Northern Iowa serves notice the Valley isn't a one-team league
At the end of a phone conversation with Ben Jacobson earlier this month, the Northern Iowa coach made a plea on behalf of star forward Seth Tuttle.
"He deserves more attention than he's getting," Jacobson said. "Boy, he does a lot for us. He's one of the most versatile guys in the country."
Neither Tuttle nor his team will fly under the radar much longer after what they accomplished Saturday in Northern Iowa's most high-profile game of the season. Tuttle scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Panthers to a decisive 70-54 victory over a Wichita State team that had won 27 consecutive league games prior to its visit to Cedar Falls.
Northern Iowa's victory served notice that Wichita State won't romp to the Valley title the way it did during last year's undefeated season. The 18th-ranked Panthers (20-2, 9-1) and 12th-ranked Shockers (19-3, 9-1) are now tied atop the Valley standings with a potential winner-take-all return match set to take place in Wichita on the final Saturday of conference play.
Winning the first battle of Top 25 Valley teams in a quarter century puts Northern Iowa in great position to return to the NCAA tournament even if it doesn't secure the Valley's automatic bid at Arch Madness this March. Not only do the Panthers have solid wins over Wichita State, Iowa, Stephen F. Austin, Richmond and Northwestern, their only two losses were also in double overtime at VCU and by three at Evansville.
Northern Iowa's reemergence on the national scene is a product of the program rediscovering its identity as a glacially paced team that wins efficient, structured offense and stifling defense.
Whereas last year's team finished with the least wins in Jacobson's nine-year tenure after Jacobson tried to play at a faster tempo with disastrous results. Northern Iowa is the nation's fourth slowest team this season and is limiting teams to below 40 percent shooting. Some of the credit goes to Jacobson spending much of the offseason emphasizing defensive principles. The rest goes to a group of hungry upperclassmen who signed with Northern Iowa on the heels of its 2010 Sweet 16 run yet have not been able to take the Panthers back to the NCAA tournament so far.
"This group of seniors that have been part of the last three years have grown up a lot and they're a much more determined group now," Jacobson told Yahoo Sports earlier this month. "They're working extremely hard to establish themselves as a much better defensive team than what we were a year ago. That's been the biggest change."
Northern Iowa's formula for success was on full display Saturday afternoon in front of a full-throated crowd in Cedar Falls.
Wichita State fell behind by 13 at halftime and never mounted a serious charge because it could never string together enough baskets. The Shockers shot 35.4 percent from the field because they got nothing from their frontcourt or in transition and stars Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet needed 22 shots to combine for 30 points.
The lack of offense from the Shockers was especially glaring because the Panthers had no trouble breaking full-court pressure and shredded Wichita State's half-court defense once they got the ball across mid-court.
The 6-foot-8 Tuttle scored at will in the paint no matter who Wichita State used to defend him, sinking 9 of 13 shots from the field and 10 of 13 from the foul line. Guard Wes Washspun also torched the Shockers off the screen and roll, adding 16 points of his own.
In assessing how his program has done since its seismic upset of Kansas in the 2010 NCAA tournament, Jacobson said bluntly, "We've been running good but not great."
This season is Northern Iowa's chance to ascend in the national pecking order once more. So far the Panthers appear primed to take full advantage.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
