UNI goes to Tuttle — and he delivers

CEDAR FALLS — In the biggest game, on the biggest stage all season — and perhaps ever at the McLeod Center — No. 18 Northern Iowa handed the ball to its leader and asked him to carry its team to a win.

Against No. 12 Wichita State — a team carrying a 30-game Missouri Valley Conference win streak and the title of 'Best in the MVC' — senior forward Seth Tuttle delivered a signature performance by way of a career-high 29 points and seven rebounds in the Panthers' 70-54 victory Saturday.

'In our two games against them last year, he didn't play very good. I didn't talk to him about that this week (because) I didn't need to,' said Coach Ben Jacobson. 'As everybody knows, he loves the game. He knows who's playing who around the country and he knows what our team's doing and he runs our offense. He's a basketball guy. It's not one of those things I needed to talk to him about. He knew. And he showed up big today.'

Tuttle scored in every way, from every part of the floor in front of 7,050 fans who made the McLeod Center loud and raucous the entire game. He was 1 of 2 from 3-point range, had at least three and-1 opportunities, was 10 of 13 from the line and 9 of 13 from the field overall.

After the Panthers' (20-2, 9-1 MVC) win Wednesday against Southern Illinois, the Sheffield native said he just didn't have 'it,' in the first half. But he felt 'it,' on Saturday, playing to the fans after every big basket and giving his patented scream as he ran back down the court. He got the biggest cheers all day — save only for a ferocious dunk from Wes Washpun in the second half.

Whatever impact a crowd could have on a game, both Tuttle and Jacobson said the UNI fans had it, and Tuttle was able to feed off it most effectively.

'I felt great, and I think a lot of that had to do with our crowd. It's hard not to have 'it' — whatever it may be,' Tuttle said. 'And when I said 'it' I meant just the energy and the effort. It's hard not to have that 100 percent with a crowd like that.'

The Shockers (19-3, 9-1) threw a pair of players at Tuttle defensively, but whether it was Darius Carter or Shaquille Morris, Wichita State had no answer for what Tuttle was able to do.

He did a lot of his damage in the pick-and-roll with Washpun, a well UNI has drawn from repeatedly this season. Wichita State Coach Greg Marshall was understandably frustrated with his team's inability to adapt to that, and chalked it up to Tuttle and the rest of the Panthers being as good as any team they've played this season.

'Tuttle was unstoppable today,' Marshall said. 'They've got good players who make great plays. We broke down a couple times, but when they're talented like that, tonight was their night. They made plays and made shots.

'I'll say it again: he's a really good player. He's a talented basketball player. He's a senior, he's an all-conference guy. He's just good. He had a hell of a night. We've got to do better.'

Both Tuttle and Jacobson said heading into the game they would embrace the stage and how important the game was for a variety of reasons — balance of power in the MVC, bragging rights, fan pride, belief in what they were doing as a team.

But they both also stressed preparedness, and the Panthers delivered on that, too.

'The credit goes to our coaches for us being ready. We knew, for the most part, what they wanted to do,' Tuttle said. 'They obviously got us on a couple things they put in, but for the most part our coaches had us prepared. We guarded their ball-screen actions and their cross-screen actions for their bigs really well all night. We took away what they were really trying to get to.'

Round 2 with the Shockers is Feb. 28 in Wichita, Kan., and closes out the regular season. UNI is next in action Tuesday at Indiana State at 7 p.m.

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