University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Loras
UNI men’s hoops hosts Loras in home opener
11/13/2023 4:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Panthers look for eighth straight win over the Duhawks in first home game of 2023-24. Tickets now available for purchase.
UNI men's basketball (0-1 / 0-0 MVC) vs. Loras (2-0 / 0-0 ARC)
- Nov. 14, 2023 | 7 p.m. CT
- Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,650)
- ESPN+ (Eric Braley: Play-by-Play / Matt Schniederman: Analyst)
- Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI men's basketball will get its first opportunity to play in front of its home crown in the regular season this year as the Panthers host the Division III Duhawks of Loras College on Tuesday night in non-conference action.
Northern Iowa will look to bounce back after a tough 83-77 overtime loss at North Texas a week ago in Denton, which saw the Panthers rally from an 11-point second half deficit against the reigning NIT champions.
Nate Heise scored a career-high 20 points with nine rebounds in UNI's season opener at North Texas, while Landon Wolf drained 18 points on four-of-seven shooting from beyond the three-point arc. Bowen Born notched 14 points with five rebounds, as Jacob Hutson posted an 11-point, eight-rebound performance in his UNI debut. Tytan Anderson also scored 14 points with five boards.
UNI has won seven straight regular season matchups with the Duhawks as both teams prepare for their first regular season meeting since 2011. Under head coach Ben Jacobson, the Panthers have won 15 of 17 home openers and are 194-61 (.760) all-time in the McLeod Center.
Northern Iowa returns 12 players from the 2022-23 roster with the addition of three freshmen and one transfer, and were picked to finish second in the MVC's annual preseason poll as voted on by the league's head coaches, sports information directors and media with 19 first-place votes, second only to Drake.
Born, who earned Second Team All-MVC recognition last season, was named to the conference Preseason First Team All-MVC list, looking to build after a breakout season last winter. Born led UNI with 573 total points (17.9 points per game), the tenth-highest total in a single-season in program history while shooting 40.8% from the field.
Anderson, the MVC's leader with 11 double-doubles last season and captain of the MVC Most Improved Team, was named to the league's Preseason Second Team. A force off the glass, Anderson led the Panthers and the MVC with 273 total rebounds (8.5 per game), the most by a Panther in a single-season since Eric Coleman in 2007-08.
2023 MVC All-Freshman Team forward Michael Duax also returns after a breakout first season on the court, as does Wolf, a guard on the MVC All-Bench Team who shot 36.2% from beyond the three-point arc as a redshirt freshman. Heise will also look to build off his strong season-opening performance at North Texas having missed the majority of last year after suffering a season-ending hand injury last November.
In addition to the return of big men Cole Henry and Chase Courbat, and guards Drew Daniel and Ege Peksari, the Panthers have benefited early in the season from the play of Loyola-Chicago transfer center Jacob Hutson. In his time with the Ramblers, Hutson backed up 2021 MVC Player of the Year Cameron Krutwig, averaging 3.4 points and 1.4 rebounds a game.
Head coach Ben Jacobson has recorded 335 career victories with the Panthers, three wins shy of passing Eddie Hickey for second on the MVC's all-time wins list. Jacobson also has the chance this season to surpass the legendary Henry P. Iba as the league's all-time leader in conference only wins, sitting five wins shy of moving ahead of the former Oklahoma State coach.
LORAS DUHAWKS
The Duhawks face a tough test in Northern Iowa after a pair of wins over Principia and Concordia (WI) at home in the Mike Molstead Motors Tip-Off Classic. Coming off a 17-11 campaign last winter, Loras was picked second in the American Rivers Conference (ARC) preseason poll with two first-place votes, behind preseason favorite Central. The Duhawks went 9-7 in league play last year, reaching the ARC Tournament Championship Game before falling to sixth-seeded Coe in a seven-point loss, two days after upsetting top-seeded Central.
The Duhawks return all five starters from 2022-23, including First Team All-ARC guard Ali Sabet (17.4 PPG) and second team all-conference forward Tyler Bass (13.9 PPG, 7.0 RPG). Also returning to Loras is Myles Barry, Declan Ciurlik, and Alex Singleton, all of whom combine to score just north of 30 points per game. Loras also signed former Wartburg standout and two-time All-ARC guard Jackson Molstead in the offseason, who averaged 13.2 points per game with the Knights.
