Northern Iowa Panthers (1-0) vs. Richmond Spiders (1-0)
The 2022-23 NCAA men’s basketball schedule continues on Friday as the Northern Iowa Panthers take on the Richmond Spiders at Robins Center in Richmond, Virginia.
Both teams earned season-opening victories on Monday. Northern Iowa crushed Wartburg, 105-49 while Richmond defeated VMI, 69-48. These teams have played just four times in the last eight years, with Richmond winning each of the last three meetings, including a 60-52 victory in December 2021.
Northern Iowa put together an impressive defensive performance in their victory over Wartburg, holding their opponent to 31.6% shooting, including 4-26 (15.4%) from three-point range. The Knights produced 21 first-half points, falling behind by 33 at the break, and were only marginally better in the second half.
Ben Jacobson returns for his 17th season as the head coach at UNI. He has posted an impressive 321-201 mark with four trips to the NCAA Tournament and is a five-time MVC Coach of the Year. This is a team that has 11 members returning from last year’s championship club, including MVC Sixth Man of the Year, Bowen Born.
Panther highlights ?? @JWindell calls#EverLoyal pic.twitter.com/nM1glt67bZ
— UNI Basketball (@UNImbb) November 10, 2022
Surprisingly, the team is expected to finish fifth in the conference. This despite the fact that Born was named to the second team all-conference and Austin Phyfe to the third team all-conference teams. Clearly, this team will want to defy the odds and return to the top of the conference standings.