UNI chomping at the bit for Texas

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Northern Iowa men's basketball team has that excited, nervous — even a little impatient — edge.

The Panthers have been in Oklahoma City since Wednesday afternoon, and they don't play Texas until Friday night around 8:45 p.m. Now, with the final practice in the books, all that's left is to wait until tipoff.

They're chomping at the bit to get out on the court.

'Oh yeah, man. We're ready to play,' said senior guard Wes Washpun. 'I think everybody's feeling a little bit of the nerves and a little bit of the pressure, but we've been feeling that for the last couple weeks now. Going into Arch Madness, we were feeling this same thing. I think this team thrives under that kind of pressure.'

Of course, it's a good impatience for a team that's had nearly two weeks since Washpun's shot bounced through the hoop to beat Evansville at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

The Panthers were cutting up watching Arkansas-Little Rock defeat Purdue before their open practice at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Whatever motions they went through before Arch Madness carried over to Thursday.

Coach Ben Jacobson is a creature of routine, and it's rubbed off on his team.

'It's not really any different than two weeks ago at the Valley tournament; it's not different than our road games. We're not taking their phones, not doing any of that,' Jacobson said. 'One of the things we've gotten to and I have liked is our guys have been able to stay loose in between and when it's time to play, it's time to play.

'I enjoy being able to watch some of the games today. I think it gets you into tournament mode.'

With so much time in between its conference tournament triumph and the first round matchup against Texas, UNI certainly has a danger of falling victim to a long layoff.

But within the off time that the coaching staff affords the players when not participating in team activities, it's up to each individual to do whatever necessary to stay on an even keel. They could take cues from Cedar Rapids native, UNI grad and NFL and Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner, who once again made the trip to watch his alma mater play. He's had some experience managing two-week layoffs before big games, and said players finding what puts them at ease mentally is what's most important.

'The hardest thing about moments like this is it's different for everybody. Different guys prepare in different ways. You think sometimes you can go through it and go, 'OK, I've got this figured out', but it really depends on where you're at,' said Warner, who was also in Seattle last year to watch UNI. 'One thing I realized when I was going through Super Bowl weeks was I had to find time to get away from (football). That's one of the hardest things because it's such a big moment. Every time you turn on the TV, you know what's riding on it. But sometimes that can overwhelm you and you think about it too much.

More: Texas leaning on Smart's experience | UNI sets lofty Final Four goal

'I could tell them a lot of different stories about what I did, but ultimately each person has to figure that out. One of the blessings is a number of these guys were here last year.'

That much has certainly played into individuals' routines since they've gotten to Oklahoma.

For some guys, it's separating themselves entirely from basketball via video games or music. For others, it's immersing themselves in as much March Madness as they can by flipping channels to catch whatever game is close.

If body language and locker room presence is any indication, UNI players each said everything feels like it did when the team got to St. Louis.

They want to get on the court and do what they can to extend their season a few more days. As Bohannon said Sunday after the Selection Show, they don't want to be done playing yet.

'This doesn't come along very often, so getting caught up in the moment is actually something we're trying to do,' Bohannon said. 'We're trying to take this for what it is and enjoy this experience together.

'Personally I feel great. We're excited for our task at hand. People are going to talk about Texas. Yeah, they're a name, they're Big 12; they're a 6 (seed), we're an 11 (seed). But like I said last year and like I'm saying right now, the numbers mean nothing. We're in the NCAA Tournament and we've got to understand anyone can play at this level.'

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com