It was the second time this year the Northern Iowa Panthers got a shot at a top five team, and again, they took them down. Last time, it was the North Carolina Tar Heels. This time, it was an in-state rival, the Iowa State Cyclones, by a score of 81-79 at the Big Four Classic in Des Moines.
Northern Iowa led throughout the whole game, led by some hot shooting from seniors Wes Washpun and Paul Jesperson, Washpun had a double-double with 28 points and 11 assists, both career highs for the Cedar Rapids Washington grad. Jesperson hit seven three-pointers on his way to 21 points.
It was 80-79 with twenty seconds to go and Iowa State just forced a turnover, and Georges Niang spun, and fell and threw the ball away. Washpun hit one of two free throws to make it a two point game, and Monte Morris missed a shot, giving the Panthers the win.
Northern Iowa upsetting Iowa State should not be a surprise to anybody. We saw the Panthers beat Kansas, one of the biggest upsets in Tournament history. We saw it against North Carolina. Ben Jacobsen is one of, if the not the most, underrated coaches in the nation. He's for sure the best coach in the state of Iowa. Many bigger teams have wanted him, but he has decided to stay in Cedar Falls, and he continues to win basketball games.
This was Iowa State's first loss, although it should've been their second, as Iowa and Fran McCaffery bailed them out. It was a tough week, losing Naz Mitrou-Long for the season with a hip problem after an off-season injury. They got Deonte Burton, a transfer from Marquette, eligible though. That is huge, considering the Cyclones go only seven deep, which is a huge problem. It gets tougher for them, going to Cincinnati to play on Tuesday.
Northern Iowa is 2-0 against top 5 teams. The rest of the nation is 3-46. That is a .061 winning percentage. UNI has a 1.000 winning percentage against top 5 competition. Not bad.
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