UNI men's basketball visits Illinois State on New Year's Eve

UNI men's basketball at Illinois State

2 p.m. CT | Dec. 31, 2022
Normal, Ill.| CEFCU Arena (10,200)
ESPN+/Marquee (Kurt Pegler: Play-by-Play / Sean Johnson: Analyst)
Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI will play its final game of 2022 on the road on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers visit the Illinois State Redbirds at CEFCU Arena in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play. Both teams enter the New Year's Eve matchup coming off a pair of tough losses on Wednesday night as UNI looks to bounce back after falling to Missouri State, and Illinois State coming up short in a comeback at UIC.

The Panthers have won their last 7 games against the Redbirds, sweeping Illinois State in each of the previous two regular seasons and eliminating their conference rivals in each of the last two MVC Tournaments. UNI's 7-game winning streak against Illinois State is its longest active streak against any MVC opponent.

UNI PANTHERS
The Panthers struggled to keep up with the fast-paced Missouri State Bears and their hot shooting hand on Wednesday night in a 79-67 home loss at the McLeod Center. UNI turned the ball over 11 times in the first half and struggled early to rebound, but would begin to find a rhythm late into the game.

Bowen Born finished the night with a team-high 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 from three-point range. Tytan Anderson notched 15 points in the loss with a team-high 6 rebounds, while Michael Duax tallied 10 points and 5 boards. Cole Henry posted 6 points with 4 rebounds as Drew Daniel scored 5 points. Despite a 2-point night, Trey Campbell led the Panthers with 3 assists and 3 steals on defense.

UNI leads the nation with 62.9 points per game being scored by in-state players. Youngstown State ranks second with 58.2 points a game scored by Ohio natives, while Eastern Michigan is third with 55.2 points per contest from Michigan products.

Born leads the MVC with a 19.5 points per game scoring average. His six highest scoring games have come in the last nine games.

30 points vs. Northern Illinois (Nov. 26)
29 points vs. Evansville (Dec. 3)
27 points vs. Towson (Dec. 17)
27 points vs. Toledo (Dec. 6)
23 points vs. Missouri State (Dec. 28)
22 points at Bradley (Nov. 30)

In addition to leading the MVC with five double-doubles and ranking 21st in the nation, Anderson's five double-doubles this season, 23rd most in the nation. The third-year forward leads the MVC in rebounds per game (9.0) and defensive rebounds a game (6.5) and 3rd in offensive boards per contest (2.4).

The Panthers have averaged an MVC-low 14.5 personal fouls per game. As a result, UNI has also averaged 17.5 free throw attempts per game, 4th most in the conference.

Head coach Ben Jacobson also continues his march toward MVC history, sitting one win away from tying former Creighton coach Dana Altman for third on the conference's all-time wins list. Jacobson has won 326 games since the 2006-07 season, while Altman won 327 games in Omaha from 1994 to 2010.

ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS
The Redbirds trailed by as many as 18 points on Wednesday at UIC, ultimately falling short of a comeback win in a 55-51 loss to the Flames in Chicago.

Under the leadership of first year head coach and former Ohio State assistant Ryan Pedon, the Redbirds were picked 10th in the MVC's preseason poll. After a 3-1 start to the season, Illinois State dropped its next five games, including its MVC opener at Murray State before bouncing back with a win over Belmont. The Redbirds have since won 3 of their last 5 games.

Three Redbirds average double-digit points 14 games into the season, led by Kendall Lewis, who has notched 12.1 points a game this year along with a team-high 7.2 rebounds. Lewis ranks second in the league behind Tytan Anderson with 3 double-doubles this year. Darius Burford has recorded 10.9 points a game, while Seneca Knight has tallied 10.2 points per contest.

Illinois State leads the MVC and ranks 9th in the nation at the free throw line, making 78.8% of its shot attempts. The Redbirds have also proven to present a strong challenge at the net, blocking an average of 4 shots per game, 3rd most in the league.

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