University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Belmont
Panther men’s basketball battle first-place Bruins on Thursday night in Nashville
2/11/2026 11:56:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UNI looks to close out weeklong road trip with victory in Tennessee.
UNI men's basketball (16-9 / 5-6 MVC) at Belmont (22-4 / 12-3 MVC)
- 8 p.m. CT
- Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026
- Nashville, Tenn. | Curb Event Center (5,000)
- WATCH (MVC TV Network/ESPN+) [Scott Warmann: Play-by-Play / Dan Muller: Analyst]
- LISTEN (Panther Sports Radio Network) [J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play]
- LIVE RESULTS
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- Fresh off a dominant road performance on Monday night, the UNI men's basketball team will look to cap its weeklong road trip with another signature win as it takes on the league-leading Belmont Bruins on Thursday night in Nashville in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT at the Curb Event Center 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.
With the all-time series even at four wins a piece, Northern Iowa will look for its third win at the Curb Event Center, where they topped the Bruins last season. UNI will also look to split the regular season series following a 78-65 home loss to Belmont last month.
The Panthers will look to capitalize on their impressive road performance at Murray State on Monday night where they rolled past the Racers by a score of 89-60. UNI set new season-high marks for points (89) and field goal percentage (.606) against Division I opponents this year, while also dominating the paint with a season-high tying 54 points in the paint. The 29-point win, Northern Iowa's largest this year over a Division I challenger, was the largest margin of victory by a road team in Murray State history.
Trey Campbell finished Monday's win with a game-high 22 points with a career-high tying ten baskets and six assists, while Leon Bond III posted 19 points with three triples and two steals. Will Hornseth tallied 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks as Tristan Smith recorded 13 points and nine rebounds and Ben Schwieger notching ten points and two steals
UNI leads all of Division I men's basketball in scoring defense with 60 points allowed per game, giving up 70 points just three times this season. The Panthers are 12-2 when holding teams to 60 or fewer points this year. Northern Iowa also leads Division I in three-point percentage defense, limiting opponents to just 26.5% from beyond the arc. Entering their game against Belmont, the Panthers have held 12 of their last 15 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 25th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.398). Ball security has been key for the Panthers this season, averaging a league-low 9.4 turnovers per game, 14th fewest in Division I men's basketball.
Campbell looks to continue to add to the record book against the Bruins. Having scored his 1,000th career point in December, Campbell's 121 career starts at UNI are third-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), sixth in three-point field goal attempts (522) and eighth in made three-pointers made (197). With 37 rebounds and eight more assists, Campbell can also become the first player in UNI history to record 1,000 career points, 500 career rebounds and 300 career assists.
Hornseth also looks to continue to be a strong presence inside the paint, recently taking over as UNI's career shooting percentage leader (63.8%) with a minimum of 100 made shots. He has also scored ten or more points in five consecutive games, while also maintaining the eighth-highest single-season shooting clip in team history (.601).
SCOUTING BELMONT
The league-leading Bruins return home to the Curb Event Center winners of nine of their last ten games and with a two game lead over Murray State for the top position in the MVC standings. Belmont dropped its last outing on Monday, a 95-84 overtime loss at Bradley.
Head coach Casey Alexander will be in search of his 300th career victory on Thursday night. Alexander has posted a 162-58 record in his six-plus seasons leading the Bruins, winning 20+ games in each of his previous six seasons at Belmont.
The Bruins are among the most efficient offensive teams in the nation, ranking fifth in Division I in field goal percentage (.514) as well as effective field goal percentage (.603). Belmont also ranks in the top-ten nationally in three-point shooting (.398).
Tyler Lundblade leads a trio of Bruins averaging double figures in scoring with 15.5 points a game, with Sam Orme notching 12.5 points and Drew Scharnowski 11.6 points. Scharnowski also ranks second in the league with 1.5 blocks per game, while Lundblade leads the MVC in free throw percentage (.940), three-point shooting (.386) and minutes per game (34:20).
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.
