University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Wichita State
UNI men’s basketball set to reignite rivalry with Shockers on Thursday
11/12/2024 11:17:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Panthers prepare for first road trip of the season at Wichita State. All-time series between former MVC rivals is tied at 28 wins a piece.
UNI men's basketball (2-1 / 0-0 MVC) at Wichita State (2-0 / 0-0 AAC)
- 6:30 p.m. CT | Wichita, Kan.
- Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
- ESPN+ (Shane Dennis: Play-by-Play / Bob Hull: Analyst)
- Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play)
- LIVE STATS
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI men's basketball team will renew an old Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) rivalry on Thursday night as it hits the road for the first time this season against the Wichita State Shockers in non-conference action.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT at Charles Koch Arena, with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network with J.W. Cox on the call.
Thursday's matchup will be the first meeting between the Panthers and Shockers since Wichita State departed the MVC for the American Athletic Conference (AAC) in 2017. WSU has won the last two meetings with the series all tied up at 28 wins a piece.
Northern Iowa is coming off an 80-60 loss to reigning Big West Conference champion UC Irvine on Sunday at home. Jacob Hutson finished the game with a team-high 13 points and five rebounds, as RJ Taylor tallied 12 points on five-of-ten shooting and a game-high three assists. Tytan Anderson recorded ten points and a team-leading seven rebounds, with Trey Campbell finishing with seven points. Both Max Weisbrod and Ben Schwieger both tallied five points each and Leon Bond III scoring three points.
Despite Sunday's loss, UNI is out to its best three-game start to a season since 2019-20, when it started 3-0 en route to a 25-6 season and an MVC regular season championship.
Hutson enters the game just one point shy of 600 career points (345 at UNI; 254 at Loyola-Chicago), while Taylor is four points away from cracking 100 points in his young collegiate career.
The Panthers are also 87-12 (.877) when scoring at 80 points or more under head coach Ben Jacobson.
SCOUTING WICHITA STATE
The Shockers host the Panthers in the second of a three-game homestand, coming off an 89-69 win over Montana on Saturday. Wichita State also defeated Western Kentucky on the road to open the season, 91-84.
Wichita State posted a 15-19 record and finished 5-13 in AAC play last season in a tie for tenth place, earning conference tournament wins over Rice and Memphis before falling to eventual AAC Tournament champion UAB in the quarterfinal round. The Shockers were picked fourth in this year's AAC preseason poll behind UAB, Memphis and South Florida.
Wichita State's blocking defense has shown its strength early in the season, averaging 7.5 blocks per game through two games, ninth-most in Division I this season. The Shockers are also 11th nationally with 24 made free throws per contest and 18th in free throw attempts per game (31).
Guard Justin Hill has averaged 24 points through the first two games of WSU's season, with Harlond Beverly, Xavier Bell, Quincy Ballard, Corey Washington and Ronnie DeGray III all averaging over ten points. Hill and DeGray also lead the Shockers with 6.5 rebounds a game.
UNI men's basketball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Men's Basketball), X (@UNImbb) and on Instagram (@uni_basketball). The full 2024 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
