UNI men’s basketball opens expected Arch Madness run with ‘terrific’ win over Illinois State

ST. LOUIS — Northern Iowa exorcised the 2020 demons of its Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinal loss as the top seed with a methodical, 78-65, win over Illinois State on Friday at Enterprise Center.

“Man, terrific game today,” UNI Coach Ben Jacobson said. “In our prep, watching the film (and) talking with the guys, the activity level, the length and how hard Illinois State plays were things that we knew were going to be challenging today.

“The two things that really stood out to me — our passing was terrific. What I loved the most today was our defense. We really guarded today.”

Runs of 7-0 and 13-2 steadily grew UNI’s lead throughout the first half as eight Panthers scored with Jacobson going nine deep in his rotation.

Trailing 40-30 at halftime, Illinois State — led by Antonio Reeves’ 20 points — kept the Panthers within reach for just over seven minutes, trailing by nine with 12:49 to play.

“To be up 10 at half I thought was really important,” Jacobson said. “These guys are playing with such good pace and so much trust that we’re able to keep putting pressure on people. The most important thing is, we’re in attack mode all the time.”

UNI’s ever-present attack mode provoked a 10-3 run that included an AJ Green 3-pointer, a Tywhon Pickford 5-foot lay in, a Bowen Born layup and a Nate Heise 3 for a game-high 16-point lead.

Two driving layups from Reeves and a Kendall Lewis free throw trimmed UNI’s lead to 11 with just over six minutes to play.

Redbirds interim head coach Brian Jones called for a full-court defense following Reeves’ second layup and the Panthers responded with a press break that ended in a Trae Berhow corner 3 to all but extinguish any Illinois State comeback bid.

“It feels great to win this one. We prepared and did what we need to do and it’s over now and we’re going to move on to the next one,” Green said. “We want to be here for three days, so, it’s on to the next one.”

Green led UNI (19-10) with 17 points and was joined in double figures by Noah Carter (16) and Berhow (15). Green and Carter tied season-highs with seven and five assists apiece.

Born and Austin Phyfe added seven and six points off the bench, respectively. Phyfe’s six points sent him past former Panther — and father — Steve Phyfe on UNI’s all-time scoring list.

“In November and December we were working as a team to figure out exactly — not only (Austin’s) health and what he was capable of doing — but how does that fit into what we’re doing?” Jacobson said. “Once we settled in and got things going a little bit — Austin, what he’s done at practice (and) what he’s done with his teammates — he’s got a smile on his face in a very challenging time for him. He’s been a real driver for his teammates and our team.”

UNI plays the winner of Loyola-Chicago and Bradley in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 (CBS Sports Network).