Making the Grade: UNI men's basketball Feb 10-17

Another week, another pair of blowout wins for No. 11 Northern Iowa. The big wins are migrating from being a big deal and special to almost mundane or expected.

The Panthers are learning how to win big consistently, even if there are a few tiny bumps along the way. Their expectations continue to rise nationally, as bracket predictors have them as a 3- or 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Missouri Valley Conference tournament begins in just more than two weeks, and Selection Sunday is less than a month away. UNI has four games left in the regular season to possibly improve that seed and jump into the top 10 in the national rankings.

If the past week was any indication, the Panthers aren't slowing down any time soon, either.

Schedule/Results

UNI vs Illinois State; W, 83-64

UNI at Missouri State; W, 68-57

Offense

A- Why: The final numbers from last week may not spell it out so clearly, but the UNI offense was as good last week as it has been all season.

The Panthers were especially good in the first halves of both games, before letting off the proverbial gas in the second stanzas. At the end of the first half against Illinois State, UNI had nearly 1.5 points per possession and shot 60 percent from the field. In the first half against Missouri State, it was 1.3 points per possession and 57.1 percent from the field. Even if it did drop off slightly in the latter halves, the Panthers still finished above 50 percent for both games.

Better yet, UNI shared the ball as good or better than it has all season in both games. The Panthers had 16 assists on 29 made shots against Illinois State and a season-high 19 assists on 27 made shots Sunday against Missouri State. Most importantly within that, they didn't need to use many special sets or plays to get all that done. Much of it came within the flow of their offense and the base sets they tend to run every night.

Their pace was at or near their season-average of 58.5 possessions per 40 minutes, but their effectiveness was better than normal over the course of both games, even with the slower second halves. The Panthers had 1.296 points per possession between the two games, up from 1.122 overall this season. Getting better on offense at this point in the season is never a bad thing.

Defense

B+ Why: UNI's defense has a lower grade this week than the offense for the first time since Making the Grade made its debut. It wasn't a banner week defensively, but only because it was much closer to average than has come to be expected.

The Panthers gave up 1.090 points per possession to Illinois State and 1.016 to Missouri State (thanks to a late flurry of scoring from the Bears after UNI had relaxed in the closing stages), which is well above their season average of 0.927 per possession. It's important to note that most of the decrease in defensive efficiency came in garbage time for UNI, when the game was already well in-hand. In addition, UNI was out-rebounded by three against Illinois State and gave up 15 offensive boards.

But what Ben Jacobson and Co. have to keep an eye on is if this starts to become a trend early in games. That's obviously highly doubtful, but even that kind of production in a blowout caught Jacobson's attention, saying the choices he's made coaching while up big have produced varying results. If there ever was a time to have a misstep, it's when a team is up 20.

All told, it wasn't a bad week at all for the UNI defense. The Panthers forced 19 total turnovers and held their two opponents to 41.9 percent shooting from the field overall. Their rotations and communication on defense were still really good in both first halves, and they've shown no cracks in the armor of working together.

Players (in last two games)

 

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Seth Tuttle, forward

— He just continues his all-out assault on any and all competition for Missouri Valley Player of the Year. He was named MVC Co-Player of the Week (again), and also the Naismith Trophy Player of the Week. He was added to the Karl Malone Award finalist list (along with Iowa State's Georges Niang and Iowa's Aaron White), and sits fifth in the KenPom National Player of the Year standings. He averaged 22.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4 assists this week. Related: Seth Tuttle still is really, really good at basketball.

Deon Mitchell, guard

— He had easily his best week offensively all season, shooting 61.5 percent from the field and a whopping 87.5 percent from 3-point range. His confidence shooting is sky high, and he's slowed his game down tremendously elsewhere. He had a season-high seven assists Sunday against Missouri State, compared to just one turnover. Combine that with how strong he played defensively, and it was easy to see why he played so many more minutes against the Bears than he has recently.

Nate Buss, forward

— Maybe not the most efficient week he's ever had with the way he shot, but came up big in a few key situations for the Panthers. No one on either team UNI faced could really guard him on the perimeter, which bodes well for the team going forward — especially come tourney time.

Jeremy Morgan, guard

— Ctrl + C every entry before this one detailing how much UNI relies on him defensively and paste it here. He's been very vocal lately, and added one of his offensive outbursts that come ever three games or so against Missouri State. If he's making shots for the Panthers, they're in real good shape.

Paul Jesperson, guard

— Here's another guy whose confidence is climbing. He's all the way back from an illness that essentially ruined all his production about a month ago, and is very effective when he decides to shoot. He also finally looks comfortable in conference play, as the Panthers come around to playing teams for a second time.

Wyatt Lohaus, guard

— His responsibilities are growing with each game, and he's rising to the occasion. He played 20 minutes against Illinois State, marking just the fifth time he's played that much all season. And like almost every one of those five, he was effective on both ends and made smart decisions with the ball. The benefit of playing with so many upper classmen is he looks much more mature on the floor than a typical true freshman.

Wes Washpun, guard

— It'll be a bit of a shock if both he and Deon Mitchell have great results in the same week, simply because if one is playing well, the other is likely stuck watching. Washpun didn't play a lot against Missouri State, and didn't shoot well in either game last week. Despite that, it's still the exception, not the rule for him.

Marvin Singleton, forward

— Had a frustrating game offensively on Sunday, but was still integral on defense and on the glass in both games. Like Morgan, he does the dirty work in the post that people rarely see, but makes the unit better as a whole. Jacobson will trade that for a big offensive day out of Singleton any day of the week.

Matt Bohannon, guard

— Saw a departure from the recent string of games he'd put together with a rough pair of games shooting — especially on Sunday. A short memory — something he's shown to be good at — will be required so UNI can rely on him in the final games of the regular season.

Bennett Koch, forward

— He only played in one game this week, but had perhaps his best performance of his short career. He only had two points — and missed both his free throws — but filled in more than admirably for Seth Tuttle with a career-high five rebounds. Most impressive, though, was how he defended (the much bigger) Reggie Lynch and John Jones from Illinois State when he was in.

Upcoming Week

UNI at Loyola, 7 p.m. Wednesday at Joseph J. Gentile Center in Chicago

UNI vs Bradley, 3 p.m. Saturday at McLeod Center in Cedar Falls

Past weeks: Nov. 15-22; Nov. 23-30; Dec. 1-8; Dec. 8-15; Dec. 16-23; Dec. 23-30; Dec. 30-Jan. 6; Jan. 6-12; Jan. 12-20; Jan. 20-27; Jan. 27-Feb 2; Feb. 2-10

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