University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Northern Iowa
November 21, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Northern Iowa (UNIPanthers.com)
Location: Cedar Falls, Iowa
Rankings: No. 66 KenPom, NR AP
Record: 1-1
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): First meeting
Northern Iowa has established itself as one of the top mid-major programs in college basketball under 10th-year head coach Ben Jacobson, and the Panthers show no signs of letting up. Last year saw UNI rise into the AP top 10 for the first time on the way to a 31-4 finish and a program-best No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament. Only the Ali Farokhmanesh-led 2010 Panthers who beat Kansas for a spot in the Sweet 16 can claim bragging rights over the 2015 edition.
Returning to the highest highs won't be easy, however, in the absence of the departed Seth Tuttle. Tuttle, a 6-8 forward who led the Panthers in scoring, rebounding, assists and blocks a season ago, was a consensus second-team All-America performer . The dynamic Tuttle made an eye-popping 63.3 percent of his two-point attempts and better than 43 percent of his 3s, making him one of the top effective shooters in the nation.
Starters Marvin Singleton and Deon Mitchell as well as second-leading scorer Nate Buss are also gone, leaving UNI thin on experience up front. Only guards Matt Bohannon and Jeremy Morgan return from a starting five that was the same in all 35 games in 2014-15.
Senior Wes Washpun, the 2015 MVC Sixth Man of the Year, now joins Bohannon and Morgan in what figures to be one of the country's most veteran-laden backcourts. Former Virginia wing Paul Jesperson and 6-9 sophomore Bennett Koch round out the starting five on a roster that has seen eight guys play significant minutes in the first two games.
On offense, the Panthers have worked at a glacial pace historically under Jacobson, ranking outside the top 300 nationally in adjusted tempo in seven of the last nine years. But they shoot it well from all areas, ranking in the top 25 in 2-point percentage and free-throw percentage so far in 2015.
UNI puts almost all of its rebounding focus on the defensive glass, a tactic that limits both second chance opportunities and trips to the foul line for opponents. In Tuesday's 70-60 win over Stephen F. Austin, the Panthers finished with just two offensive rebounds, but they grabbed 80 percent of SFA's misses and outpaced the Lumberjacks 22-10 in free throw attempts.
The return of Marcus Paige to Iowa to face the school that extended him his first scholarship offer and features his high school teammate will rightfully dominate the pregame discussion. But the bigger picture for UNI is a chance to bank a huge non-conference win in the friendly confines of the McLeod Center. The Panthers will have visits to Richmond and New Mexico as well as a neutral-site contest with Iowa State before a possible date with Oklahoma in Hawaii, but Saturday is their last chance to build on a potential NCAA resume at home before MVC play starts. With a missed opportunity against Colorado State already in the rearview mirror for UNI, this will be much more than just a homecoming ceremony for the Tar Heels.
