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(from UNI Athletics)
The Missouri Valley Conference has released the 2020-21 men’s basketball conference schedule.
The UNI Panthers are slated for 18 games of conference play from Dec. 30, 2020 through Feb. 27, 2021. The State Farm MVC Tournament, commonly known as Arch Madness, will take place Mar. 4-7 in the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Panthers are scheduled to have nine home games, five games falling on Wednesday, three on Saturday and a single Sunday competition. Times are yet to be determined.
UNI opens the conference season hosting Missouri State on Dec. 30 before hitting the road for a Jan. 3 meeting with Bradley. The Panthers will play at home on Jan. 6 and Jan. 9 hosting Illinois state and Evansville.
The Panthers will spend Jan. 13 in Terre Haute, Indiana taking on the Sycamores before traveling to Carbondale, Illinois to play Southern Illinois on Jan. 17. The Panthers will host Bradley and Valparaiso on Jan. 20 and Jan. 23.
UNI will get its second shot at Missouri State when the team travels to Springfield, Missouri on Jan. 27. The Panthers will travel to Des Moines on Jan. 30 to take on in-state rival Drake then host Indiana State and Loyola on Feb. 3 and Feb 6.
The Panthers will hit the road for a contest in Evansville, Indiana on Feb. 10 and play host on Valentine’s Day to the Bulldogs of Drake. UNI will travel to Valparaiso, Indiana for a midweek showdown with the Crusaders on Feb. 17 before traveling to Normal, Illinois for a road contest against the redbirds of Illinois State on Feb. 20.
UNI will play the final home contest against Southern Illinois on Feb. 24 and cap off the conference season with the Ramblers of Loyola in Chicago, Illinois on Feb. 27.
The Panthers return the 2020 Larry Bird Player of the Year in junior AJ Green and fellow First Team All-MVC selection junior Austin Phyfe. Trae Berhow landed on the MVC All-Improved team a season ago and returns for his senior season as does 2018 MVC All-Freshman team member Tywhon Pickford.
Head Coach Ben Jacobson enters his 15th season leading the Panther men’s basketball team. Jacobson, the UNI all-time wins leader, boasts a 291-174 career record. He has guided the Panthers to four NCAA Tournament appearances and four NCAA victories. Jacobson is a four-time MVC Coach of the Year and ranks fourth all-time in the MVC coaching victories. He also ranks fifth in the league record book for MVC-only wins with 153 triumphs.
The University of Northern Iowa and the Athletics Department continue to monitor COVID-19 pandemic and will be announcing game day and fan seating plans in the future. Please renew your basketball season tickets by visiting unipanthers.com/tickets or call 319-273-4849.
UNI Panthers
Day Date Opponent Site
Wednesday December 30 *Missouri State at UNI Cedar Falls, Iowa
Sunday January 3 *UNI at Bradley Peoria, Ill.
Wednesday January 6 *Illinois State at UNI Cedar Falls, Iowa
Saturday January 9 *Evansville at UNI Cedar Falls, Iowa
Wednesday January 13 *UNI at Indiana State Terre Haute, Ind.
Sunday January 17 *UNI at Southern Illinois Carbondale, Ill.
Wednesday January 20 *Bradley at UNI Cedar Falls, Iowa
Saturday January 23 *Valparaiso at UNI Cedar Falls, Iowa
Wednesday January 27 *UNI at Missouri State Springfield, Mo.
Saturday January 30 *UNI at Drake Des Moines, Iowa
Wednesday February 3 *Indiana State at UNI Cedar Falls, Iowa
Saturday February 6 *Loyola at UNI Cedar Falls, Iowa
Wednesday February 10 *UNI at Evansville Evansville, Ind.
Sunday February 14 *Drake at UNI Cedar Falls, Iowa
Wednesday February 17 *UNI at Valparaiso Valparaiso, Ind.
Saturday February 20 *UNI at Illinois State Normal, Ill.
Wednesday February 24 *Southern Illinois at UNI Cedar Falls, Iowa
Saturday February 27 *UNI at Loyola Chicago, Ill.
Thurs-Sun. March 4-7 State Farm MVC Tournament St. Louis, Mo. TBD
*MVC Games
