2011 Missouri Valley Conference Basketball |
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Indiana State Sycamores @ Northern Iowa Panthers Basketball RecapIndiana State 76, Northern Iowa 74
The NCAA Tournament bracket is still very much up in the air. The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament bracket is beginning to take shape in crucial ways. Indiana State held off a furious Northern Iowa rally, escaping the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa, with a two-point victory and third place in the upcoming Missouri Valley Conference tournament. The win, which gives the Sycamores the season series sweep, guarantees Indiana State consecutive winning seasons for the first time in a decade. Northern Iowa lost its second straight game. The significance of this contest was clear: Who would get the third seed for Arch Madness, the alternate name for the Valley tournament in St. Louis on the first weekend of March. The team with the third seed will match up with the second seed in the semifinals, while the fourth seed will play the top seed in the semis. Indiana State and Northern Iowa face different kinds of problems (and enjoy different advantages) against the top two teams in the league, Missouri State and Wichita State, so depending on the outcome of the game later this week between the Bears and the Shockers, this game established one half of the seeding puzzle in the upper tier of the Valley for 2011. The Sycamores were up by two at the half and the game stayed close throughout. Indiana State's biggest lead was nine; the last time it reached that margin was with 4:43 left, after a 10-2 run put the Sycamores up 60-51. The Panthers then slowly fought back, cutting the lead to 75-74 with 5 seconds left on a Kwadzo Ahelegbe three-pointer. But that was all they were able to muster, as the Panthers were unable to get off another shot and fell short.
Jake Odum and Jordan Printy each had 17 points to lead the Sycamores, who shot 49 percent from the field (including 50 percent inside three-point range). R.J. Mahurin added 11 points in the win. Head coach Greg Lansing's squad bounced back from a disappointing BracketBusters loss to Morehead State to pick up its fourth straight conference win. The absence of Lucas O'Rear hurt the Panthers inside yet again. Other than giving up 50-percent shooting from two-point range, the Panthers were also outrebounded by a 34-26 margin and struggled to a 41.5-percent shooting night in their own right. Those numbers ended up being enough to offset the Panthers’ advantages in turnovers (17 to 8) and steals (10 to 2). Anthony James had 18 points and Johnny Moran 17 to lead the way for Northern Iowa. Ahelegbe added 15 points, but struggled to a 3-of-12 shooting night from the field. UNI coach Ben Jacobson had been hoping for a strong, consistent defensive effort that has been missing since O'Rear's injury, but failed to get that yet again on Tuesday night. The Sycamores will end the regular season on Saturday by hosting Southern Illinois while the Panthers finish the season Saturday at Creighton, a team that can move into a tie with the Panthers if they can upset Wichita State on Wednesday night.
By: Matt Zemek |