University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Missouri State
UNI men’s hoops to host Missouri State in annual White Out Game
2/6/2024 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Panthers take on Bears in Wednesday night MVC matchup. Tickets now available for purchase.
UNI men's basketball (12-11 / 6-6 MVC) vs. Missouri State (14-9 / 6-6 MVC)
- Feb. 7, 2024 | 7 p.m. CT
- Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,650)
- ESPN+ (Brad Wells: Play-by-Play / Kevin Lehman: Analyst)
- Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI men's basketball wraps up a brief two-game homestand on Wednesday night as the Panthers take on the Missouri State bears in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT with live coverage available on ESPN+ as well as the Panther Sports Radio Network. Tickets can be purchased online at UNIpanthers.com/tickets or by calling the ticket office at 319-273-4849.
Fans are encouraged to wear white as part of the program's annual White Out Game. UNI will also be celebrating Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night as well as CAB Night with the Campus Activities Board.
Northern Iowa looks to snap out of a four-game skid following a tough 71-43 home loss to Murray State last Saturday. The Panthers struggled on both ends of the floor in their loss to the Racers, being held to a season-low 30.6% shooting from the floor, and were held without a defensive steal. With Murray State shooting 47.5% from the field in the game, the Panthers saw action from key reserves including Cole Henry, Landon Wolf, Kyle Pock, Michael Duax, RJ Taylor and Drew Daniel throughout much of the second half.
Wolf finished the game with a team-high nine points thanks to his second-half performance, while Tytan Anderson posted eight points and a team-leading seven rebounds in the loss. Heise ended the afternoon with six points, as Trey Campbell posted five points. Duax notched four points for the Panthers, with Henry tallying three points and two points each from Jacob Hutson, Taylor, Pock and Daniel.
Missouri State leads the all-time series 46-41, but the Panthers have won the last two matchups, including a 64-62 road win against the Bears in Springfield on Jan. 3. In that meeting, Bowen Born scored a team-high 21 points, which included a key three-point basket in the final 90 seconds of play to help secure the win for the Panthers. Both of the previous two matchups with the Bears have been decided by a single possession.
Born leads the Panthers with 13.8 points per game in 21 games played this season, while also leading the MVC in free throw percentage (91%) on 61-of-67 shooting from the charity stripe. His shooting clip at the free throw line is currently on pace to finish as the third-best single-season mark in program history. Born has also scored in double-digit figures in 13 of his last 15 games.
Heise has posted 13.4 points a game with 6.1 rebounds per contest, while Anderson, who is riding a 55-game streak of scoring at least one point, is also averaging a team-leading 6.2 rebounds per game. At the three-point arc, Campbell is shooting 43.2% to the tune of 9.2 points a game, while Hutson posts a shooting clip at 55.5% with a career-best 8.5 points per game as the Panthers' key inside man.
On milestone watch, Heise can become the 72nd player in program history to reach 800 career points with his next point scored, while Born sits 35 points away from cracking into UNI's top-ten all-time list. Anderson needs five rebounds to reach 500 in his career, as Campbell needs just three boards to reach 200 in just his second year of collegiate basketball. Hutson can also reach 200 career boards with his next nine rebounds.
UNI is 82-12 (.872) under head coach Ben Jacobson when scoring 80+ points, and have won 20 of its last 25 games when scoring 80 or more points. Jacobson, who passed Henry P. Iba (Oklahoma State) for the MVC's conference wins record last month, is just two wins away from his 350th career victory, all coming as the leader of the Panthers.
MISSOURI STATE BEARS
The Bears come to Cedar Falls in the midst of a four game winning streak, the second-longest active stretch in the MVC behind only Indiana State (7). Missouri State was victorious in its last outing over the weekend with an 87-80 home win over Belmont.
After falling to UNI at home in early January, the Bears struggled with losses in four of their next five games. Missouri State has righted the ship since with four straight wins, including a double overtime win against Drake at home, and a one-point overtime victory at Southern Illinois.
The Bears lead the MVC in defensive rebounds per game (29.13) and rebounding margin (4.9). Missouri State also boasts the league's best shooting defense, holding opponents to just 41.2% shooting from the floor.
Alston Mason leads the Bears with 18.3 points per game as the MVC's fifth-leading scorer with a team-high 82 assists, while Donovan Clay has paced Missouri State with 14.2 points and 5.9 rebounds. N.J. Benson leads the Bears with 6.9 rebounds per contest.
