U-N-I and Iowa enter the week at the top of their conference race. The Panthers have a share of the Missouri Valley lead after rolling past Indiana State 83-56 in the UNI-Dome on Saturday, their 20th victory of the season. The Panthers are 10-3 in the Valley and will host Wichita State on Tuesday night.
The Shockers are also 10-3 in the Valley and Panther coach Greg McDermott is not going to downplay it. He calls it one the biggest games they’ll ever play in the UNI-Dome since he’s been the head coach. McDermott says with five games left a win would give them the season sweep and he says that would be huge in the conference race and for N-C-A-a seeding.
The Panthers won the first matchup with the Shockers in Wichita but McDermott says the matchup is different this time. He says Wichita is playing as good as anybody in the league right now after making some changes in their guard court. Plus, he says his team used Eric Crawford to handle the ball alot in the first game and Crawford will probably not be back.
The Iowa Hawkeyes will take sole possession of the Big Ten lead into Wednesday night’s matchup at Northwestern. After falling behind early by eight points the Hawkeyes were nearly flawless as they rolled past Michigan 94-66, the Hawkeyes largest margin of victory in the series.Iowa’s improved shooting touch continued as the Hawkeyes finished 13 of 19 from three point range.
Iowa coach Steve Alford says they’re playing at a high level and have shot the ball well from three point range. The Hawks moved into sole possession of their Big Ten lead after Penn State posted a stunning victory at Illinois. Iowa is 7-2 in the Big Ten and 18-5.