University of Northern Iowa Athletics
The Almanac: UNI men’s basketball picked third in conference preseason poll
9/20/2023 3:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Born, Anderson, Duax earn individual recognition in preseason preview of Panther and MVC basketball.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The Almanac, produced annually by The Field of 68 Media Network, has picked UNI men's basketball to finish third in its Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) preseason preview.
Comprised of 14 college basketball writers and insiders, the 2023-24 Field of 68 Almanac provides a comprehensive preview of the upcoming season with insight on every Division I program and conference in the nation.
Junior guard Bowen Born was selected to The Almanac's Preseason First Team All-MVC, while also being voted as the player who scares you most in an anonymous poll by the league's head coaches. Junior guard/forward Tytan Anderson was also named to the Preseason Second All-MVC list, while sophomore guard/forward Michael Duax was voted as the league's breakout player for 2023-24.
A native of Norwalk, Iowa, Born earned NABC First Team All-District and Second Team All-MVC honors in 2022-23, leading the Panthers with 17.9 points per game in 32 starts. His 573 total points on the season were tenth-most in a single-season in program history as he shot 40.8% from the floor, 36.7% from beyond the three-point arc and 83.7% from the free throw line.
Anderson, a native of Eldridge, Iowa, broke out last season by leading the MVC with 11 double-doubles, including 12.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Named the captain of the conference's Most Improved Team, Anderson shot 48.4% from the field and scored a career-high 25 points against St. Bonaventure. He also set new single-game school records for rebounds against an MVC opponent and for rebounds in a home game with 18 against Murray State.
In his first season of action last winter, Duax, a sophomore from Dubuque, Iowa, earned MVC All-Freshmen Team recognition after scoring 321 points (10.0 per game), the second-most scored in the conference among freshmen. Shooting 57.4% from the floor, Duax notched three double-doubles and scored a season-high 21 points against UIC last January, while also pulling down 4.7 rebounds per contest.
Season tickets for the 2023-24 UNI men's basketball season are now available for purchase online at unipanthers.com/tickets, or by calling the ticket office at 319-273-4849. Single-game tickets will be available for purchase at a later date.
