Panthers have some catching up to do in MVC standings
Northern Iowa's men's basketball team is struggling to score, struggling to defend and struggling to make a 3-point shot, but the second half brings a second chance to rebound from its great start.
The same Panthers squad that beat then-No. 1 North Carolina at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and then-No. 5 Iowa State on a neutral floor enters the second half of the Missouri Valley Conference season in seventh place. If the season ended today, the Panthers, who were picked third in the preseason poll and haven't finished lower than third since 2011, would be in the play-in games of the MVC Tournament.
You wonder if Northern Iowa (11-11, 3-6 MVC) will begin putting it together Sunday, when it hosts SIU (18-4, 7-2 MVC) at the McLeod Center. The Panthers still have the second-best scoring defense in league play (60.8 points allowed per game) and put up 68 points in a road win at Bradley Wednesday night.
The 68 points were the most Northern Iowa's scored since beating Drake 77-44 at home on Jan. 9. The Panthers made 15 of 25 3-pointers, including 8 of 11 by Paul Jesperson, and got three players into double figures. Point guard Wes Washpun had 10 assists in that game, and even though it was against ninth-place Bradley, it could be the beginning of a resurgence by an underwhelming squad.
Guards Matt Bohannon (12.3 points per game in MVC play), Washpun (12) and Jesperson (11.9) can all fill it up, and forward Bennett Koch is averaging 9.9 per game in conference play. The Panthers have 112 assists and 81 turnovers in league play and three player shooting 40 percent or better from the 3-point line (Bohannon at 42.6 percent, Jesperson at 40.7 and Jeremy Morgan at 40).
SIU is 8-0 on the road this season, the best record in America, but has never won at the McLeod Center (0-9). The Salukis blew a three-point lead in the final seconds of regulation against Evansville and fell at home in overtime, 85-78, Thursday night in a game that could have given them second place in the league.
Leo Vincent, the guy who didn't reach out and foul Evansville's D.J. Balentine before he hit the game-tying 3, called it a learning experience. The Salukis have been brilliant in close games, winning seven of nine contests decided by five points or less, and could have more in store.
"We feel pretty good about what we're doing right now. Still in second place. Not too far out from first," Vincent said. "Just, with these close-type games, you win some, you lose some, but just being in those situations gives you experience. Being able to, next time, maybe foul earlier and not even give him a chance to shoot the ball. You just gotta learn from it."
SIU needed 32 points from Anthony Beane and a tipped ball from Vincent to defeat Northern Iowa at SIU Arena, 75-73, on Jan. 2. The Salukis led by three late, but Jesperson made one free throw and missed the second one intentionally. It went, almost perfectly, right back to him near the right side of the lane, but Vincent tipped it away from him before he could catch it and put it back up.
SIU outrebounded the Panthers 33-31 that night and shot 53.8 percent against a team it hardly ever shoots well against. Northern Iowa is getting outrebounded by an average of 4.1 boards a game in conference play and has gotten outrebounded in five straight games.
Scouting the Northern Iowa Panthers (11-11, 3-6 MVC)
Coach: Ben Jacobson (208-116 at UNI, 208-116 career)
Leading scorers: G Wes Washpun 14.2 ppg., G Matt Bohannon 12.4 ppg., G Paul Jesperson 12.4 ppg., G/F Jeremy Morgan 10.3 ppg.
Leading rebounders: G/F Jeremy Morgan 5 rpg., G Paul Jesperson 4.7 rpg., G Wes Washpun 4.5 rpg.
Notes: SIU will try for its first win in Cedar Falls, Iowa, since 2003, back when the Panthers still played their home games at the UNI-Dome. The Salukis are 0-9 at the McLeod Center. ... Beane, a player of the year candidate in the Valley, made 11 of 17 from the field in the first meeting against Northern Iowa and scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half. He made 6 of 10 from the 3-point line. SIU made 13 of 22 as a team from behind the arc. ... Three of the Panthers' last four opponents shot 42 percent or better. Loyola, which beat Northern Iowa by 10 on Jan. 16, shot 42.6 percent and held the Panthers to a season-low 27.1 percent (13 of 48). ... Vincent has made 25 straight free throws. The school record is 50, set by SIU radio analyst Greg Starrick during the 1971-72 season. ... SIU's Tyler Smithpeters is 36 of 66 from the 3-point line in the Salukis' 18 wins (54.5 percent) and 1 of 10 in their four losses. ... Northern Iowa's 195 triples on the season are the most in the Valley.
--thesouthern.com
Northern Iowa's men's basketball team is struggling to score, struggling to defend and struggling to make a 3-point shot, but the second half brings a second chance to rebound from its great start.
The same Panthers squad that beat then-No. 1 North Carolina at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and then-No. 5 Iowa State on a neutral floor enters the second half of the Missouri Valley Conference season in seventh place. If the season ended today, the Panthers, who were picked third in the preseason poll and haven't finished lower than third since 2011, would be in the play-in games of the MVC Tournament.
You wonder if Northern Iowa (11-11, 3-6 MVC) will begin putting it together Sunday, when it hosts SIU (18-4, 7-2 MVC) at the McLeod Center. The Panthers still have the second-best scoring defense in league play (60.8 points allowed per game) and put up 68 points in a road win at Bradley Wednesday night.
The 68 points were the most Northern Iowa's scored since beating Drake 77-44 at home on Jan. 9. The Panthers made 15 of 25 3-pointers, including 8 of 11 by Paul Jesperson, and got three players into double figures. Point guard Wes Washpun had 10 assists in that game, and even though it was against ninth-place Bradley, it could be the beginning of a resurgence by an underwhelming squad.
Guards Matt Bohannon (12.3 points per game in MVC play), Washpun (12) and Jesperson (11.9) can all fill it up, and forward Bennett Koch is averaging 9.9 per game in conference play. The Panthers have 112 assists and 81 turnovers in league play and three player shooting 40 percent or better from the 3-point line (Bohannon at 42.6 percent, Jesperson at 40.7 and Jeremy Morgan at 40).
SIU is 8-0 on the road this season, the best record in America, but has never won at the McLeod Center (0-9). The Salukis blew a three-point lead in the final seconds of regulation against Evansville and fell at home in overtime, 85-78, Thursday night in a game that could have given them second place in the league.
Leo Vincent, the guy who didn't reach out and foul Evansville's D.J. Balentine before he hit the game-tying 3, called it a learning experience. The Salukis have been brilliant in close games, winning seven of nine contests decided by five points or less, and could have more in store.
"We feel pretty good about what we're doing right now. Still in second place. Not too far out from first," Vincent said. "Just, with these close-type games, you win some, you lose some, but just being in those situations gives you experience. Being able to, next time, maybe foul earlier and not even give him a chance to shoot the ball. You just gotta learn from it."
SIU needed 32 points from Anthony Beane and a tipped ball from Vincent to defeat Northern Iowa at SIU Arena, 75-73, on Jan. 2. The Salukis led by three late, but Jesperson made one free throw and missed the second one intentionally. It went, almost perfectly, right back to him near the right side of the lane, but Vincent tipped it away from him before he could catch it and put it back up.
SIU outrebounded the Panthers 33-31 that night and shot 53.8 percent against a team it hardly ever shoots well against. Northern Iowa is getting outrebounded by an average of 4.1 boards a game in conference play and has gotten outrebounded in five straight games.
Scouting the Northern Iowa Panthers (11-11, 3-6 MVC)
Coach: Ben Jacobson (208-116 at UNI, 208-116 career)
Leading scorers: G Wes Washpun 14.2 ppg., G Matt Bohannon 12.4 ppg., G Paul Jesperson 12.4 ppg., G/F Jeremy Morgan 10.3 ppg.
Leading rebounders: G/F Jeremy Morgan 5 rpg., G Paul Jesperson 4.7 rpg., G Wes Washpun 4.5 rpg.
Notes: SIU will try for its first win in Cedar Falls, Iowa, since 2003, back when the Panthers still played their home games at the UNI-Dome. The Salukis are 0-9 at the McLeod Center. ... Beane, a player of the year candidate in the Valley, made 11 of 17 from the field in the first meeting against Northern Iowa and scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half. He made 6 of 10 from the 3-point line. SIU made 13 of 22 as a team from behind the arc. ... Three of the Panthers' last four opponents shot 42 percent or better. Loyola, which beat Northern Iowa by 10 on Jan. 16, shot 42.6 percent and held the Panthers to a season-low 27.1 percent (13 of 48). ... Vincent has made 25 straight free throws. The school record is 50, set by SIU radio analyst Greg Starrick during the 1971-72 season. ... SIU's Tyler Smithpeters is 36 of 66 from the 3-point line in the Salukis' 18 wins (54.5 percent) and 1 of 10 in their four losses. ... Northern Iowa's 195 triples on the season are the most in the Valley.
--thesouthern.com
