University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Valparaiso
UNI men’s basketball: Panthers look to rebound Saturday at Valparaiso
1/16/2026 12:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Panthers aim for third regular season sweep of the Beacons in the last four years.
UNI men's basketball (12-6 / 4-3 MVC) at Valparaiso (8-10 / 2-5 MVC)
- 2 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026
- Valparaiso, Ind. | Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000)
- WATCH (ESPN+) [Todd Icow: Play-by-Play / Brian Jennings: Analyst]
- LISTEN (Panther Sports Radio Network) [J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst]
- LIVE RESULTS
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI men's basketball will look to snap a season-long three game skid on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers return to the road to battle the Valparaiso Beacons in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.
Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT at the Athletics-Recreation Center in northwest Indiana with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network (93.5 The Mix) with J.W. Cox and Kevin Boyle on the call.
The Panthers bested the Beacons in their first meeting of the season by a score of 58-48 in Cedar Falls on Dec. 29, holding Valparaiso to a season-low mark in points scored. A UNI victory would mark its third regular season sweep of the Beacons in the last four years (2023, 2024).
Northern Iowa will look to bounce back after falling to UIC on Tuesday night at home, 69-61. Despite winning the rebounding battle, including outrebounding the Flames by a 12-5 margin on offense, UNI was held without a three-point basket in the second half and was held under 40% shooting for the night. The Panthers were also outscored 13-3 on turnovers after giving away the ball 11 times.
Trey Campbell scored a season-high 21 points on eight-of-15 shooting in the loss to UIC, with Ben Schwieger tying his season-high with 17 points and a team-high nine rebounds, scoring his 500th point as a Panther in the process. Will Hornseth tallied all nine of his points in the second half along with six boards, with Ismael Diouf finishing with six points, Leon Bond III four points and two points from Kyle Pock.
Northern Iowa leads Division I in three-point percentage defense, limiting opponents to just 25.5% from beyond the arc. Entering their game against Valparaiso, the Panthers have held six of their last nine opponents under 20% from three-point range.
UNI is also second in Division I in scoring defense with 60.1 points allowed per game, giving up 70 points just three times this season. The Panthers are 9-0 when holding opponents to 60 or fewer points this year.
UNI's scoring defense is currently on pace for the fourth-best mark since transitioning to a Division I program (1980-81). The Panthers have made the NCAA Tournament each of the previous three seasons when giving up 60 points or fewer.
The Panthers are also in the top-40 in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.400), while ball security has been key for the UNI this season, averaging only 9.2 turnovers per game, eighth-fewest in Division I men's basketball. Northern Iowa is also 19th in the country with a 1.68 assist/turnover ratio
Campbell looks to continue to add to the record book against the Beacons. Having scored his 1,000th career point in December, Campbell's 114 career starts at UNI are tied for sixth-most in program history alongside Eric Coleman (2004-08) and the most among all active players in the MVC.
Hornseth looks to continue to be a strong presence inside the paint, recently taking over as UNI's career shooting percentage leader (64%) with a minimum of 100 made shots. Bond meanwhile looks to continue his march to 500 points in his UNI career, looking to become the 117th player in team history to reach the milestone.
SCOUTING VALPARAISO
The Beacons welcome the Panthers to the Athletics-Recreation Center on Saturday, a highly motivated squad after upsetting MVC preseason favorite Illinois State in its last home game on Jan. 7.
Valparaiso dropped back-to-back road contests at Murray State last Saturday and at Belmont, the latter of which saw the Beacons come up short by just four points.
Boasting the MVC's top blocking defense with four blocks per game, Valparaiso has also limited the three-point shot against its opponents this season with a 31.4% shooting clip, second-only to UNI.
Owen Dease leads the Beacons with 14.1 points per game, along with 11.7 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds from JT Pettigrew, while Rakim Chaney has notched 10.3 points a game, plus a team-high 24 steals.
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). Schedule and roster information, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
