Getty ST. LOUIS, MO - MARCH 9: Trae Berhow #11 of the Northern Iowa Panthers shoots the ball against the Drake Bulldogs during the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at the Enterprise Center on March 9, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
Northern Iowa hopes to continue its string of dominance against Missouri State as the Panthers hit the road to take on the Bears at JQH Arena.
The game (4 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV anywhere, but you can watch it live on ESPN+:
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Once signed up for ESPN+, you can then watch Northern Iowa vs Missouri State live on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
Northern Iowa vs Missouri State Preview
Since dropping just its second game of the season to Illinois State, Northern Iowa has bounced back with three straight wins. The Panthers latest victory was a 68-60 triumph against Indiana State.
Trae Berhow (16 points), AJ Green (15) and Austin Phyfe (13) did the heavy lifting as the three Panthers players in double-figures.
“We only had three threes tonight, and that’s usually a big part of our game,” Green said after the win. “But they weren’t falling as much tonight, and we found other ways to score. And then defensively, we were able to come up with stops down the stretch too like we had earlier this year. That was another big key to us winning.”
The loss to a sub-.500 Illinois State team sparked UNI to get better, most notably on the defensive end. They allowed 56 points in the second half of the loss.
“We need to play harder (defensively). Plain and simple,” head coach Ben Jacobson said. “A guy gets in a spot and he starts to run off screens and we’re already a step and a half behind him, from the get go. As soon as we get bumped a little bit on a ball screen we’re behind. Because we’re not playing hard enough. That has to change.”
It’s been an up and down season for Missouri State, which knocked off the Illinois State team that beat the Panthers last time out 67-63. Four players were in double-figures for the Bears, led by 22 from Keandre Cook.
Missouri State was the preseason pick to win the Missouri Valley Conference, but they haven’t lived up to those expectations. Out of the gate, the Bears dropped a matchup against Arkansas-Little Rock 67-66 — a contest they were a double-digit favorite for.
“We need to play harder (defensively). Plain and simple,” Jacobson said after that loss. “A guy gets in a spot and he starts to run off screens and we’re already a step and a half behind him, from the get go. As soon as we get bumped a little bit on a ball screen we’re behind. Because we’re not playing hard enough. That has to change.”
Northern Iowa is a 1.5-point favorite for the game. The total is set at 127.5.