University of Northern Iowa
North Texas
Panther men’s hoops prepares for Thanksgiving showdowns at NIT Season Tip-Off
11/26/2024 11:33:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UNI takes on North Texas on Thanksgiving night and Utah State or St. Bonaventure on Friday. All games available on ESPNU, ESPN2 and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
UNI men's basketball (3-2 / 0-0 MVC) vs. North Texas (5-1 / 0-0 AAC)
- 7 p.m. CT | Kissimmee, Fla.
- State Farm Field House (5,000)
- ESPNU (Chuckie Kempf: Play-by-Play / King McClure: Analyst)
- Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst)
- LIVE STATS
UNI men's basketball (3-2 / 0-0 MVC) vs. Utah State OR St. Bonaventure
- 5:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. CT | Kissimmee, Fla.
- State Farm Field House (5,000)
- ESPN2 or ESPNU (Chuckie Kempf: Play-by-Play / King McClure: Analyst)
- Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst)
- LIVE STATS
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI men's basketball team returns to action over the Thanksgiving holiday as the Panthers head south to central Florida for the NIT Season Tip-Off at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Northern Iowa will battle North Texas on Thanksgiving night, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. CT on ESPNU, as well as either Utah State or St. Bonaventure on Nov. 29 on ESPN2 or ESPNU at either 5:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. CT. Live coverage of both games can also be found on the Panther Sports Radio Network with J.W. Cox and Kevin Boyle on the call.
The Panthers have faced all three opponents in this year's field at least once in the past six seasons, including a pair of matchups with St. Bonaventure as well as last year's regular season opener at North Texas. UNI is a combined 24-20 in multi-team events (MTEs) under head coach Ben Jacobson with four championships under its belt, most recently winning the 2019 Cancun Challenge in the Riviera Division. Other titles included the 2010 iBN Las Vegas Classic, 2011 South Padre Island Tournament and the 2015 Cancun Challenge.
UNI returns to action after a nine-day layoff following an impressive 82-56 win over Western Illinois at home. The Panthers shot 60.8% from the field with the defense stepping up with nine steals, outscoring the Leathernecks by a 17-3 margin in points off turnovers. Trey Campbell scored a season-high 18 points with four made three pointers, with Tytan Anderson scoring 17 points with four rebounds and a pair of blocks. Ben Schwieger also recorded new season-highs in points scored (13) and rebounds (5).
Through five games, both Anderson leads the purple and gold with 14.2 points and six rebounds per game on 56.1% shooting, while Jacob Hutson has notched 12.6 points and 5.2 rebounds a game. Schwieger has posted 9.4 points with a team-high 15 assists off the bench in his first season as a Panther, with Campbell posting 9.2 points and RJ Taylor nine points per game. As a team, UNI leads the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) with 4.6 blocks per game and rank second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.45), field goal percentage defense (41.6%) and fewest fouls per game (15).
SCOUTING THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
North Texas heads to Kissimmee having won five of their first six games. The Mean Green snuck past Oregon State by a score of 58-55 on Monday night at The Super Pit in Denton. UNT was picked seventh out of 13 teams in the American Athletic Conference's preseason poll after posting a 19-15 record last year, reaching the NIT after winning the tournament in 2023 before falling to Seton Hall in the second round.
Atin Wright, a former guard at Drake, leads the Mean Green with 11.8 points per game, while Jonathan Massie has posted 10.8 points a game, along with a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game.
Utah State heads southeast with a perfect 5-0 record, coming off a 77-69 win over Iowa last Friday in Kansas City at the NABC Hall of Fame Classic. The Aggies were picked sixth out of 11 teams with one first-place vote in this year's Mountain West preseason poll. Graduate guard Ian Martinez was named to the league's preseason all-conference team. Martinez leads the USU with 20.8 points per game, while Mason Falsley, Aubin Gatereste and Karson Templin are all averaging over ten points a game. Gatereste and Templin are both averaging six rebounds per contest
St. Bonaventure will make the trip down south from New York with a 6-0 record, coming off an 85-70 win at home over Bryant on Sunday. The Bonnies were tabbed tenth out of 15 teams in the Atlantic-10 Conference preseason poll after a 20-13 season last year that ended in a run to the A-10 Tournament semifinals. Chance Moore leads a quintet of Bonnies who are all averaging double digit points with 16.2 points per game. Moore also leads SBU with eight rebounds a game, as Noel Brown has shot 70.5% from the field.
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.
