University of Northern Iowa
Illinois State
UNI men’s hoops looks to continue winning ways at Illinois State
2/20/2024 8:49:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Panthers have won ten straight games against the Redbirds as the final stretch of regular season begins.
UNI men's basketball (15-12 / 9-7 MVC) at Illinois State Redbirds (13-14 / 7-9 MVC)
- 7 p.m. CT | Feb. 21, 2024
- Normal, Ill. | CEFCU Arena (10,200)
- ESPN+ (Leo Staudacher: Play-by-Play / Kelly Burke: Analyst / Lexi Ayala: Sideline)
- Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The final four-game stretch of the 2023-24 regular season begins for the UNI men's basketball team on Wednesday night as the Panthers visit Normal, Illinois to take on the Illinois State Redbirds in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT at CEFCU Arena, with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network.
Meeting for the 90th time, the UNI-Illinois State rivalry is the longest running series by number of games in the history of the Panther program, with Northern Iowa narrowly leading the series, 45-44. UNI has won the last ten matchups against the Redbirds, its longest streak against ISU and the second-longest winning streak in the series since the Redbirds won 15 straight over the Panthers from 1974 to 1994. The Panthers have also ended Illinois State's season in each of the last three years, toppling the Redbirds at Arch Madness in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Entering the final two weeks of the regular season, the Panthers look to stay in the hunt for a top-four seed at the MVC Tournament following a 74-63 home win over Bradley on Sunday. Northern Iowa slowed one of the league's top teams down and shot over 50% in the first period, but struggled in the final period to find the bottom of the net. Despite the difficult shooting performance in the final 20 minutes, UNI held off the Braves down the stretch and led for 38 minutes to snap a four-game skid against Bradley.
Jacob Hutson led the Panthers with 14 points, including a career-high eight made free throws with seven rebounds in UNI's winning effort over the Braves. Bowen Born recorded 12 points with three steals, while Nate Heise tallied 11 points and six rebounds with a team-high three made three-pointers. Tytan Anderson recorded his second double-double of the season and 13th of his career with a ten-point, 12-rebound game. Trey Campbell and Landon Wolf finished with eight points each, as Cole Henry, RJ Taylor and Michael Duax all posted three points each.
Nate Heise continues to lead the Panthers in scoring with 13.7 points per game, as well as a 6.2 rebounds per contest average. Born has recorded 13.2 points while also leading the MVC and ranking 15th nationally with a 90.5% free throw shooting mark (67-of-74). Born, who cracked UNI's top-ten all-time scoring list, is currently on pace to finish as the third-best single-season free throw percentage in program history. He has also scored in double-digit figures in 16 of his last 19 games. Born also has the opportunity to become the seventh player in team history to record 200 career three-point field goals, sitting just two three-pointers away.
Anderson, who is riding a 59-game streak of scoring at least one point, is averaging a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game with 11.5 points per contest. At the three-point arc, Campbell is shooting 42.6% to the tune of 9.2 points a game, while Hutson posts a shooting clip at 56.8% with a career-best nine points per game as the Panthers' key inside man.
ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS
The Redbirds find themselves just one game under .500 after a stellar week, which included a win at No. 23 Indiana State last Tuesday, their first ranked win since 2016. ISU also defeated Evansville on Senior Day on Sunday, 86-79.
Under the leadership of second-year head coach Ryan Pedon, Illinois State was picked eighth in the MVC preseason poll with senior guard Darius Burford being named Preseason Third Team All-MVC.
The Redbirds pose a challenge defensively with the MVC's second-best scoring defense, allowing just 68 points per game. ISU is also dominant on the glass, leading the league with 10.2 offensive rebounds a game.
Burford leads the Redbirds with 13.2 points per contest, with Myles Foster averaging 12 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds. Malachi Poindexter anchors ISU's three-point shooting at 32%, while Johnny Kinziger has come on strong at 39.7% from beyond the arc.
