University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Belmont
UNI men’s basketball hosts Belmont on New Year’s Day
12/30/2024 11:47:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Panthers to take on Bruins to close out short two-game conference homestand. Tickets available for purchase.
UNI men's basketball (8-5 / 2-0 MVC) vs. Belmont (9-4 / 1-1 MVC)
- 8 p.m. CT | Jan. 1, 2025
- Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,650)
- MVC TV Network (Brad Wells: Play-by-Play / Kevin Lehman: Analyst)
- Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst)
- LIVE STATS
- TICKETS
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI men's basketball team will ring in 2025 on Wednesday night as it hosts the Belmont Bruins in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action inside the McLeod Center.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT with live coverage on the MVC TV Network, as well as the Panther Sports Radio Network with J.W. Cox and Kevin Boyle on the call.
Tickets for Wednesday's matchup with Belmont can be purchased online through the UNI Ticket Office, or by calling 319-273-4849 or through email at tickets@uni.edu. Fans aged 17 and under can also take advantage of a special $5 ticket deal, with $1 specials also available at the concession stands.
The Bruins hold a one-game lead on the Panthers in the all-time series, 3-2. Northern Iowa won both meetings last year, which included a 73-72 win in Nashville in the regular season, as well as a 67-62 victory in the quarterfinal round of the MVC Tournament in St. Louis. A UNI win would also give the Panthers their first 3-0 start to league play since the 2009-10 season.
The Panthers return to action following a 78-67 win over the Southern Illinois Salukis on Sunday afternoon at home. UNI overcame an early nine-point deficit using a 13-0 scoring run to end the first half and later a 14-0 run in the second period. Northern Iowa shot over 50% for the eighth time this year (55.8%) and outscored the Salukis by 12 points in the paint. Jacob Hutson finished the afternoon with a game-high 20 points on 70% shooting with Tytan Anderson notching his second consecutive double-double game with 15 points, ten rebounds and four assists. Max Weisbrod posted ten points, as Trey Campbell, Ben Schwieger and Leon Bond III all scored eight points.
Wednesday's game will also be another milestone moment for UNI head coach Ben Jacobson, who will coach his 600th career game. Henry P. Iba (Oklahoma State), Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer is the only other coach in MVC history to coach 600+ games in the league.
The Panthers, who have won five of their last six games, look to ride a hot shooting hand, leading all of Division I with a 52.3% shooting clip. UNI is also fourth nationally in effective field goal percentage (59.3%) and 14th in three-point shooting (39.8%).
Hutson leads UNI with 13.7 points per game with 3.8 rebounds per contest, having notched 20+ points five times this year, including four times in his last five outings. Anderson, who is just two steals shy of cracking the program's top-ten career list all-time, leads the Panthers with 6.5 rebounds a game and 13.5 points.
Bond has posted 11.6 points per game with a 59% shooting clip, as Campbell leads Northern Iowa with a team-high 43 assists on the year and 9.8 points. Having started the last five games, Schwieger has recorded 9.7 points with 3.8 rebounds on 51.2% shooting, with freshman Will Hornseth shooting 30-of-36 on the year (83.3%).
SCOUTING BELMONT
The Bruins make their way to Cedar Falls after a 65-46 loss at Drake on Sunday after scoring the second-fewest points scored since joining the MVC in 2022-23. Belmont posted a solid 8-3 record in the non-conference portion of the season, with an early conference win against Illinois State.
Led by sixth year head coach Casey Alexander, Belmont was picked to finish sixth in this year's MVC preseason poll. The Bruins are among the nation's top passing teams, ranking 24th in Division I with 17.8 assists per game. Belmont also ranks in the top-30 in the country with 10.4 three-pointers per game with a potential scoring bench of 28.5 points a game.
Jonathan Pierre leads a group of five Bruins averaging over ten points a game with 12.7. Pierre is also second in the MVC with 5.8 defensive rebounds per contest. Tyler Lundblade ranks eighth nationally with a 50% three-point shooting clip with three made triples 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.
