University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
19-14,12-8MVC
Indiana State
28-5,17-3MVC
UNI men’s basketball falls to Indiana State in Arch Madness semifinal
3/9/2024 6:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Panthers end 2023-24 season with 19 wins in loss to MVC regular season champions.
ST. LOUIS --- UNI men's basketball's season came to a close on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers fell to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) regular season champion and top-seeded Indiana State Sycamores in the semifinal round of Arch Madness at Enterprise Center.
After winning their last three games of the regular season and a quarterfinal win over Belmont on Friday, Northern Iowa struggled to slow the Sycamores' high-octane three-point shooting effort. The Panthers finish the year with a 19-14 record, a five-win improvement from a year ago and the 13th winning season under head coach Ben Jacobson.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Indiana State would come out and hit the Panthers with a barrage of three-point baskets, drilling five of its first seven attempts, including four by Robbie Avila. The Sycamores' speed on the offensive end of the floor put UNI into a large hole early, shooting 51.6% in the first 20 minutes of play and holding Northern Iowa to 38.7%. After Indiana State jumped ahead by 19 points, UNI closed the gap with an 8-0 run, aided by three steals by RJ Taylor and back-to-back three-pointers by Nate Heise and Bowen Born. Taylor would sink a triple in the final minutes of the opening period as the Panthers managed to slow the Sycamores late and go into the locker room trailing 44-33.
Indiana State continued its hot shooting afternoon with seven made three-pointers on 63.3% total shooting in the final 20 minutes, as UNI struggled to establish a strong presence to rebound the ball. Huston continued his stellar day on offense with eight second-half points, while Born scored nine points, including four made free throws.
Hutson finished with a season-high 21 points, while Born tallied 12 points. Heise notched ten points as Anderson posted seven points with a team-high eight rebounds. Landon Wolf finished with six points and Taylor notched five points.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI's loss is its fourth straight to Indiana State as the Panthers fall to 31-37 all-time against the Sycamores. ISU also improves to 2-1 against Northern Iowa in the MVC Tournament in the first meeting between the two programs in St. Louis since the 2009 quarterfinal round.
- Northern Iowa is now 29-26 all-time in the MVC Tournament and 7-5 in the semifinal round, including 5-4 in semifinals under head coach Ben Jacobson.
- Tytan Anderson finished the season having scored at least 65 consecutive games, the longest streak among active Panthers.
- Bowen Born surpassed 400 points on the season with his 12-point game on Saturday. This is the second straight year the junior guard has posted 400+ points in a season. Born also ends the year having scored in double figures in 21 of his last 25 games.
- Born finishes the year having shot 91-of-103 from the free throw line for an 88.3% clip, the third-highest single-season mark in school history.
