Michigan State coach Tom Izzo told CBS in a post game interview that it doesn’t look good for the Lucas injury. That of course is good news for UNI, because Lucas is one of the best players in the country and the Spartans struggle without him. Michigan State blew a 15 point lead in the second half without Lucas.

Lavin was pretty successful at UCLA leading the Bruins to the sweet 16 five times, and carving out a 145-78 record.  Lavin was an assistant under Gene Keady at Purdue and seemed to enjoy his time in the Big 10.

I realize this a long shot, Lavin is a West Coast guy and recruiting at UCLA is a lot different than Iowa.

I think a young personality like Lavin would help put some life back into the Iowa basketball program.  Lavin was the first person I thought of when the Iowa job came open. Dick Vitale listed Lavin as his pick to take over the Iowa program.

Big Jordan Eglseder will have to stay out of foul trouble and play a few more minutes in this game.  Kansas 7 foot center Cole Aldrich will have his way inside if Jordan is not in the game. I love the way Lucas O’Rear battles inside, but Aldrich has too much length for him.

Kwadzo Ahelegbe will also have to stay out of foul trouble.  Kansas All-American point guard Sherron Collins is extremely quick and strong. Kwadzois strong enough to physically match-up against Collins.

Lets face it, Kansas will have to have an off night and UNI will have to play a near perfect game to pull off the upset. The Panthers can’t turn the ball over, and they have to be patient and find open looks. Kansas at 33-2 doesn’t have many off nights.  The Jayhawks have a lot of depth and are extremely balanced.  Kansas has 4 players averaging in double figures.

It’s March Madness and strange things happen!  I know one thing this UNI team won’t be intimidated and they will come to play.

The Senior from Iowa City was 5 0f 9 from behind the arc in the 69-66 win over UNLV.  Ali hit a 35 footer with 4.9 seconds left to give the Panthers their first win in the big dance in 20 years. Give Kwadzo Ahelegbe a lot of credit for handling some big time pressure that allowed Ali to get the open look.

The one guy UNLV couldn’t afford to leave wide open was Farokhmanesh, and he made them pay for it.

Bring on top seeded Kansas!

Their has been some speculation that UNI coach Ben Jacobson will get some looks from power conference schools.  I know money talks, but I think UNI is the perfect fit for Jake.  Coach Jacobson told me he loves the kind of athletes he can recruit at Northern Iowa, and he thinks he is in the perfect place for his coaching style.

Coach Jacobson is 85-42 in his four years as the head coach at UNI, and he has led the Panthers to back to back NCAA tournament appearances.  Jake has the ability to get the most out of his players talents.  In the MVC conference tournament UNI went 10 players deep, and Ben went 12 deep during the season.  Developing that kind of depth is the reason UNI will be good year after year.

Coach Jacobson would be successful at a school like Iowa, but I think UNI is the perfect fit. I hope Jake stays at UNI for many years to come.

UNI will try to slow the game down and play half court basketball. One big key to the game will be keeping Jordan Eglseder out of foul trouble. I think Jordan can do some damage against UNLV inside.

UNLV has two go to guys in 6″4 guard Tre’Von Willis and 6″8 forward Chase Stanback. Willis is their leading scorer at 17 points a game. Look for Kwadzo Ahelegbe to guard Willis, and he is athletic enough to put good pressure on the ball.  The 6″8 Stanback can beat you inside or out. MVC player of the year, 6″8 Adam Koch will guard Stanback, and that should be a great match-up. Koch will win that match-up because he will out hustle Stanback.

UNI is a team that plays extremely hard and they will slow down the UNLV offense. If the Panthers can get 12-16 points from Eglseder inside and knock down some treys they will be moving onto face top seeded Kansas Saturday night. 

Prediction: UNI 62 UNLV 56

For UNI to gain respect from college basketball fans across the country they will have to beat UNLV and then upset top ranked Kansas. Other mid-majors like Butler and Gonzaga have knocked off the big boys in the Big Dance and that is why they have gained respect from the college basketball world.  With respect comes higher rankings and better seedings in the NCAA tournament.  Butler and Gonzaga have built perennial top 20 teams and it all started with upset wins in the Big Dance.

The Panthers will have another early morning practice tomorrow, and then head over to the Ford Center for a shoot around practice, and interviews with the media.

The UNI coaches have spent a lot of time watching game film the last couple of days.  Head Coach Ben Jacobson is impressed with how athletic UNLV is, and how hard they guard you. Jake is also concerned with stopping UNLV leading scorer Tre’Von Willis.  The 6″4 Junior is averaging 17 points a game, and can beat you inside or out.

The Panthers were in the Big Dance last year losing to Purdue by just five points in their opening round game.  Some of the players say they were just happy to be in the tournament last year, but this team is more focused on the task at hand. 

#9UNI vs#8 UNLV Thurs., March 1 - Tip 6:10pm (central)

Checkout coverage from the Panthers all week on KCRG TV-9, KCRG.COM, and Gazette On-Line.

The meeting lasted approximately eight minutes. Afterward, neither Lickliter nor Barta would comment to reporters. Lickliter returned to the basketball office for about three minutes and then left the building.

There has been speculation about Lickliter’s future with the program.

Barta will hold a press conference today at 2:30 p.m. to discuss the future of the Iowa basketball program. You can watch it LIVE, here on KCRG.com and on Local 9.2 KCRG.