University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Evansville
UNI men’s hoops welcomes Evansville to McLeod Center for Lavender Out Game
1/30/2026 10:39:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Panthers take on Purple Aces to round out January. Tickets available for purchase.
UNI men's basketball (13-9 / 5-6 MVC) vs. Evansville (5-16 / 1-9 MVC)
- 3 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026
- Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,650)
- WATCH (ESPN+) [Brad Wells: Play-by-Play / Matt Schniederman: Analyst]
- LISTEN (Panther Sports Radio Network) [J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Kevin Boyle: Analyst]
- LIVE RESULTS
- TICKETS
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI men's basketball team will round out the month of January on its home floor on Saturday afternoon as it plays host to the Evansville Purple Aces in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.
Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center 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.
Tickets for the 2025-26 men's basketball regular season can be purchased online through the UNI Ticket Office, by calling 319-273-4849 or through email at tickets@uni.edu. Fans are encouraged to wear lavender as part of the Panthers' annual cancer awareness game with 500 lavender shirts being made available to fans upon entry.
Northern Iowa holds a 38-30 lead on the Purple Aces in the all-time series after the Panthers scored a 62-48 win in Evansville earlier this month at the Ford Center. UNI has won the previous three matchups, as well as 11 straight games against Evansville at home.
The Panthers will look to rekindle its offensive spark from a week ago against Murray State after a difficult shooting performance in their last outing on Wednesday in a 65-60 loss at Southern Illinois. UNI committed a season-high 17 turnovers and was held to 40% shooting in the loss, its sixth in the last seven games.
Will Hornseth finished with a team-high 14 points at SIU with ten points from Ben Schwieger, who also added a team-high seven rebounds. Trey Campbell tallied seven points, with five points by RJ Taylor.
UNI leads all of Division I men's basketball in scoring defense with 60.7 points allowed per game, giving up 70 points just three times this season. The Panthers are 9-2 when holding teams to 60 or fewer points this year. Northern Iowa is also second in Division I in three-point percentage defense, limiting opponents to just 26.2% from beyond the arc behind only UT Arlington.
Entering their game against Evansville, the Panthers have held ten of their last 12 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 30th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.400).
Campbell looks to continue to add to the record book against the Beacons. Having scored his 1,000th career point in December, Campbell's 118 career starts at UNI are 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 (157), seventh in three-point field goal attempts (512) and eighth in made three-pointers made (193).
Hornseth also looks to continue to be a strong presence inside the paint, recently taking over as UNI's career shooting percentage leader (62.8%) 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 EVANSVILLE
The Purple Aces look to climb out of the bottom of the MVC standings on the second leg of their Iowa road trip following an 82-78 loss at Drake on Wednesday, a game they led in by as many as 19 points.
Led by fourth year head coach David Ragland, Evansville has lost 11 of its last 12 games with its only MVC victory of the year coming on Jan. 10 in a three-point win at Indiana State. The Purple Aces boast the league's fourth-best blocking defense with 3.6 blocks per game, but have struggled to hold onto the ball, committing a league-worst 13.8 turnovers per game.
AJ Casey leads Evansville as its lone player averaging double figures in points with 11 points a game, with Joshua Hughes adding 9.7 points, 9.1 points from Leif Loeller and 8.6 points from Bryce Quinet.
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.
