University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Southern Illinois
UNI men’s basketball visits Southern Illinois in January road finale
1/27/2026 10:06:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Panthers take on Salukis on Wednesday night on MVC TV Network.
UNI men's basketball (13-8 / 5-5 MVC) at Southern Illinois (8-12 / 2-7 MVC)
- 6 p.m. CT
- Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2026
- Carbondale, Ill. | Banterra Center (8,284)
- WATCH (MVC TV Network/ESPN+) [John Rooney: Play-by-Play / Kevin Lehman: Analyst]
- LISTEN (Panther Sports Radio Network) [J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst]
- LIVE RESULTS
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- After snapping a season-long five-game skid last weekend, the UNI men's basketball team returns for its final road game of January as it visits the Southern Illinois Salukis on Wednesday night in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at the Banterra Center in Carbondale with live coverage available on the MVC TV Network/ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network (93.5 The Mix) with J.W. Cox and Kevin Boyle on the call.
The Salukis hold a narrow 40-39 in the series ahead of the 80th all-time meeting this week. UNI and SIU split the two regular season matchups a season ago, while the Panthers have also won six of the last eight meetings.
Northern Iowa looks to continue its momentum after posting an 81-76 win over league-leading Murray State at home on Saturday. Shooting 57% from the field with a strong second half showing, the Panther defense held the Racers under 30% from three-point range. Trey Campbell finished the game with a season-high 27 points on ten-of-14 shooting with five three-pointers and a game-high five assists. Leon Bond III tallied 16 points with a team-high six rebounds, with Will Hornseth posting 14 points and six boards, as Max Weisbrod finished with nine points, Ben Schwieger with seven points and Ismael Diouf six points.
UNI leads all of Division I men's basketball in scoring defense with 60.5 points allowed per game, giving up 70 points just three times this season. The Panthers are 9-2 when holding four to 60 or fewer points this year.
Northern Iowa is also second in Division I in three-point percentage defense, limiting opponents to just 25.8% from beyond the arc. Entering their game against Southern Illinois, the Panthers have held ten of their last 11 opponents under 30% from three-point range.
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 26th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.397)
Campbell looks to continue to add to the record book against the Beacons. Having scored his 1,000th career point in December, Campbell's 117 career starts at UNI are tied with Brooks McKowen (2003-07) for fourth-most in program history, and the most among all active players in the MVC. Campbell is also tied for fifth in team history in career steals (154), seventh in three-point field goal attempts (509) and eighth in made three-pointers made (192)
Hornseth also looks to continue to be a strong presence inside the paint, recently taking over as UNI's career shooting percentage leader (62.6%) 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 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Southern Illinois returns to the Banterra Center after a 69-63 road loss at Valparaiso, dropping to 2-7 in league play. The Salukis' Jan. 25 game at Evansville was postponed due to severe winter weather.
Led by second year head coach Scott Nagy, who is one win shy of 600 for his career, SIU has led the MVC with 38.6 rebounds per game and found effective offense with a league-best 12.3 points in the fastbreak. The Salukis have struggled however at the free throw line (.665) and three-point arc (.278), ranking last in the MVC.
Ouel'Ron House has led Southern Illinois as its lone double-digit average scorer with 13.7 points per game, with Drew Steffe and Rolyns Aligbe both posting nine points a game. Aligbe leads SIU's strong rebounding team with 6.6 boards per game, while House and Damien Mayo Jr. rank third and fourth in the league with 34 and 32 total steals on the year.
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.
