UNI men's basketball: Panthers face key non-conference test hosting Toledo

UNI men's basketball vs. Toledo

7:30 p.m. CT | Dec. 6, 2022
Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,650)
ESPN+ (Brad Wells: Play-by-Play / Kevin Lehman: Analyst)
Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- A pair of reigning conference champions go head-to-head on Tuesday night as the defending MVC champion UNI Panthers host the reigning MAC champion Toledo Rockets at 7:30 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center. The matchup marks the second of four consecutive home games for UNI, who plays five of its next six games on its home floor.

The Panthers meet the Rockets for only the second time in program history, and first time since the 2012-13 season. Ten years ago, it was UNI who emerged victorious in an 84-81 home matchup, led by a 27-point effort by Deon Mitchell and 21 points by Seth Tuttle.

UNI PANTHERS
UNI looks for its second straight win after taking care of business on Saturday afternoon in a 72-55 victory over Evansville in MVC play. The Panthers outscored the Purple Aces 17-2 in points off turnovers, forcing 11 Evansville takeaways in the process.

Bowen Born continued his hot stretch of play with a 29-point performance, marking the second highest scoring game of his career, and most points scored against a conference opponent. Born, who leads the MVC with 21.7 points per game, has recorded the three highest scoring games in each of his last three outings.

Tytan Anderson also notched a career-high with 19 points against Evansville, pulling in 9 rebounds. Anderson currently leads the MVC in rebounds per game (9.9) and defensive rebounds per contest (8.4).

UNI looks to defend its home floor against the Rockets after winning each of its first three home contests this season. The Panthers are 188-53 all-time inside the McLeod Center (.780) since the arena opened in Nov. 2006.

Head coach Ben Jacobson also continues his march toward MVC history, sitting third on the conference's all-time wins list with 324. Jacobson is four wins shy of passing former Creighton coach Dana Altman for second on the list.

TOLEDO ROCKETS
Coming off back-to-back conference titles and consecutive NIT berths the last two seasons, the Rockets look to repeat as league champions for a third consecutive year and return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1980. Led by 11th year head coach Tod Kowalczyk, Toledo was picked second in the MAC preseason poll behind Kent State. JT Shumate, the Rockets' leading scorer this year, was selected Preseason First Team All-Conference, while leading rebounder Setric Millner was named to the Preseason Second Team All-MAC.

The 5-3 Rockets come to Cedar Falls looking to bounce back after an 80-73 loss at George Mason last Saturday afternoon. Shumate topped Toledo with 20 points in just 26 minutes on the floor, with Millner notching 16 points and eight rebounds. RayJ Dennis contributed 10 points with eight boards and five assists in the Rockets' loss.

Toledo and UNI share one common opponent this season in the Valparaiso Beacons, who the Rockets defeated back on opening night in November at home, 85-70. The Panthers will play Valparaiso twice in MVC play this season, with the first matchup scheduled for Jan. 4 in Indiana.

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