University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Southern Illinois
UNI men’s hoops hosts Southern Illinois for Senior Day on Saturday
2/20/2026 11:29:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Panthers look for seventh win in last nine outings against the Salukis. Tickets available for purchase.
UNI men's basketball (18-10 / 10-7 MVC) vs. Southern Illinois (13-15 / 7-10 MVC)
- 5 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026
- Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,650)
- WATCH (ESPN+) [Eric Braley: 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 --- With wins in six of its last eight contests, the UNI men's basketball team returns home to the McLeod Center on Saturday for a senior day matchup against the Southern Illinois Salukis in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.
Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT 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. Senior citizens can also take advantage of the Panthers' Senior Citizen ticket discount with $10 chairback seats for fans aged 65+ with a valid ID.
Following Saturday's game, the Panthers will recognize senior players and managers, including Max Weisbrod, Trey Campbell, Ismael Diouf, Tristan Smith, Chase Courbat and Hunter Jacobson, as well as managers Jaxon Hansen, Owen Denholm, Carson Winter and Eli Walton.
Southern Illinois holds a narrow 41-39 lead in the all-time series with wins in the last two matchups, including a 65-50 win over UNI back on Jan. 28 in Carbondale. Northern Iowa enters the weekend tied with Illinois State for fifth in the league standings with three games to play in the regular season, with the top-five teams earning first-round byes for the MVC Tournament, commonly known as Arch Madness, next month in St. Louis.
The Panthers dominated the second half on Wednesday in an 81-60 win at Indiana State, outscoring the Sycamores 30-10 in the final 11 minutes of game action while knocking down nine three-pointers in the second period.
Will Hornseth finished the night with a game-high 18 points on nine-of-13 shooting plus two blocks, with Ben Schwieger posting a season-high tying 17 points with five triples and Weisbrod posting 14 points with three steals. Leon Bond III meanwhile tallied 13 points with a pair of blocks.
UNI has scored 80+ points in four straight games, while at least four Panthers have scored in double figures in the same stretch. Northern Iowa's last stretch of scoring 80 or more points in five consecutive games came back during the 1988-89 season.
The Panthers lead all of Division I men's basketball in scoring defense with 61.1 points allowed per game, giving up 70+ points just four times this season. UNI is 13-2 when holding teams to 60 or fewer points this year.
Northern Iowa also ranks fourth in Division I in three-point percentage defense, limiting opponents to just 27.8% from beyond the arc. Entering their game against Southern Illinois, the Panthers have held 13 of their last 18 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 (.405). UNI's opponents have shot over 50% only three times this year.
Campbell looks to continue to add to the record book against the Salukis. Having scored his 1,000th career point in December, Campbell's 124 career starts at UNI are third-most in program history, and the most among all active players in the MVC. Campbell is also fourth in team history in career steals (160), sixth in three-point field goal attempts (540) and sixth in made three-pointers (202). With 22 more rebounds, Campbell can also become the first player in UNI history to record 1,000 career points, 500 career rebounds and 300 career assists.
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. He has also scored ten or more points in eight consecutive games, while also maintaining the fifth-highest single-season shooting clip in team history (.620).
At the three-point line, Max Weisbrod has also provided a spark for the Panther offense from three-point range. The DeForest, Wisconsin native is currently shooting 38.7% from beyond the arc this season, scoring a season-high 18 points in consecutive games against Belmont and Drake in February, including a UNI career-high six made three-pointers against the Bulldogs. He has also posted double-digit points in three straight games and made at least three triples in as many games as well.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
The Salukis visit Cedar Falls after pulling out a narrow 66-61 win at Drake on Wednesday night. Entering the weekend, SIU sits in eighth in the league standings with three games to play in conference action.
Led by second year head coach Scott Nagy, who picked up his 600th career coaching win against the Panthers back on Jan. 28, Southern Illinois has won three of its last four matchups and boasts the MVC's top rebounding squad, pulling down a conference-best 38.1 boards per game. The SIU offense has also been effective in the fastbreak, scoring 11.5 points per game in transition.
Quel'Ron House leads the Salukis with 14.8 points per game, with Rolyns Aligbe also averaging 10.1 points. Aligbe's five rebounds a game and five double-doubles also rank second in the MVC.
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.
