No complacency now for UNI after big win

DES MOINES — One week ago, the Northern Iowa men's basketball team boarded a plane (after an unexpected extra overnight stay in Albuquerque, N.M.) for a long flight.

New Mexico to Iowa wasn't that long in distance, but after a 19-point loss to the Lobos and their second loss in three games, the Panthers had a lot to think about.

Sunday, UNI boarded a plane for the shortest flight to Hawaii anyone's ever had.

An 81-79 win against No. 2 Iowa State makes the 10-hour, 25-minute flight a breeze.

'We played much better tonight than we did against Richmond and New Mexico. I think that's good for this team that we took a step forward,' said Coach Ben Jacobson. 'It's certainly going to help this team as we go to Hawaii. The plane ride is shorter, right?'

OK, maybe not shorter. But certainly more enjoyable.

Jacobson has talked a lot about enjoying these moments — but only for a time. Saturday night with family in Des Moines, then the plane ride to Hawaii is all the celebration time allotted for this team.

'I don't know about shorter, but we can definitely enjoy it a little more, and enjoy tonight a little more with our families,' said Wes Washpun, who after a 28-point night against ISU is averaging 16.5 per game. 'It definitely gives us confidence moving forward. But like I said after the Carolina game (too), it's all about preparation and believing we can play with anybody.'

That's what Jacobson likes to hear.

UNI has played up to a high level of basketball on several occasions already this season, and Saturday night was no different. The Panthers (7-3) knew the Cyclones (9-1) were going to present significant matchup problems. Georges Niang had 30 points on 10 of 17 shooting, Jameel McKay had 18 points on 9 of 12 shooting, and ISU outscored UNI 52-26 in the paint.

The Panthers knew shutting down Niang wasn't really going to be an option. But they also knew, if they game-planned correctly, the reverse would be true with Paul Jesperson playing Niang's counterpart. Jesperson was in foul trouble all night, and played just 22 minutes — but went 7 of 9 from 3-point range for 21 points in that span.

'Niang is a one-of-a-kind in college basketball. Either you foul him or he lays it in. That happens because of how good he is. They got a bunch of points in the paint and that hurt us,' Jacobson said. 'But he also had to guard Paul. We were going to try to run a little action to get Paul freed up. When Paul was in at that (four) spot, it wasn't great for us defensively, but from an offensive standpoint it helped us. We could move him around and try to do some things and use him in the ball screen.

'We isolated him and Wes, and we had to try to find a way to balance that out. We weren't going to stop Niang from getting points. Paul did a good job of that.'

UNI also had to work against what, at times, felt like a Hilton Coliseum crowd at Wells Fargo Arena. Cyclones fans filled probably 70 percent of the 15,424 seats, and did their best to take the Panthers out of their game.

Being battle-tested from games in intense road environments over the last few weeks has, Jacobson said, hopefully created more immunity to it.

'At Richmond, at George Mason, at New Mexico, and then tonight, it was obviously a neutral floor, but the crowd was definitely in Iowa State's favor. We played much better tonight than we did against Richmond and New Mexico,' Jacobson said. 'But more importantly, just playing better in a road environment from an atmosphere standpoint than we did against the last two teams we faced.'

Finding out what works against high-quality opponents, and building confidence in hostile environments is obviously the goal for every team, but it's especially true for UNI with this Hawaii trip forthcoming.

A matchup with the Rainbow Warriors on their home floor could then lead to a game against either No. 3 Oklahoma or Washington State. The Sooners especially have just as many weapons as the Cyclones did.

Shorter plane ride or not, the Panthers are well-aware of all that and there's no sitting idle or resting on the Big Four Classic victory.

'We always feel the pressure to get the next one,' Washpun said. 'You can never let the pressure come off, because that's when you get complacent and that's when you get beat. We're going to play Hawaii in Hawaii. They're going to have a heck of an environment there and we're really going to have to bring it.'

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