UNI returns to physical form in MVC semifinal

ST. LOUIS — Of the two games held at Scottrade Center on Saturday for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, one was tense and thrilling, the other physical and workmanlike.

No. 11/12 Northern Iowa is more than happy to take the latter, less shocking result and march onto the MVC title game against Illinois State with a 63-49 win. The Panthers had what felt like a prototypical UNI performance against Loyola in the semifinal, avoiding the drama of the early session in which the Redbirds upset No. 8 Wichita State.

The physical nature and holding the Ramblers to less than 50 points was a welcomed return to form.

'Every game in the tournament is going to be a physical game. Today was probably a little more physical with Christian Thomas; he takes a lot of rebounds like myself, offensively and defensively,' said Marvin Singleton, who finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. 'Being that it's postseason play, conference tournament play, we know possessions are going to be less. We just had to key on every single possession and make sure we do our best and play our defensive scheme like we talked about.

'The way we're playing, the way we rotate and play together, we play together as a unit, so it feels good (to get back to form).'

UNI (29-3, 16-2 MVC) out-rebounded Loyola 27-18, and held the Ramblers (19-13, 8-10) without a single offensive rebound.

Coach Ben Jacobson has hammered home his defense and rebounding mantra all season — especially fixating on the opponents' offensive glass, where the Panthers have been burned at times this season. When told of the no-offensive boards stat in the postgame media availability, Singleton gave is coach and everyone in attendance a good laugh.

'I didn't even know we did that, but that's a great thing. I'm pretty sure Coach Jake is happy about that,' Singleton said.

Well, Coach?

'That's a really good effort. Not happy enough to not be mad at Jeremy (Morgan) for fouling the three-point shooter, but that's a great effort to not allow an offensive rebound,' Jacobson said through a smile, referencing a second-half Morgan miscue. 'And that's going to be important tomorrow. There's no question that Illinois State is good at a lot of things, and offensive rebounding is one of them.'

UNI was led once again by Seth Tuttle, who had 13 points and six rebounds, but was also buoyed by 11 points from Morgan, nine points from Nate Buss and seven from Wyatt Lohaus.

With the variety of things Illinois State does well, another performance like that will be crucial of the Panthers are going to get their first MVC Tournament title since 2010 and tie a program record with their 30th win of the season.

Beating a team three times in a season is never a sure thing, and UNI is well aware. It's especially given how they escaped in Normal, Ill. with a 54-53 win on Jan. 25, and sustaining an offensive performance like they had in the rematch (83 points, 54.7 percent shooting, 16 assists) will be difficult.

It's also not like the physical play they encountered against Loyola is going to disappear with guys like Reggie Lynch, Deontae Hawkins and Co. taking the floor for the Redbirds

'It's always hard to beat a team three times in a season, especially in our conference. Illinois State is a great team,' Morgan said. 'They're really big up front; they've got some bigger guards and really big inside too. Being really physical inside, boxing out and rebounding is going to be a huge key to the game.'

And to answer your next question: no, the Panthers don't care that Illinois State beat Wichita State, 65-62, and definitely aren't disappointed with no rubber match to the split the two teams had in the regular season.

The national disappointment over a potential title game of the top two teams in the league wasn't shared in the UNI locker room. Playing for an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament and to get to cut the nets down — something no one on this team has done as a Panther — is more than enough.

'It feels good to be able to play on Sunday. (Who we play) doesn't even matter,' Singleton said. '(We worry) about what me and my teammates are doing and what the coaching staff is having us do as a team. I'm not worried about who we play against, us playing Wichita or whoever. Whoever came up on that side of the bracket, that's who we'll play. We just show up and do what we can do.'

UNI and Illinois State tip off for the MVC title at 1:08 p.m. on Sunday, and can be seen live on CBS.

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