Game Day

The 9th seeded UNI Panthers are one point underdogs against 8th seeded UNLV tonight in Oklahoma City. I get the sense this a really hungry UNI team. The Panthers aren't just satisfied with being invited to the big dance, they want to do some damage this year. With 5 Seniors this a veteran group that is very deep and I like their chances against the Runnen Rebels.

UNI will try to slow the game down and play half court basketball. One big key to the game will be keeping Jordan Eglseder out of foul trouble. I think Jordan can do some damage against UNLV inside.

UNLV has two go to guys in 6"4 guard Tre'Von Willis and 6"8 forward Chase Stanback. Willis is their leading scorer at 17 points a game. Look for Kwadzo Ahelegbe to guard Willis, and he is athletic enough to put good pressure on the ball.  The 6"8 Stanback can beat you inside or out. MVC player of the year, 6"8 Adam Koch will guard Stanback, and that should be a great match-up. Koch will win that match-up because he will out hustle Stanback.

UNI is a team that plays extremely hard and they will slow down the UNLV offense. If the Panthers can get 12-16 points from Eglseder inside and knock down some treys they will be moving onto face top seeded Kansas Saturday night. 

Prediction: UNI 62 UNLV 56