WSU 82, UNI 57 – Final.
WSU 78, UNI 56 (3:45) - Ragland with 19 points. Kyles with 16.
WSU 73, UNI 52 (6:29) - Kyles is 4 of 4 from three. WSU 11-18 from three. Record is 15, also against UNI.
WSU 60, UNI 47 (11:32) – Murry with 12 points, 8 this half. Repeating his role as Panther killer from Jan. 18.
WSU 54, UNI 47 (14:43) - WSU ball after a turnover.
WSU 50, UNI 44 (16:33) - Ragland going UNLV. 4 of 5 from three. Shockers can’t get any stops. UNI scored on four of its five possessions this half. Six straight to end the first half.
WSU 43, UNI 35 – Halftime. Panthers right back in after being down 43-22.
WSU 43, UNI 32 (51.4) - Panthers with a 10-0 run. Two turnovers by WSU got it going.
WSU 40, UNI 21 (3:55) - Pretty bounce pass from Murry to Ragland. Ragland leads all scorers with 10. WSU 8 of 12 from three.
WSU 31, UNI 17 (7:37) - Kyles 2-2 from three.He is too good a shooter for that slump to continue. Was 1-15 from three in four previous games.
WSU 23, UNI 15 (11:08) - UNI 6-14 FG. WSU 9-16. WSU 5-7 from three.
WSU 23, UNI 12 (12:18) - WSU goes zone. UNI was trying to pull Stutz away from the basket with Rank. Counter move works.
WSU 14-5 (16:22) - Shockers make four straight threes to start the game.
UNI starters - Mitchell, Tuttle, Moran, Koch, Sonnen. WSU - Ragland, Williams, Smith, Murry, Stutz
Big week for WSU, perhaps the biggest since 2005-06. Wins over UNI and Creighton on Saturday accomplish three things:
- The Shockers take a two-game MVC lead with three to play.
- The Shockers take a big step away from the 8-9 NCAA Tournament seed line (and second-round matchup against No. 1) toward better seeds. A No. 6 would be a good goal. Jerry Palm projects teams such as Murray State, UNLV, Georgetown and Michigan State as No. 3 seeds (for a possible second-round matchup). Getting to the NCAAs is nice. The Shockers have a chance to make their path easier this week.
- The Shockers likely move into the top 25.