Panther men's basketball visits Evansville in midweek matchup

UNI men's basketball at Evansville

7 p.m. CT | Feb. 4, 2023
Evansville, Ind. | Ford Center (10,000)
ESPN+ (Kyle Peach: Play-by-Play / Rick Johnson: Analyst)
Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI men's basketball looks to snap its three-game skid this Wednesday night as the Panthers head to southern Indiana to take on the Evansville Purple Aces in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.

The Panthers rolled past Evansville back on Dec. 3 in their MVC home opener in a 72-55 win inside the McLeod Center. Bowen Born led UNI in the winning effort with 29 points, a career-best against a conference opponent at the time, while Tytan Anderson scored 19 points.

UNI has won 4 straight matchups against the Purple Aces, and 8 of the previous 10 games. The Panthers will also look for their second consecutive road win against Evansville, trying to build on a 10-21 all-time road record against the Purple Aces. UNI's last three games at Evansville have been decided by 6 points or less.

UNI PANTHERS
The Panthers jumped out to a quick start to open the second half, but was unable to cool off a hot shooting Bradley team on Saturday afternoon as UNI fell to the Braves, 77-69 at home. Despite a surge midway through the second period when UNI cut the Bradley leads down to 2 points, the Panthers gave up 16 three-point baskets to Bradley, tied for most in a home game in program history, including 5 to Connor Hickman.

James Betz finished the night with a team-high 16 points in the loss, while tying a career-high in rebounds (6). Michael Duax tallied 14 points with a career-best 4 steals for UNI, as Born totaled 11 points. Anderson notched 9 points and 5 rebounds, with Cole Henry posting a 6-point performance.

Born has averaged 19.6 points per game in league play this season, and ranks fourth in the MVC in total points scored (454) and third in overall average (18.9 points per game).

Born's 10 highest scoring games of his career have all come this season.

30 points at Drake (Feb. 1)
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 9 double-doubles lead the MVC and rank 28th most in the nation. He also leads the league in rebounds per game (9.2) and defensive rebounds per contest (6.96). Anderson's league-best 221 total rebounds this season are 27th most in the country. The Eldridge, Iowa native entered the season averaging 1.9 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.

Seven freshmen in the MVC this season have scored 150+ points in their first season on the floor, including three Panthers in Duax (242 points), Trey Campbell (183 points) and Wolf (170 points).

Collectively, the Panthers lead the nation in points per game scored by in-state players, as Iowa-born players have accounted for 71.5 points a game.

The Panthers have averaged 15.1 personal fouls per game, second fewest in the MVC this year. As a result, UNI has also averaged 17.7 free throw attempts per game, 3rd most in the conference.

Head coach Ben Jacobson can surpass former Creighton coach Dana Altman as the second-winningest coach in MVC history in conference only games with a victory. Both Jacobson and Altman have won 182 games in league play. Former Oklahoma State coach Henry P. Iba won 187 games against conference opponents from 1934-70.

Entering Tuesday and Wednesday's slate of games, 4 teams are tied for first place in the MVC standings at 10-4 (Drake, Southern Illinois, Belmont Bradley). The Panthers sit 2 games back of first place at 8-6, tied with Murray State and Missouri State.

EVANSVILLE PURPLE ACES
The Purple Aces enter Wednesday's game on a 12-game losing streak, most recently falling to UIC in a 70-61 road loss in Chicago. Evansville has won only two games since last matching up with UNI in December (Campbell and Bellarmine) and come in winless this season against league opponents.

Evansville has struggled to shoot the ball, shooting a league-low 39.7% from the field and scoring a league low 62.3 points per game. Kenny Strawbridge leads Evansville with 15.1 points a game, with Marvin Coleman notching 10.5 points. Yacine Toumi averages 10.6 points for the Purple Aces, while leading Evansville with 6 rebounds per contest.

Despite struggling on offense, the Purple Aces post the third most effective fast break attack in the MVC, averaging 10.8 in quick transition.

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