Making the Grade: UNI men's basketball Jan. 27-Feb. 2

It was another perfect week for Northern Iowa, but this one carried with it just a tad more weight.

The Panthers — No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches poll — got the biggest win in McLeod Center's history with the domination of then-No. 12 Wichita State on Saturday. UNI was sound defensively as usual, but had a banner day offensively against the Shockers.

National attention keeps getting poured over the program as they climb the rankings, led in that area, too, by Seth Tuttle, who earned another Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week and CBS Sports National Player of the Week. As good as all that is, things don't get easier Tuesday as UNI heads to Indiana State for a tall task on the road.

Schedule/Results

UNI at Southern Illinois; W, 59-52

UNI vs then-No. 12 Wichita State; W, 70-54

Offense

B+ Why: Minus just a few hiccups, this week was outstanding for the UNI offense — which isn't something that could be said very often this season. The Panthers weren't very good offensively in the first half against Southern Illinois, struggling to find Tuttle in good spots and being careless with the ball. They shot just 8 of 20 from the field and 4 of 13 from 3-point range. They turned it around with a 12 of 18 second half with Wes Washpun taking primary control of the ball and opening up the offense.

Against Wichita State, really the only issue UNI had was against the Shockers' full-court press. The Panthers have struggled against that other times as well — notably at VCU — but with the athletes Wichita State has, gave UNI some fits. That factored in, as well, to the lack of team assists for UNI, which only managed six against Wichita State, compared to 16 on 20 field goals against SIU.

Aside from those things, Saturday especially was as good as the Panthers have been on offense all season. They shot 60 percent overall (24 of 40) and 71.4 percent from 3-point range (5 of 7) and had 36 of their 70 points in the paint. The pick-and-roll action with Tuttle and Washpun was particularly effective in set plays. Effective offense like that (1.1 points per possession overall this season) should smoothly carry the Panthers through to the Wichita State rematch on Feb. 28.

Defense

A Why: Any time a team can turn Wichita State into an average-to-below-average offense, something special is happening. And when Coach Ben Jacobson steps to the podium and says there was only one bad defensive possession, something really special is happening.

UNI frustrated Wichita State basically from the get-go, forcing the team ranked 23rd by KenPom in offensive efficiency to shoot 35 percent for the game and get just 54 points on 48 total shots. The Shockers' Big Three of Fred VanVleet, Ron Baker and Darius Carter shot a combined 11 of 33 for 38 combined points. On top of that, VanVleet and Baker combined for seven turnovers, with VanVleet having a rare negative assist-to-turnover ratio with three assists and four turnovers. The pack line defense did its job for the Panthers and they caused trouble as usual with the high screen hedge.

That lone mistake Jacobson mentioned came on a late switch from Tuttle, who didn't rotate back to Shaquille Morris and allowed a wide open alley-oop dunk — and promptly heard about it when he got back to the bench. The Panthers did also get beat on the offensive glass — the Shockers had eight offensive boards — but given Wichita State missed 31 shots, that number could've been higher.

It's hard to envision a better defensive performance the rest of the season, especially with Indiana State, Evansville and another Wichita State game left on the schedule.

Players (in last week's games)

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Seth Tuttle, forward

— His national profile is starting to get pretty thick. His Player of the Week accolades highlight the list, but he's also currently ranked fifth on KenPom's Player of the Year list — behind Frank Kaminksy of Wisconsin, Stanley Johnson of Arizona, Jahlil Okafor of Duke and Delon Wright of Utah. To rewrite what's been written a thousand times about him, Tuttle is having a special year.

Wes Washpun, guard

— It had been a while since Washpun had played at the level he did against Wichita State and did what makes him as good as he is. He ran the floor well, was hyperactive on defense and got to the rim way easier than players usually do against VanVleet. UNI will need this from him to go places in March.

Paul Jesperson, guard

— After his illness a couple weeks ago, the sharpshooter UNI fans came to know in non-conference returned. He may not get a ton of cracks at it, but he makes his shots count when he does. Maybe the best thing he did all week, though, was defend Baker of Wichita State while Jeremy Morgan was on the bench.

Nate Buss, forward

— Like Jesperson, Buss was really active offensively against Southern Illinois, and less so against Wichita State — not that he needed to be. Also like Jesperson, he was effective defensively against Wichita State, which isn't normally his calling card.

Marvin Singleton, forward

— The work he did against Wichita State went largely unnoticed because of Tuttle's day, but he was perfect from the field (4 of 4) and was quick with his defensive rotations against very athletic Wichita State bigs. He also had another 3-pointer that, when he made it, nearly blew the roof off the McLeod Center.

Matt Bohannon, guard

— Had an efficient week offensively, and was among the many who didn't have as much work to do Saturday compared to against Southern Illinois. He was shadowed closely by the Shockers, something he's gotten very used to.

Deon Mitchell, guard

— Ceded a lot of time to Washpun in both second halves last week, which felt like a return to non-conference in a way. But like early in conference play, that won't stay that way too long — but only if his shot selection and ball security returns to what it was in the two weeks before this.

Jeremy Morgan, guard

— This guy seems to relish doing the things most people will never notice but are vital to a team's success. He was on the floor over and over again in both games last week, and his work against Baker was superb defensively.

Upcoming Week

UNI at Indiana State, 6 p.m. Tuesday at Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind.

UNI vs Drake, 7 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

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