The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team finished last week 2-0 with wins against Missouri State and Illinois State. They have been keeping fans on the edge of their seats with both victories coming down to the last two minutes of game time. 

A week ago in Springfield, the Missouri State Bears were tied with the Panthers 59-59 with two minutes to play. Northern Iowa big men Tytan Anderson and Jacob Hutson buried four free throws to pull away late and escape with a road victory 66-61. 

On Saturday, the McLeod Center welcomed 4,809 fans for the Panthers game versus Illinois State. UNI trailed 23-9 early in the first, but cut the lead to four by halftime. At the 10-minute mark in the second half, the Panthers trailed by nine and even trailed by seven points with three minutes to go. The Panthers showed their resilience as Trey Campbell hit a clutch floater followed by a layup by Hutson to cut the lead to one. With just over one minute to go, Anderson delivered a clutch mid-range floater to give the Panthers the lead. The Redbirds had one more chance to win it but turned the ball over. The Panthers went on to win 68-65. 

With six games remaining in conference play, the Panthers are second in the Missouri Valley, trailing their conference rival, the Drake Bulldogs, who are currently in first with a conference record of 12-2. The regular season conference title is still a realistic possibility for the Panthers, especially with Drake coming to the McLeod Center on Feb. 23. 

Regardless if they win the regular season title, the Panthers are having a solid year with a record of 16-9. With a strong finish, they’ll secure a bye in the end-of-season Arch Madness Tournament.

The Panthers will begin a road trip on Sunday, as they take on the Murray State Racers at 4 p.m. After the game, they’ll head south to Nashville, Tennessee and take on the Belmont Bruins on Wednesday.