UNI men’s basketball wants more

CEDAR FALLS — Now is the time to get greedy for the Northern Iowa men’s basketball team.

Having won eight of its last nine games, UNI Coach Ben Jacobson said Monday what matters now is his team wants more than what the past six weeks has provided.

“Just need more. You gotta want more,” Jacobson said. “And I think these guys do. The way they’ve practiced, the way we played on that (last) road trip, the hard game we just played with Southern (Illinois) — you just got to want more. So you come and you play better Tuesday.”

When it comes to being greedy — or wanting more — the Panthers (11-8, 5-3 MVC) have seemingly earned the right.

Ratcheting up the intensity of their practices during the holiday break led to a lot of improvement on defense. It’s also helped provide a mentality that includes a lot of confidence, but maintained the humility to know there’s still a lot to improve upon

So, when it comes to what practices look like right now, Jacobson acknowledged they’re still highly competitive, but those periods are not quite as long as the season wears on.

“Today was 45 minutes, (but) we’re still asking the same thing. We’re doing one-on-one, guard the ball. We’re doing four-on-four, get in front of the ball, put your chest on ’em (and) compete,” Jacobson said. “The time of that will change, but we have to have the competition at practice. That’s been really good for this group.”

What’s also been really good for the Panthers are more set plays with Nate Heise as the primary ball handler.

The junior guard leads UNI in scoring, but also leads the team in assists. Jacobson admitted Monday there’s been an uptick in plays called where Heise operates as the point guard and explained why it’s proven to be a productive adjustment in the offense.

“It’s helped him when he knows that the ball is going to be in his hands,” Jacobson said. “Whether he shoots it or he passes it, he doesn’t care. When it’s in his hands and he’s responsible for starting the action or getting us started (with) a quality possession he’s more aggressive.

“When you commit two defenders to Nate he can see over the top of a lot of that, so, I’ve just been really impressed with his mentality and the way that he has passed the basketball for us.”

UNI returns to action Tuesday night at home at 7 against Evansville (11-8, 2-6). The Panthers are looking to even the season series against the Aces after a 91-89 overtime loss on Dec. 2.

“Really impressed with what they’re doing at both ends, but offensively (Coach David Ragland) has put together a really good group,” Jacobson said. “Guys that really fit together well. Guys that are very confident.”