Final: UNI 78, WSU 54. Ugly night for the Shockers, now 0-3 in the MVC. Clevin Hannah led WSU with 14, 11 in the first half. The Panthers score 50 in the second half.
12:07 remaining: UNI 45, WSU 31. Shockers look tired and worn down. UNI is getting the loose balls and making the hustle plays. Not making shots can be a real burden.
15:56 remaining: UNI 37, WSU 28. Three fouls on Hannah and Stutz.
Halftime: UNI 28, WSU 26. WSU ruined what had been a decent half with a meltdown in the final two minutes. Things started to wrong on a play that the Shockers scored on. J.T. Durley scored, but was called for a charge. The basket counted to give WSU a 26-19 lead. UNI’s Ali Farokmanesh made two free throws to start a 9-0 run. WSU committed three turnovers in the final 2:10, one on an charging call on Clevin Hannah. Both teams look bad on offense. Familiar story: UNI is getting to the line more than WSU (5-6 as opposed to 1-4). WSU is 11 of 29 from the field, 3 of 10 from three. UNI is 10 of 27, 3 of 8.
3:57 remaining: WSU 19, UNI 16. WSU takes a shot-clock violation out of a timeout, which is high on the list of worst things to do with the basketball. WSU is 8 of 24 from the field; UNI 6 of 21. Eglseder is working hard on Stutz, who has two fouls.
7:48 remaining: WSU 19, UNI 14. Neither team looks good on offense. The Shockers are wasting a chance to build more of a cushion.
11:58 remaining: WSU 17, UNI 14. WSU’s second unit entered as one. Chamberlain, Hatch, Durley, Ellis, Kyles. Durley and UNI’s Adam Rodenberg are trading baskets.
13:55 remaining: WSU 13, UNI 9. Hannah with 11 for WSU. Arizona and Kurt Warner’s win over Atlanta gets a big hand. Warner is a former Panther.
The weather is bad and getting worse, so that may affect the crowd. Or Iowans may be used to the cold and ice and pay no attention.
WSU has not been 0-3 in the MVC since the 1999-2000 season. The Shockers, coached by Randy Smithson, went 0-9 before winning a conference game.
I talked to Dickie Coy, older brother of object-of-Shocker-affection Johnny Coy, a few days ago. No decision until around the 10th. Drake and WSU seem to be the main candidates, although other schools are calling. The deal seems to be (my guess) that WSU makes perfect sense for a kid who wants to play baseball and basketball and stay close to home.
However, the Coy family will have a difficult time saying “No” to Drake coach Mark Phelps. He recruited Johnny Coy to Arizona State and their relationship remains very good.
So that’s that situation in brief. More in Sunday’s notebook.