, 2022
Peoria, Ill. | Carver Arena (11,060)
ESPN+ (Brian Bedo: Play-by-Play / Matt McClain: Analyst)
Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI men's basketball opens up the 2022-23 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) schedule on Wednesday night as the Panthers travel to Peoria to take on the Bradley Braves. The matchup marks the second consecutive year UNI has opened up league play on the road against the Braves.

The Panthers seek consecutive wins for the first time this year and to win their first MVC opener since the 2018-19 season against Bradley. UNI holds a narrow 36-34 record all-time against the Braves after splitting both meetings last winter with the home team claiming victory in both matchups.

UNI PANTHERS

The reigning MVC regular season champions begin their title defense against conference opponents following a win over Northern Illinois last Saturday at the McLeod Center. After trailing by one point at halftime to the Huskies, the Panthers shot over 50% from the field in the second half en route to an 83-76 win. UNI outscored Northern Illinois 25-10 on second chance scoring opportunities 20-15 off 19 turnovers.

Bowen Born led the charge for the Panthers with a career-high 30 points, including 12 made free throws. Landon Wolf also set a new career-best with 19 points, shooting 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, as Tytan Anderson scored 16 points with a game-high 8 rebounds.

BRADLEY BRAVES

Picked second in the MVC preseason poll, Bradley is out to a 4-3 start under eighth year head coach Brian Wardle. The Braves host their second consecutive home contest after rolling past Merrimack at Carver Arena on Saturday, 83-41. Malevy Leons notched a game-high 32 points and 10 rebounds in the Bradley victory, as Connor Hickman notched 14 points. Returning from a preseason injury, Preseason First Team All-MVC forward Rienk Mast notched 12 points and six rebounds in his first game of the season.

The Braves have outscored their opponents by an average of nine points per game this season, and have been known for their quick paced offense. Leons currently leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (54.2%) and sixth in overall shooting (55.7%). On the opposite side of the ball, Bradley posted the third best scoring defensive in the MVC a year ago, giving up an average of 65.2 points per game

PANTHER NOTES

Following the MVC's expansion to 12 teams this past summer, the league will begin its first ever 20-game schedule this week. Teams will play two conference games in late November/early December before playing the remaining 18 games after the Christmas holiday.
The Panthers have averaged 10.4 turnovers through the first five games of the season, the lowest average among MVC opponents.
Tytan Anderson leads the MVC and ranks 12th in the nation with 3 double-doubles this year. Having notched the first of his career at Richmond, Anderson has recorded 67 points (13.4 PPG) and 52 rebounds (10.4 RPG) this season.
Anderson's 7.6 defensive rebounds per game ranks first in the MVC.
Bowen Born's 82.8% career mark from the free throw line ranks 7th all-time in program history.
UNI is 78-9 when scoring 80 points or more under head coach Ben Jacobson.
Ben Jacobson is five victories from passing Dana Altman for third on the MVC's all-time wins list. Jacobson has amassed 323 career wins in his 17 seasons with the Panthers, while Altman won 327 games at Creighton from 1994 to 2010.

Calendar

Upcoming Events