Panther men's basketball collides with defensive-minded Salukis on Saturday

UNI men's basketball vs. Southern Illinois

1 p.m. CT | Jan. 7, 2023
Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,650)
ESPN3 (Brad Wells: Play-by-Play / Matt Schniederman: Analyst)
Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI men's basketball goes toe-to-toe with one of the top defenses in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers host the Southern Illinois Salukis inside the McLeod Center. The Panthers seek to win their third straight after narrowly edging Valparaiso on Wednesday night, while SIU goes for its eighth consecutive win after pulling out a close home win over Drake.

One of the most hotly contested rivalries in program history, the Salukis lead the Panthers 38-35 in the all-time series dating back to 1964. Notably, the home team has dominated the series, winning 48 of the 73 all-time meetings. UNI swept the regular season series from SIU last year with a 69-68 win in Carbondale last January, and a low-scoring battle in Cedar Falls back in February, 53-44.

UNI PANTHERS
The Panthers jumped out to a quick lead, but had to battle back to hold off a determined Valparaiso team on Wednesday night in search of its first conference win. With the game tied and seven seconds remaining in regulation, Michael Duax stepped up with the game-winning layup as time expired, scoring off a missed Bowen Born jump shot to give the Panthers the 69-67 win. The shot marks UNI's first game-winning basket as time expired since Paul Jesperson's game-winning three-point basket from half court against Texas in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

Tytan Anderson and Duax both became the first pair of UNI teammates to record a double-double since Trae Berhow and Austin Phyfe in January 2021 against Evansville. Anderson scored 16 points with 12 rebounds, as Duax tallied 15 points and 12 boards. Cole Henry and Born each scored 10 points, while James Betz tallied 8 points, including a pair of three-point baskets, as Landon Wolf scored 6 points.

UNI dominated the glass, outrebounding the Beacons 40-29, tying its largest rebounding margin of the season at 11, while also outscoring Valparaiso 40-26 inside the paint. Betz and Trey Campbell also reached scoring milestones against the Beacons with Betz surpassing 200 career points and Campbell 100 career points.

Head coach Ben Jacobson also made history in the Panther victory with his 328th career win, passing former Creighton coach Dana Altman for 3rd on the MVC's all-time wins list. Jacobson is now 10 wins shy of passing former Creighton and Saint Louis coach Eddie Hickey for 2nd on the list (337).

Born leads the MVC with a 19.5 points per game scoring average. The seven highest scoring games of his career have come in the last 11 games.

30 points vs. Northern Illinois (Nov. 26)
29 points vs. Evansville (Dec. 3)
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)
22 points at Bradley (Nov. 30)

In addition to leading the MVC with six double-doubles and ranking 19th in the nation, Anderson leads the MVC in rebounds per game (9.2) and defensive rebounds a game (6.8). He also sits 4th in the conference in offensive boards per contest (2.4).

The Panthers have averaged an MVC-low 14.7 personal fouls per game. As a result, UNI has also averaged 17.5 free throw attempts per game, 3rd most in the conference.

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SALUKIS
Riding its longest winning streak since the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season, the Salukis put the clamps down on Drake standouts Tucker DeVries and Roman Penn, holding the two MVC Preseason First Team selections to a combined 13 points in a 53-49 slugfest on Wednesday. SIU, who holds the MVC's 2nd best scoring defense at 59.8 points per game, have held their opponents to 53 or fewer points eight times this season, and under 50 in consecutive games.
The Salukis were picked 3rd in the MVC preseason poll with one first place vote behind Drake and Bradley. Senior forward Marcus Domask was named MVC Preseason First Team, while senior guard Lance Jones earned Second Team Preseason honors.

Domask leads SIU with 17.6 points and 6.2 rebounds a game, shooting a team-high 49.2% from the field. Jones meanwhile has notched 13.6 points a game and leads the Salukis and the league with 30 steals. Xavier Johnson has recorded 25 steals on defense, as Clarence Rupert has tallied 6.9 points per contest and 4.1 rebounds.

Under the leadership of fourth year head coach and former Saluki standout guard Bryan Mullins, SIU has gone 56-49 since his first season in Carbondale in 2019-20, and 28-31 in league play. Southern Illinois has not made a national postseason tournament since the 2008 NIT, and hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since its 2007 Sweet Sixteen run and MVC regular season title.

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