Today In The Valley (Dec. 21)
Northern Iowa (5-5) vs. South Dakota State (5-7)
1:00 p.m.
McLeod Center; Cedar Falls, Iowa
UNI has an opportunity today to accomplish a few things. A win puts them over .500 heading into Valley play (they open MVC play next Sunday as they play host to Indiana State as the ball drops on another year of Valley basketball). A win would give them some momentum heading into conference play, too, and a victory would help provide Ben Jacobsen (the coach) with a merrier Christmas.
This is the third year in a row these two teams have played. SDSU beat UNI 61-55 last season, and the Panthers won the matchup the season before.
UNI last played eight days ago. In a game that saw Jordan Eglseder score a career-high 31 points, his teammates were unable to help pick up the slack on the offensive end as they dropped a 74-65 contest at Wyoming.
Today will mark the UNI debut for forward Adam Rodenberg, a transfer from UC-Irvine who had to sit out the second half of the season last year and the first 10 games this year. At 6-6, 235 lb, he will give help up front to Eglseder, Adam Koch, and Lucas O’Rear.
This will be the first of two games for the Jackrabbits in Iowa this week. After this afternoon’s game they will travel to Ames for a Tuesday night contest against Iowa State. This is their first full year after transitioning to Division I beginning in 2004. Garrett Callahan leads the team in scoring at 16.8 ppg. Clint Sargent also averages double figures for the Jackrabbits (15 ppg). While their record might not indicate it, they’ve been on the tough end of some close games: they lost at Drake by 10, lost to Oral Roberts by 9, and lost to an undefeated Minnesota team by 14.
While they may still be getting their feet wet in Division I, they won’t surprise Jacobsen and the Panthers after last year’s win. Don’t be surprised if they come away with a win in the McLeod Center today and jackrabbit-jump their way to Ames.
~ Panon
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Missouri State (6-3) vs. California-Irvine (1-8)
8:00 p.m.
JQH Arena; Springfield, Missouri
What’s more frustrating for die-hard Bears fans: that MSU turned in another ugly performance and had to stage a late rally to defeat Norfolk State, or that there were only 5,000-plus people in the new arena to see Cuonzo Martin’s team move to 6-3 on the season?
This quote in today’s Springfield News-Leader paints a vivid picture. “It wasn’t a pretty win or anything like that,” said Wade Knapp. “But we … were able to pull it out.” These kinds of quotes following MSU games are starting to feel repetitive.
If Bears fans wanted any sign of explosive offense, which their team could have used for the more than 7-minute second-half drought they experienced, they could look to further than the other side of the court. Two NSU players combined for 56 of the team’s 66 points; Cory Lyons had 32 and Michael Deloach added 24.
For the Bears, who play the Anteaters in the second of three games in the Basketball Traveler’s Tip-Off Tournament tonight, they needed a career-high 18 points from Knapp and a clutch 15-point effort from Spencer Laurie to avoid the upset. Fellow senior Chris Cooks added 13 point to round out the Bears’ scoring leaders.
The Bears take on another plus-300 RPI team tonight. UC-Irvine scored just 32 points last night in a 65-32 loss to Middle Tennessee State. If MSU’s defense plays up to its potential, it could be an even uglier game for the Anteaters tonight. They’ll rely heavily on freshman Eric Wise (13 ppg, 5 rpg) and senior Kevin Bland (11 ppg, 6 rpg) to seek out the upset. Not likely.
~ Creighton Otter
1:00 p.m.
McLeod Center; Cedar Falls, Iowa
UNI has an opportunity today to accomplish a few things. A win puts them over .500 heading into Valley play (they open MVC play next Sunday as they play host to Indiana State as the ball drops on another year of Valley basketball). A win would give them some momentum heading into conference play, too, and a victory would help provide Ben Jacobsen (the coach) with a merrier Christmas.
This is the third year in a row these two teams have played. SDSU beat UNI 61-55 last season, and the Panthers won the matchup the season before.
UNI last played eight days ago. In a game that saw Jordan Eglseder score a career-high 31 points, his teammates were unable to help pick up the slack on the offensive end as they dropped a 74-65 contest at Wyoming.
Today will mark the UNI debut for forward Adam Rodenberg, a transfer from UC-Irvine who had to sit out the second half of the season last year and the first 10 games this year. At 6-6, 235 lb, he will give help up front to Eglseder, Adam Koch, and Lucas O’Rear.
This will be the first of two games for the Jackrabbits in Iowa this week. After this afternoon’s game they will travel to Ames for a Tuesday night contest against Iowa State. This is their first full year after transitioning to Division I beginning in 2004. Garrett Callahan leads the team in scoring at 16.8 ppg. Clint Sargent also averages double figures for the Jackrabbits (15 ppg). While their record might not indicate it, they’ve been on the tough end of some close games: they lost at Drake by 10, lost to Oral Roberts by 9, and lost to an undefeated Minnesota team by 14.
While they may still be getting their feet wet in Division I, they won’t surprise Jacobsen and the Panthers after last year’s win. Don’t be surprised if they come away with a win in the McLeod Center today and jackrabbit-jump their way to Ames.
~ Panon
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Missouri State (6-3) vs. California-Irvine (1-8)
8:00 p.m.
JQH Arena; Springfield, Missouri
What’s more frustrating for die-hard Bears fans: that MSU turned in another ugly performance and had to stage a late rally to defeat Norfolk State, or that there were only 5,000-plus people in the new arena to see Cuonzo Martin’s team move to 6-3 on the season?
This quote in today’s Springfield News-Leader paints a vivid picture. “It wasn’t a pretty win or anything like that,” said Wade Knapp. “But we … were able to pull it out.” These kinds of quotes following MSU games are starting to feel repetitive.
If Bears fans wanted any sign of explosive offense, which their team could have used for the more than 7-minute second-half drought they experienced, they could look to further than the other side of the court. Two NSU players combined for 56 of the team’s 66 points; Cory Lyons had 32 and Michael Deloach added 24.
For the Bears, who play the Anteaters in the second of three games in the Basketball Traveler’s Tip-Off Tournament tonight, they needed a career-high 18 points from Knapp and a clutch 15-point effort from Spencer Laurie to avoid the upset. Fellow senior Chris Cooks added 13 point to round out the Bears’ scoring leaders.
The Bears take on another plus-300 RPI team tonight. UC-Irvine scored just 32 points last night in a 65-32 loss to Middle Tennessee State. If MSU’s defense plays up to its potential, it could be an even uglier game for the Anteaters tonight. They’ll rely heavily on freshman Eric Wise (13 ppg, 5 rpg) and senior Kevin Bland (11 ppg, 6 rpg) to seek out the upset. Not likely.
~ Creighton Otter
posted by Creighton Otter at 11:40 AM
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