UNI Men’s Basketball vs. San Francisco (NABC Hall of Fame Classic)
- 11:30 CT | November 21, 2022
- Kansas City, MO | T-Mobile Center (18,972)
- CBS Sports Network (Chick Hernandez: Play-by-Play / Chris Walker: Analyst)
- Panther Sports Radio Network (JW Cox: Play-by-Play)
UNI Men’s Basketball vs. Wichita State/Grand Canyon (NABC Hall of Fame Classic)
- 10:30 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. CT | November 22, 2022
- Kansas City, MO | T-Mobile Center (18,972)
- CBS Sports Network (Chick Hernandez: Play-by-Play / Chris Walker: Analyst)
- Panther Sports Radio Network (JW Cox: Play-by-Play)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — UNI men’s basketball will make its first appearance in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Hall of Fame Classic ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in downtown Kansas City against the University of San Francisco and Wichita State or the Grand Canyon.
The Panthers will play their first game in 10 days after a 68-53 loss at Richmond on Nov. 11, and following the cancellation of their game against No. 18 Virginia in Charlottesville on Nov. 14.
UNI take on San Francisco for the very first time in their opener on Monday. The Dons are one of three Panthers opponents this season to reach the NCAA Tournament last year, after falling to Murray State in the first round last March.
An old rivalry could be renewed in UNI’s second game if UNI meets Wichita State on Tuesday. The Panthers and Shockers haven’t met since Wichita State left the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) in 2017 for the American Athletic Conference (AAC).
The Panthers travel to Kansas City after splitting their first two all-time meetings with the Grand Canyon and are looking to take a 2-1 series lead in a consolation or championship game. UNI beat the Antelopes 82-58 in Phoenix in their last game of 2019.
UNI PANTHERS
Bowen-born led UNI with a team-high 17 points in their previous game against Richmond, while Tytan Anderson notched his first career double-double with a career-high 13 points and 10 rebounds. Nate Heise had 10 points with a pair of steals in the loss, while Trey Campbell and Betz both finished with 6 points.
The Panthers were held to 32.8 percent shooting from the field against Richmond, struggling to finish shots inside the paint and three-pointers.
Going into the third game of the season, Heise has a shot at becoming UNI’s 112th career 500 points club member, 10 points clear of 500. At the charity strip, Born is taking part in Monday’s contest with the Dons with an 85.2 career free throw percentage, the fourth highest mark in school history while also sitting at two-for-100 free throws as a Panther.
SAN FRANCISCO DONATIONS
- The Dons were chosen to tie with BYU to finish third in the WCC preseason poll. Senior guard Khalil Shabazz was the only Don selected to the All-WCC preseason squad.
- San Francisco went 24-10 last season with a 10-6 conference record. The Dons failed to upset top-ranked Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament semifinals, but received a general offer for the NCAA Tournament.
- Chris Gerlufsen is in his first season as the Dons’ head coach, having taken over from Todd Golden after the previous season. Gerlufsen previously served as the interim head coach at Hawaii in 2019-20 with an 8-5 record.
- San Francisco picked up a gutsy 67-60 win in their previous game at Fresno State. Tyrell Roberts led with a game-high 22 points as Zane Meeks recorded a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.
WICHITA STATE SHOCKS
- Entering their sixth season in the AAC, the Shockers were ranked eighth in the AAC preseason poll.
- Wichita State went 15-13 in the 2021-22 season, with a 6-9 league record. The Shockers fell in the first round of the AAC tournament to Tulsa, 73-67.
- Isaac Brown is entering his third season as head coach of Wichita State. This is his first Division I head coaching opportunity.
- UNI leads the all-time series against the Shockers, 29-25. The Panthers seek their first win over Wichita State since the 2016 MVC Tournament semifinal, when UNI rallied to defeat the Shockers 57-52 in overtime en route to a conference tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth.
- The Shockers edged Richmond 56-53 in their last Thursday night outing in Virginia. Jaykwon Walton led the WSU with 20 points, with James Rojas scoring 15 points and 6 rebounds.
GRAND CANYON ANTELOPES
- The Antelopes were selected as the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) preseason favorites to win the league title with eight of 13 first-place votes. Junior guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. was selected as the conference’s preseason player of the year and preseason All-WAC first team. Rayshon Harrison and Gabe McGlothan were also named Preseason Second Team All-WAC.
- Posting a 23-8 season a year ago with a 13-5 WAC mark, Grand Canyon finished fourth in the league standings in 2021-22, reaching the WAC tournament semifinals before falling to seeded New Mexico State by five points.
- Former Valparaiso and Vanderbilt head coach Bryce Drew is entering his third season in Phoenix with the Antelopes. Drew compiled a 40-15 record in his first two seasons with the Grand Canyon, helping the Antelopes to his first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history in 2021.
PANTHER NOTES
- Under Head Coach Ben Jacobson, UNI are 23-16 when playing non-conference tournaments early in the season. The Panthers won four tournament titles under his leadership (2010 iBN Las Vegas Classic, 2011 South Padre Island Tournament, 2015 Cancun Challenge, 2019 Cancun Challenge-Riviera Division)
- San Francisco is the second of 9 opponents this season for UNI who held a national post-season tournament last year. Three Panther opponents played in last season’s NCAA Tournament (Richmond, San Francisco, Murray State), with 6 teams in the NIT (Toledo, Towson, St. Bonaventure, Belmont, Missouri State). Drake also participated in the CBI tournament.
- UNI is 4-4 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference. The Panthers’ last victory over a WCC opponent was November 22, 2013 at Paradise Jam against Loyola Marymount, 90-81.
- Ben Jacobson is 6 wins away from passing Dana Altman as the third most winning coach in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) history. Jacobson has recorded 322 career wins at UNI, while Altman notched 327 wins at Creighton from 1994-2010.
- The Panthers are 77-9 under Ben Jacobson by scoring 80 or more points.
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