Making the Grade: UNI hoops, MVC Week 2

For most of this season, offense hasn't been a concern for Northern Iowa. The Panthers have four players who average in double figures, and apart from the Hawaii game, hadn't struggled to score for any extended periods of time.

But in a game UNI (10-7, 2-2 Missouri Valley Conference) was heavily favored, the Panthers had no fluid offense to speak of. Thankfully for UNI, that didn't carry over to the Drake game, thanks mostly to a shift in the basis for the Panthers' offense. Time will tell if that shift holds up.

Each week of the season, we'll break down the Panthers' offensive and defensive performance and give them grades, as we'll as highlight each player who contributed significantly and his individual performance. This week's Making the Grade highlights Games 16 and 17 against Missouri State and Drake.

Schedule/Results

UNI at Missouri State; L, 59-58

UNI vs Drake; W, 77-44

Offense

C Why: Coach Ben Jacobson covered a lot of what normally goes in this space, both after the Drake game on Saturday and at his weekly press luncheon on Monday. UNI had centered its offense on Wes Washpun using the high ball screen to initiate actions and sets to get shooters open. But in the back-to-back losses, the way it was defended left the Panthers standing around a ton. That peaked (or bottomed out, depending on perspective) against Missouri State, when UNI scored less than 60 for just the second time this season.

The shift from a singular point of entry into the offense to floating the ball screen around the perimeter reopened the flow and allowed the Panthers to be much more versatile offensively. It allowed every guard, not just Washpun, to attack the basket and it allowed Washpun to affect the game from more than one spot on the floor.

The biggest effect it had was keeping Drake moving on defense, never allowing the Bulldogs to be set or get a good read on what was coming. When a team like Missouri State — which has struggled defensively in most games this season — can anticipate what's coming as they did, change is certainly necessary. The aggressiveness and assertiveness returned, and as much as basis of a system, those two qualities went as far as anything.

Defense

B+ Why: With the struggles on offense from the two conference losses — then the return to form — improvements on defense were largely overlooked. UNI made a living off holding teams to less than 60 points last season, but hadn't done so in back-to-back games at all this year — until this week.

Against Missouri State, one of the few bright spots to that performance was what the Panthers did in forcing turnovers from the Bears, and capitalizing from them. UNI scored 21 points off 13 MSU turnovers — 36 percent of the total scoring in that game, if you're scoring at home. Taking advantage of teams with few offensive options by shutting off passing lanes and forcing bad shots has always been the M.O. of Jacobson-led teams.

It happened in Springfield, Mo., and it happened in McLeod Center. Drake assisted on just six made baskets, and at one point early in the game had attempted just five shots through nine minutes of the first half. The Panthers forced ballhandlers to dribble much more than they wanted, and the energy and aggressiveness carried over from offense to defense against the Bulldogs.

Defense still has room to grow — especially rebounding, where Missouri State got the edge in that game — but two straight efforts like that against teams they, on paper, should shut down is a positive sign for the Panthers.

Players (in last two games)

* To view more data, click here.

Matt Bohannon, guard — The Linn-Mar grad carried himself like the team leader he is this week, even in a pair of mixed results. His effort against Drake, especially, showed a poise and awareness for the situation that UNI is in that the Panthers desperately needed. He's said on multiple occasions time is running out. He played like it Saturday, and showed he can affect the game in multiple ways.

Wes Washpun, guard — As much as the shifting of the ball screen helped the other guards, it also freed up Washpun, too. He was able to drive and create from the wing and on the baseline, which resulted in multiple open 3s and a few layups. He's a gifted athlete and a smart player, but even he can't have success when the entire defense knows from where he'll attack. The offensive shift helped that a lot.

Bennett Koch, forward — The second half against Drake was much like the Bradley game: get the ball into Koch and let him work on some things he's either struggled with or wants to perfect. He's shown tremendous ability to score in some cases, and those offensive instincts were apparent against Drake. They weren't against Missouri State, where he only played 12 minutes.

Paul Jesperson, guard — Jesperson's recent shooting slump (of sorts) carried over from last week to this week, but his biggest contribution came in how he and the other two seniors responded to what they felt was less effective leadership than what was necessary. He put that burden on himself and spoke to it after the Drake win. His shooting will fix itself in time.

Jeremy Morgan, guard — His was the individual personification of what the Panthers did overall from the loss to the Bears to the win against the Bulldogs. He went 0 of 5 from the field against MSU, but responded with 13 points against Drake. He didn't catalog a steal against the Bulldogs, but did help frustrate their playmakers.

Klint Carlson, forward — Carlson's week individually sort of ran opposite to the team's overall performance. He was solid against Missouri State on both ends, though didn't shoot as well from the field as he'd like. But against Drake, he was the only Panther scoreless. Despite that, he still carries himself with more confidence each time out.

Wyatt Lohaus, guard — Lohaus hit a couple big shots against the Bears that helped UNI build a lead, but wasn't super effective overall in both games. He's taken care of the ball much better since his forgettable game against Hawaii, which is a big step for relieving some of the pressure on Washpun.

Upcoming Games

UNI at Indiana State, Wednesday, Jan. 13 at Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind.

UNI vs Loyola (Chicago), Saturday Jan. 16 at McLeod Center in Cedar Falls

*Full disclosure on grades: First things first, that's by subjective view after covering and re-watching games. Second, grades are an aggregate of the week, based on an 11-point scale. A is worth 11, A- 10, and so on through F, which is 0. Offense and defense are given a grade for each game and then averaged for the week.

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