University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Bradley
Panther men’s basketball battles Bradley in Sunday’s regular season finale
2/28/2025 11:02:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UNI can secure two-seed for Arch Madness with a win in Peoria.
UNI men's basketball (20-10 / 14-5 MVC) at Bradley (23-7 / 14-5 MVC)
- 1 p.m. CT | Mar. 1, 2025
- Carver Arena | Peoria, Ill.
- ESPN2 / ESPN+ (Clay Matvick: Play-by-Play / Kevin Lehman: Analyst)
- Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst)
- LIVE STATS
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The 2024-25 regular season for the UNI men's basketball team will reach its finale on Sunday afternoon as the Panthers head to central Illinois to take on the Bradley Braves in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.
Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT with live coverage available on ESPN2, with a simulcast also available on ESPN+. Fans can also catch the radio call of the game with J.W. Cox and Kevin Boyle on the Panther Sports Radio Network.
The Panthers narrowly trail Bradley in the all-time series 37-39, but have won the previous two matchups, including an 83-69 win back on Feb. 2 in Cedar Falls. Northern Iowa will be in search of its first three-game winning streak against the Braves in five years. Sunday's winner will secure the two-seed for next week's MVC Tournament in St. Louis, while the loser will be the three-seed.
UNI's offense clicked on all cylinders on Wednesday night in its 74-52 home finale against UIC, marking the first time the Panthers have beaten an MVC opponent twice in the regular season by 20+ points since 2019-20. Four Panthers finished in double-digit scoring figures with senior Jacob Hutson matching his career-high in his final home game, with Northern Iowa also dominated the glass and shooting 53% from the field.
Hutson finished his final home game with 26 points to match his career-high and set a new personal-best as a Panther, along with four rebounds and a team-high four assists. Tytan Anderson posted 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds in his McLeod Center finale, as Ben Schwieger tallied 12 points with eight boards and Trey Campbell 12 points and seven rebounds. Cael Schmitt added five points in his final home contest, while Max Weisbrod scored three points.
Northern Iowa continues to maintain a hot shooting hand this season, ranking seventh in all of Division I with a 49.2% shooting clip, shooting over 50% in 13 of its 29 games this year. The Panthers are also on pace for the sixth-highest team shooting percentage in program history and highest mark this century.
In 29 games against Division I opponents this season, UNI has outscored its opposition in the paint 22 times, going 18-4 in such games. On average, the Panthers score nearly 34 points per game in the paint, outscoring their opponents by over six points per game inside. Twelve times in 29 games against D1 opponents Northern Iowa has outscored their opponents by 10 or more points in the paint. In 19 MVC games, the Panthers have been outscored in the Paint only two times.
Anderson, the MVC's leader in made free throws (132) and attempts (186) who also looks to continue climbing the program's top-ten all-time steals list, leads UNI with 15.5 points per game and a team-high 6.6 rebounds a game on 58.3% shooting. Anderson is also seventh all-time in program history in career rebounds (786) and tied for fifth in games played with the Panthers (136) with current UNI assistant coach Seth Tuttle (2011-15)..
Hutson has notched 12.2 points and 4.5 rebounds, while Campbell has posted 11.6 points and a team-high 89 assists. Schwieger has put up 10.2 points and five boards per game as a starter in the Panther lineup in the last 22 contests. Will Hornseth, meanwhile, is shooting at a high percentage in his freshman season, posting a 68.5% clip on 63-of-92 shooting, currently on pace to set a new single-season field goal percentage record.
From beyond the arc, Schmitt, who has appeared in 12 games since his UNI and Division I debut at Southern Illinois last month, has steadily increased his minutes on the floor each game while shooting nine-for-29 from range. Weisbrod has also been a spark for Northern Iowa's three-point shooting having started the last eight games and trailing on Campbell for the team lead with 40 made three pointers on 38.8%.
SCOUTING BRADLEY
The Braves host the Panthers in their regular season finale having won four of their six games since falling to UNI in Cedar Falls back on Feb. 2. Bradley picked up a key win against MVC regular season champion Drake in Des Moines on Feb. 16, but followed its victory up with a tough loss at Illinois State.
In their last outing on Wednesday at Valparaiso, the Braves came back after trailing by one point against the Beacons, overcoming a tough 31.8% shooting clip in the second half for a 76-65 win.
Bradley leads the nation with a 40.9% three-point shooting clip with 10.1 made three pointers a game, third-most in the MVC. The Braves are also ninth in Division I with a 57.3% effective field goal mark, while also boasting the league's top shooting defense (40.9%).
Duke Deen, Bradley's leading scorer and the MVC Preseason Player of the Year, leads the Braves with 14.3 points per game, plus 3.7 assists a game while also leading the conference in three-point shot attempts (234). Darrius Hannah leads Bradley with 5.7 rebounds a game with 12.1 points per game and a team-high 30 blocks, as Zek Montgomery has notched 12.6 points.
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 2024-25 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
