UNI goes down under for basketball tour

The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team left Sunday on their trip to Australia.U-N-I will play a total of six games with two contests apiece in Cairns , Sydney and Melbourne. Northern Iowa coach Greg McDermott feels the trip down under will help his team more off the court than on. He says spending 12 days together will help build the team chemistry and they’ll do fun things that they’ll always remember. McDermott expects some good competition from the Australian teams on the tour. Eight newcomers join a Panther squad that returns eight-letterman, including all five starters. McDermott thinks U-N-I’s new players will benefit the most from the trip. Northern Iowa is coming off an 11-17 record last year. The Panthers will return August 22nd.