UNI hosts Southern Illinois in men's basketball matchup

UNI men's basketball vs. Southern Illinois

7 p.m. CT | Feb. 9
Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,650)
ESPN+ (Brad Wells: 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 looks to continues its hot stretch of play on Wednesday night as the Panthers hosts the Southern Illinois Salukis at 7 p.m. at the McLeod Center. UNI coaches will wear black outfits and special lapel pins in recognition of Equality and Inclusion Night, promoting awareness for diversity, equality and inclusion in sports.

The Panthers return home after a thrilling 74-69 overtime win over in-state rival Drake on Saturday in Des Moines. Riding the longest active win streak in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) at 4 games, the second place Panthers look to complete the regular season sweep of Southern Illinois. In Saturday's game, UNI battled back from an early 10-point deficit, attacking the basket on offense and collecting 11 offensive rebounds in the process. The Panthers slowed down Drake's attack from beyond the three-point arc, holding the Bulldogs to 19.2% from distance. In a game that featured 13 lead changes, Noah Carter led the night with a game-high 23 points, shooting 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Trae Berhow scored 16 points in the win, as Tywhon Pickford recorded 8 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. Nate Heise, Bowen Born and AJ Green all scored 7 points, with Heise grabbing 6 boards, and Green dishing out a pair of assists. Born notched a season-high 4 steals on defense.

Southern Illinois visits Cedar Falls after a 75-69 victory at Illinois State over the weekend. The Salukis led the Redbirds for the majority of the game, spearheaded by a career-high 31-point performance by Lance Jones, who shot 10-of-14 from the field with 5 made three-point field goals. Marcus Domask scored 18 points with a team-high 6 rebounds, while Ben Coupet Jr. notched 12 points for SIU.

UNI edged the Salukis in Carbondale on Jan. 15 at the Banterra Center, when the Panthers snuck past SIU in a narrow 69-68 dual. AJ Green led UNI with 22 points, 11 coming from the charity stripe, while Noah Carter notched 17 points and 7 rebounds. Nate Heise contributed 11 points the Panthers' winning efforts along with 7 boards.

The Salukis lead the all-time series 38-34, although the Panthers have 4 of the previous 6 matchups. Since the last meeting in January, UNI has gone 4-2 in the 6 games played, while SIU has won just 3 of 8. The Panther offense has averaged 76.6 points per game during that stretch, while the Salukis has notched just 59.5 points. In a series that has featured tightly contested games, 4 of the last 6 matchups have been decided by a single possession, including the previous 2 games by a combined 4 points.

PANTHER NOTES

After starting the season 4-7, the Panthers have won 8 of their last 10 games, and 9 of their last 11 after starting the season 4-7.
UNI is averaging 81.0 points per game against conference opponents inside the McLeod Center this season.
The Panther defense has held visiting MVC opponents to just 29.9% shooting in home games this year.
Noah Carter has scored at least 15 points in 10 of UNI's 12 conference games this season, including a career-high 33 points at Valparaiso.
AJ Green ranks 2nd in the MVC in points per game in league play (20.2). Noah Carter is 4th in the MVC with 17.9 points a game in conference only games.
Tywhon Pickford, Trae Berhow and Austin Phyfe hold three of the top four spots among active MVC players in career rebounds. Pickford leads the league with 648 career rebounds, with Berhow in 3rd with 588, and Phyfe in 4th at 547. Drake's Garrett Sturtz ranks 2nd with 630 rebounds.
Trae Berhow is one three-point field goal away from moving into 3rd all-time in made three-pointers in UNI history. Berhow is currently tied with Ben Jacobson (2002-06) with 203 career shots from beyond the arc.
AJ Green leads the conference in minutes per game (35:39) in the MVC, the 35th best average in the NCAA.
Austin Phyfe is 30 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.

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