Northern Iowa isn’t afraid to play the big boys and the Panthers certainly won’t be discouraged against Texas. UNI upset then-No. 1 North Carolina and then-No. 2 Iowa State earlier in the season before a stumble in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Panthers are streaking into the NCAA Tournament and are a trendy upset pick as a six-seed.
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Northern Iowa Panthers +4
Texas Longhorns -4
Over/Under: 125
HOW THE NORTHERN IOWA PANTHERS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
UNI won 12 of its final 13 games, captured the MVC tournament and is heading to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in 13 years. Coach Ben Jacobsen knows how to prepare his players for teams from the power conferences and has earned the nickname “Jake the Giant Killer.”
The Panthers are a superior shooting team. They love to shoot threes and led the Missouri Valley in free throw shooting. They aren’t much of a threat down low and the guards will be tested by Texas’ havoc-style defense.
This season’s team doesn’t have the same talent as previous NCAA Tournament teams, but they do have a bona fide star in do-everything guard Wes Washpun, who hit the game-winner in the MVC title game.
Washpun scored 28 points in UNI’s win over Iowa State in December and had 21 points and eight assists in the Panthers’ upset of No. 1 North Carolina in November. He can play with the big boys, and so too can Northern Iowa.
HOW THE TEXAS LONGHORNS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Longhorns have plenty of talent and played one of the toughest schedules in the country, so they’re battle-tested. They’ll also enter the Big Dance without a bad loss – if you don’t count the 86-56 pasting at the hands of Kansas a bad loss.
Texas was successful this season when the defense was at the top of its game. And it’s a good game, directed by first-year coach Shaka Smart, who had all kinds of tournament success while at VCU.
The Longhorns will have to corral Washpun and push the pace in order to win. But the Panthers are sneaky good with four players averaging in double figures. Too much focus on Washpun will be detrimental to the Horns’ chances.
Where Texas has a distinct advantage is in the paint. Post players Prince Ibeh and Cameron Ridley are tall shot blockers and Ridley, who is just returning from a foot injury, is an offensive threat down low. Ibeh was selected to the Big 12’s all-defensive team.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The game with Texas is the next step in a long and winding road for Northern Iowa. The Panthers posted major upsets over North Carolina and Iowa State, stumbled to a 2-6 start in the Missouri Valley Conference, regrouped in the back half of the schedule and then claimed the league tournament with a series of dramatic wins.
Both NCAAB teams play exceptional defense, but they do it differently. Texas wants to press, force turnovers and accelerate the pace. UNI, meanwhile, packs its defenders in the middle of the floor and dares opponents to shoot over the top. The problem is that the Horns have two talented big men to counter that strategy. Ridley is the key. A dominant threat down low, he was lost in December with a foot injury. He made a cameo appearance in the Big 12 tournament, playing just a couple minutes against Baylor. If the Horns can get anything from Ridley, their chances of getting a victory increase.
Texas 65, Northern Iowa 61
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