University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
South Florida
Panther men’s basketball tips Thanksgiving week action at South Florida
11/17/2023 4:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UNI looks to upend Bulls in road trip to Tampa. Panthers have split the first two games of 2023-24 season.
UNI men's basketball (1-1 / 0-0 MVC) at South Florida (1-1 / 0-0 AAC)
- Nov. 19, 2023 | 4 p.m. CT
- Tampa, Fla. | Yeungling Center (10,411)
- ESPN+ (Jim Louk: Play-by-Play / Ryan Urquhart: Analyst)
- Panther Sports Radio Network (Gary Rima: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- Coming off its first win of the season on Tuesday night at home, UNI men's basketball hits the road for the second time this November to begin a four-game swing through Florida and the Bahamas as the Panthers battle the South Florida Bulls on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday's matchup will be just the second meeting all-time between the programs after facing off last season in Cedar Falls in a game won by the Bulls, 72-69. The Panthers are 8-3 all-time against teams from the State of Florida and will look to grab their first true road victory against a team in the Sunshine State since beating Central Florida during the 1995-96 season.
Northern Iowa scored an impressive 90-50 victory over Division III Loras on Tuesday night inside the McLeod Center with four Panthers notching double-digit scoring figures, led by 14-point efforts each from Trey Campbell, Tytan Anderson and Kyle Pock. Nate Heise tallied 13 points, five rebounds and four assists in the win, while Jacob Hutson and Michael Duax posted eight-point outings. Drew Daniel led the game with eight rebounds as Charlie Miller dished out four assists in his regular season collegiate debut.
Heise leads UNI in scoring through the first two games of the 2023-24 season with 16.5 points per game, as well as a team high seven rebounds per game average. Bowen Born has recorded 14 points this year, while Landon Wolf (12.5 PPG) and Tytan Anderson (11.5 PPG) are both averaging over ten points a contest. Early in the season, Wolf ranks 43rd in Division one with a 55.6% mark from three-point range.
UNI improved to 80-10 (.888) under head coach Ben Jacobson when scoring 80+ points in Tuesday's win against Loras. The Panthers have won 18 of their last 21 games when scoring 80 or more points.
With a victory, Ben Jacobson can tie former Creighton and Saint Louis coach Eddie Hickey for second-place on the Missouri Valley Conference's (MVC) all-time wins list with 337. Former Oklahoma State coach Henry P. Iba is the MVC's all-time wins leader with 486.
SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS
After opening the regular season with a convincing 44-point win over South Carolina State, the Bulls dropped a narrow battle at home to Central Michigan on Wednesday, 68-63. Picked ninth in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) preseason poll, South Florida is coming off a 14-18 season a year ago and an eighth-place conference finish at 7-11.
The Bulls are in the midst of new leadership as Amir Abdur-Rahim prepares for his third game in Tampa, having previously spent the last four seasons as head coach at Kennesaw State. On the court, Chris Youngblood leads USF with 19.5 points per game through the first two contests of the year, with Selton Miller averaging 17 points per contest. Jayden Reid, the reigning AAC Freshman of the Week, has dished out six assists per game, while Corey Walkers leads the Bulls off the glass with six boards per game. A strong free throw shooting team, South Florida ranks fourth in the nation with 23 made free throws per game, and sixth in bench points (15.5). The Bulls have struggled at the three-point arc to begin the season, shooting just 22% (9-for-41).
