Hlas: It’s a Panther state, again

DES MOINES — The 4-year-old Big Four Classic is half of what once was in this state.

The men's basketball teams of Iowa and Iowa State used to play both Drake and Northern Iowa in the same season. Change isn't always progress, especially when you see some of the nonconference teams that wheeze out of Iowa City and Ames each season.

But at least on Saturday, the lone day of the year when mid-major programs in Iowa got their shots at an in-state major, the games in Wells Fargo Arena were entertaining.

The second one was much more than that, actually. UNI got America's attention for the second time this season by popping Top 4 team Iowa State in a terrific thriller, 81-79. The Panthers beat North Carolina in Cedar Falls last month.

So give Northern Iowa the 2015-16 state-championship, since it beat Iowa State, which beat Iowa, which beat Drake. If Drake turns around and knocks off UNI twice in Missouri Valley Conference play, we'll amend things.

If you say the Hawkeyes didn't get to play the Panthers, well, whose fault is that? Four years ago, Iowa and Iowa State said they'd go with this Big Four deal rather than play both the Bulldogs and UNI each season.

Seeing how tough the Panthers have been year-in and year-out surely played a role in Iowa and ISU canceling biennial visits to UNI's McLeod Center. If you'll recall, the Panthers handled the Hawkeyes here a year ago, 56-44.

Northern Iowa lost just four times in 35 games last season, but came here with a pedestrian 6-3 mark this season. But there's still plenty of talent in purple, and an abundance of it at point guard.

Wow, was senior Wes Washpun wonderful Saturday. He dwarfed Iowa State's junior point guard wizard, Monte Morris. Twenty-eight points and 11 assists for Washpun? Both career-bests? Are you kidding?

'You have to believe you can make games like this happen and wins like this happen,' said Washpun.

Paul Jesperson splashed in seven 3-pointers for the Panthers, and it seemed like Washpun set him up for each one.

Jesperson fouled out with 2:28 left, leaving Washpun and Matt Bohannon to score UNI's final eight points. Washpun is a Cedar Rapids Washington grad. Bohannon played at Linn-Mar.

Score one for the Cedar Rapids-Marion Metro area over big-time talent from Massachusetts (Georges Niang, 31 points) and Michigan (Morris).

The Iowa-Drake game that opened the doubleheader wasn't too shabby itself. The result was in doubt until the final 15 seconds, with the Hawkeyes forced to earn their 70-64 win over the battling Bulldogs.

There was a great story regarding an Iowan in that game, too. Red-shirt freshman forward Nicholas Baer, who led the Bettendorf High teams that reached the state Class 4A finals in 2013 and semifinals in 2014 in Wells Fargo, performed Saturday like he was home.

'When you watch him play,' Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said, 'it's a beautiful thing.'

It's a beautiful story, because Baer is a walk-on. He had already given the Hawkeyes help off the bench through their first 10 games, but what he did in this contest was a thunderclap.

Largely because senior starter Jarrod Uthoff got in early foul trouble, Baer played a lot. But he kept playing in the second half when Uthoff was back on the floor. If he did anything fundamentally wrong in his 30 minutes, it will take serious scrutiny of game film to find it.

Baer made three 3-pointers and scored 13 points, had 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and six of Iowa's team-record 14 blocked shots.

Baer is free money for McCaffery, who said the player will get put on scholarship at some point.

'When I first saw him play,' the coach said, 'I was kind of shocked he didn't have much recruiting activity.'

Elizabeth Baer, Nicholas' sister, is also an Iowa student. She is in her third year as a member of the university's student government. She says she hopes to become a human rights attorney or work in the corporate non-profit sector.

McCaffery said she lobbied him hard to give her brother a chance. Add 'ace basketball scout' to her resume.