UNI men's basketball hosts Loyola for MVC title

UNI men's basketball vs. Loyola-Chicago

5 p.m. CT | Feb. 26
Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,650)
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 --- UNI men's basketball will play for the Missouri Valley Conference's (MVC) regular season title on Saturday afternoon at Panthers host the Ramblers of Loyola-Chicago in the final game of the 2021-22 regular season at the McLeod Center

The UNI program will also honor 4 players following the game, including seniors Tywhon Pickford and Trae Berhow. Juniors Austin Phyfe and AJ Green, both of whom will make playing decisions regarding the future this offseason, will also be honored.

The Panthers return home following an 88-82 road win on Wednesday night at Indiana State. Battling against one of the hottest shooting teams in the league, UNI shot 58.6% from the floor and 50% from beyond the three-point arc after trailing by one-point at halftime. UNI outscored the Sycamores 18-4 off 14 Indiana State turnovers and moved the ball well to create multiple scoring opportunities inside the paint. AJ Green led the Panthers with a team-high 21 points, as Noah Carter recorded 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Bowen Born finished the night with 13 points and 4 assists, with Trae Berhow posting 12 points and 4 rebounds. Nate Heise pulled down 5 rebounds to complement an 8-point scoring performance, with Tywhon Pickford notching 7 points. Off the bench, Tytan Anderson scored 6 points in 9 and a half minutes of play.

Loyola visits Cedar Falls after posting a dominating 82-31 performance against Evansville in Chicago on Wednesday. The Ramblers held the Purple Aces to just 12 points in the first half of play as Loyola posted the 7th largest margin of victory in MVC history (51 points). All 11 Ramblers on the roster recorded points, led by Aher Uguak's 13 points and 6 rebounds. Lucas Williamson notched 11 points, 4 rebounds and a pair of assists in the win, while Keith Clemons posted 10 points and 4 assists.

Saturday's game comes just 13 days after the Panthers and Ramblers squared off at Gentile Arena in Chicago, where Loyola shot a commanding 63.6% from the field in an 85-58 win over UNI. Loyola hit 14-of-27 attempts from three-point range, dishing out 21 assists and slowing the Panther offense down on defense. Green led UNI with 20 points, including 4 made three-pointers, as Berhow scored 10 points with 5 rebounds. Bowen Born and Austin Phyfe each scored 8 points off the bench for the Panthers in the loss.

UNI hosts Loyola in the final regular season matchup as conference opponents before the Ramblers depart the MVC for the Atlantic-10 Conference next season. Loyola holds a 14-11 advantage in the all-time series, having won the last 4 meetings. UNI's last home victory against the Ramblers came on Jan. 26, 2020 with the Panthers holding off Loyola 67-62 in overtime.

PANTHER NOTES

UNI looks to secure the fourth MVC regular season championship in program history with a win (2009, 2010, 2020). The Ramblers aim to win their fourth title in 6 seasons to round out their 11th and final season in the league.
Saturday's game marks the fifth "winner take all" game in the MVC's regular season since the 1984-85 season. The most recent game where the winner clinched the regular season crown in the final game of the season came on Feb. 28, 2015 when Wichita State defeated UNI 74-60 in Kansas.
The Panthers are 74-9 when scoring 80 or more points under head coach Ben Jacobson. UNI is 8-2 this season when scoring 80+ points.
UNI can secure its 12th season of 10 or more wins at the McLeod Center with a victory over Loyola. The Panthers have never had a losing season at home since the McLeod Center opening during the 2006-07 season.
Noah Carter has scored at least 15 points in 13 of UNI's 17 conference games this season, including a career-high 33 points at Valparaiso.
AJ Green has made 40 consecutive free throw attempts, the second longest streak of his career (44) and ninth longest in MVC history. Green's last miss at the charity stripe came on Jan. 22 at Drake.
UNI has shot 46.8% from the field while playing at the McLeod Center this season, and 35.6% from beyond the arc. Opponents have been held to 42.0% from the floor, and 29.7% from three-point range.
The Panthers are 14-2 this season when leading with 5 minutes remaining in regulations.
Austin Phyfe is 11 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.
Noah Carter can pass former Panther and current Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse (1985-89) for 68th on the program's all-time scoring list with at least 9 points on Saturday.

Calendar

Upcoming Events