UNI men’s basketball getting results by playing harder and faster

CEDAR FALLS — An up-and-down season for the Northern Iowa men’s basketball team is trending upward again, and at just the right time.

After losing six of their first eight games, the Panthers won 10 of their next 12. Then, a 77-63 loss at Drake in late January led to four losses in their next five, including a loss at Illinois-Chicago that provoked a season-changing emphasis from 18th-year head coach Ben Jacobson.

That 71-65 loss at UIC (11-19, 4-15) on Feb. 11 provoked starters playing less, bench players playing more and everyone playing harder and faster as a result.

The sample size remains modest, but the early returns of Jacobson leaning into his team’s depth and demanding harder and faster play are encouraging as the Panthers have won four of their five games since, including notable upsets of Bradley (21-9, 13-6) and Drake (24-6, 15-4).

Tuesday’s home win against Valparaiso provided another encouraging 40 minutes under Jacobson’s new emphasis, including a second straight game with more than 20 fast-break points.

After totaling 25 fast-break points in last Saturday’s upset win against Drake, UNI poured in 23 on the break against the Beacons on Tuesday. Prior to the upset of the Bulldogs, the Panthers were averaging just 6.4 fast-break points per game and had reached 20 or more in a game just one other time — back on Dec. 2 in a 91-89 loss at Evansville.

“Whether it be their offense, their defense, (or) in rebounding, you want it to feel like there’s constant pressure,” Jacobson said. “The best way to do that is to play as hard as you can play and to play as fast as you can play. The guys have done a great job of it. The open court has been really good to us.”

While there are team stats indicative of progress the past five games, individually a pair of Panthers have thrived as pace and possessions have ratcheted up.

Sophomore guard Landon Wolf is one, as he’s averaged 12 points in UNI’s last four wins and provided his scoring production at all three levels of the floor.

“Having to really stick with it for a large portion of the season and really fight and make some strides defensively in terms of his physicality and the determination and his communication and talking at a higher level — he’s really increased those things,” Jacobson said. “By doing that, he’s been more productive defensively for us. Just love the way he’s moving and playing and the confidence he’s playing with on offense. He’s on a great run.”

Junior forward Tytan Anderson has also played his best basketball of the season of late, averaging 15.5 points and 10.8 rebounds in the Panthers’ last four wins. He also finished with a career-high eight assists against Valparaiso, something he acknowledged was a byproduct of playing faster.

“I think the way we’ve been practicing (has) helped out a lot,” Anderson said of his production. “We’ve been going up and down. We’ve been trying new things and we found something that’s clicking and that’s been working for us.”

Having won four of its last five games, UNI (17-13, 11-8) has put itself in a position it’s been seeking ever since a regular-season Missouri Valley Conference championship was out of the question — being a top-four seed at the MVC Tournament next weekend and consequently receiving one of four available first-round byes.

Standing in the way of clinching that seed and bye are the Southern Illinois Salukis (19-11, 11-8) and their top-ranked MVC defense that allows just 66.6 points per game.

A large crowd is expected at Banterra Center for Sunday’s 1 p.m. tip-off (ESPN+), setting the stage for what could be a dramatic 40 minutes.

“That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Jacobson said. “It’s going to be a hard game. It’s going to be a fun game. Glad the guys have put themselves in position that we get to have this game.”