Panther men's basketball hosts Missouri State in key MVC matchup

UNI men's basketball vs. Missouri State

1 p.m. CT | Feb. 20
Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,550)
ESPNU (Clay Matvick: Play-by-Play / Kevin Lehman: Analyst)
1540 KXEL: Panther Sports Radio Network (Gary Rima: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The top scoring offenses in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play meet face-to-face on Sunday afternoon as the UNI Panthers play host to the Missouri State Bears in a crucial conference matchup at the McLeod Center.

The Panthers begin the final three-game stretch of the regular season following a 72-70 road win at Illinois State on Tuesday night. After a slow opening half against in Normal, UNI attacked the paint in the second half and iced the game away late at the free throw line to complete the regular season sweep of the Illinois State to earn a 6th consecutive win against the Redbirds. Noah Carter led the Panthers with 23 points, his 11th game this season with 15+ points in league play, while AJ Green notched 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Trae Berhow scored 10 points with 6 rebounds, as Bowen Born recorded 8 points off the bench. Nate Heise also posted 6 points in the win.

Missouri State visits Cedar Falls after a late home win over Indiana State on Tuesday in Springfield, 79-70. The Sycamores led for just over half of the game before the Bears took over in the second half with a 48-point effort, building a 15-point lead into the final two minutes. Gaige Prim led the way for Missouri State with a 32-point, 11 rebound double-double, while Jaylen Minnett scored 22 points. Lu'cye Patterson notched 10 points for the Bears in 23 minutes of play, as Isiaih Mosley posted 7 points.

The Panthers narrowly edged Missouri State back on Jan. 8 at JQH Arena in Springfield. Led by Green's 33 points, including a career-high 13 made free throws, UNI held off a late Bears rally 85-84, despite a 43-point effort by Mosley. Carter scored 16 points for the Panthers, as Born notch 11 points, and Berhow posted 9 points.

Missouri State and UNI post the top two scoring offenses in league play, with both teams averaging at least 74 points a game against MVC opponents. Despite Missouri State leading the all-time series 45-38, the Panthers have won the last two matchups, with an opportunity to complete the regular season sweep of the Bears for the 9th time under head coach Ben Jacobson. With both teams guaranteed a top-five finish in the league standings, Sunday's winner will take sole possession of second place in the conference standings entering the final week of the regular season.

PANTHER NOTES

The Panthers and Bears have split the previous 40 meetings played in Cedar Falls.
Tywhon Pickford is tied with Marc Sonnen (2008-13) for the most games played in program history (139).
Sunday's matchup features the MVC's top free throw shooting teams. Missouri State has shot 79.8% from the free throw line, while UNI is shooting 78.6% from the charity stripe.
AJ Green and MSU's Isiaih Mosley are the top two individual free throw shooters in the conference. Mosely leads the league with a 92.6% shooting percentage at the line, while Green is second at 90.3%.
AJ Green ranks 29^th in the nation and 2^nd in the MVC averaging just under 36 minutes per game.
Austin Phyfe is 18 points from passing his father Steve 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.
Austin Phyfe is 5 points from becoming the 55^th member of UNI's 900 career point club.

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