UNI men's basketball to host Illinois State on Wednesday night

UNI men's basketball vs. Illinois State

7 p.m. CT | Jan. 17, 2023
Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,550)
ESPN+ (Telly Hughes: Play-by-Play / Kevin Lehman: Analyst)
Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI looks to sweep the season series and pick up a ninth consecutive victory over Illinois State as the Redbirds visit the McLeod Center on Wednesday night in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.

The Panthers are 23-12 all-time at home against their rivals from Normal and look to seize the regular season sweep of Illinois State for a third straight year. UNI was able to force a season-high 20 Redbird turnovers in its previous meeting on New Year's Eve, and held off a second half rally for a 66-60 road victory, which sparked a four-game win streak for the Panthers.

UNI PANTHERS
Despite giving up 10 three-point baskets in the first half, the Panthers defense cooled off the Belmont offense in the second half of Saturday afternoon's contest in Nashville. Committing a season-low 6 turnovers and forcing 14 Belmont giveaways, the Panthers outscored the Bruins 21-0 in points off turnovers to erase a 16-point deficit in the second half. UNI pulled within two points in the final seconds, but was unable to complete the comeback as the Panthers fell to the Bruins in their first-ever meeting with Belmont, 76-72.

Trey Campbell led the Panthers with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting with 3 rebounds and a pair of steals in the loss, while Michael Duax recorded 12 points with 4 boards. Tytan Anderson posted an 11-point, 9 rebound game with 2 steals, as Drew Daniel scored 9 points with 3 rebounds off the bench. Landon Wolf hit a pair of three-point shots as part of an 8-point performance, with Bowen Born scoring 7 points.

In UNI's last meeting with Illinois State on Dec. 31, Born scored a game-high 25 points, shooting 7-of-13 from the field and 5-of-7 from three-point range. Anderson scored 16 points with a game-high 9 rebounds and a career-high 6 steals, while Henry tallied 8 points and 7 boards in the win. Campbell finished with 7 points, scored on a series of 5 critical free throws down the stretch.

Bowen Born has averaged 20.8 points per game in league play this season, and leads the MVC in total points scored (346) and overall average (19.2 points per game).

Born's 9 highest scoring games of his career have all come this season.

30 points vs. Northern Illinois (Nov. 26)
29 points vs. Evansville (Dec. 3)
27 points vs. Southern Illinois (Jan. 7)
27 points vs. Towson (Dec. 17)
27 points vs. Toledo (Dec. 6)
25 points at Illinois State (Dec. 31)
23 points vs. Missouri State (Dec. 28)
23 points vs. Murray State (Jan. 10)
22 points at Bradley (Nov. 30)

Anderson's 8 double-doubles rank 14th most in the nation. He also leads the league in rebounds per game (9.7) and defensive rebounds per contest (7.2). Anderson's 175 total rebounds this season are 21st most in the country.
Collectively, the Panthers lead the nation in points per game scored by in-state players, as Iowa-born players have accounted for 68.2 points a game.

The Panthers have averaged an MVC-low 14.6 personal fouls per game. As a result, UNI has also averaged 17.6 free throw attempts per game, 4th most in the conference.

Head coach Ben Jacobson is also chasing MVC history with 179 conference only wins, 3rd most in league history. Jacobson is 3 wins shy of passing former Creighton coach Dana Altman for 2nd all-time in MVC history with 182 conference wins.

ILLINOIS STATE
The Redbirds visit Cedar Falls having lost their last 4 games inside the McLeod Center. Illinois State has also lost 3 of its last 4 road games this year.

Since their last meeting with the Panthers on New Year's Eve, the Redbirds have split their last 4 games, picking up wins at Evansville (Jan. 7) and at home against Missouri State (Jan. 11). Illinois State lost at Southern Illinois in its last outing on Saturday night, as the Salukis overcame a three-point Redbird lead at halftime to beat Illinois State, 69-57.

Last time out against UNI, Liam McChesney made 9-of-14 shots from the field and 3-of-4 from long range, while Lewis, Malachi Poindexter and Colton Sandage each scored eight points., Knight pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, helping the Redbirds out-rebound the Panthers 35-33.

Three Redbirds enter Wednesday's rematch averaging over 10 points per game, led by Darius Burford (10.9 PPG). Seneca Knight and Kendall Lewis both average 10.6 points a game, with Lewis leading the Redbirds with 6.6 rebounds per game. Illinois State has been a dominant force at the free throw line all season long, ranking fifth in the country with an 80.1% free throw mark.

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