Northern Iowa searches for answers to MVC shooting slump

Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall departed the media room on Sunday with a discussion of Northern Iowa’s shocking inconsistency. The Panthers own wins over North Carolina and Iowa State, yet are 2-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

How can a team that beat two top-20 teams lose 51-41 at home to Loyola? And what does it mean? As his parting shot, Marshall wondered if it means the Missouri Valley Conference is a little stronger than most think.

Panthers coach Ben Jacobson hopes that is the case.

The Shockers (12-5, 6-0 MVC) play at Northern Iowa (10-9) on Wednesday, returning to the site of their lone conference loss last season. The current Panthers are much different, lacking MVC Player of the Year Seth Tuttle, Nate Buss and Marvin Singleton and desperate to figure out where things went wrong.

Their non-conference performance, which included the MVC’s best two victories, put them in the NCAA Tournament picture. Now they need to rally to avoid playing in the MVC Tournament’s play-in round.

On Saturday, UNI shot 27.1 percent from the field, made four second-half baskets and scored three points in the final 6:28. Loyola ended the game on a 13-3 run to halt its five-game losing streak.

UNI is shooting 34.4 percent from three-point range in MVC games, down from 39.8 in non-conference games. After averaging 73.9 points in non-conference games, the Panthers slumped to 64.8 in MVC games. Guard Wes Washpun is shooting poorly in MVC play, capped by a 2-for-10 performance against Loyola in which he didn’t record an assist. Opponents are containing Washpun when he operates off screens near the top of the key, keeping him away from the rim and often forcing him into contested jump shots.

With Washpun off stride, UNI’s offense is floundering. Last season, he scored 16 points in UNI’s 70-54 win over WSU at the McLeod Center, although he did mix in five turnovers. He also had Tuttle, who scored 29 points in that game, and guard Deon Mitchell to help run the offense.

“You get into league play, and you get a couple games into league play, and teams understand that … involving Wes in the ball-screen is a big part of what we do,” Jacobson said. “We’re going to try to move that around and find different ways to get him cut loose with that ball-screen and so he can get down-hill.”

UNI shooters such as Paul Jesperson and Matt Bohannon rely on Washpun creating open shots for them. While sophomore Bennett Koch is averaging 10.3 points in his past six games and making 70.2 percent of his shots, UNI’s inside game isn’t as productive as Jacobson wants.

“I’ve got to do a better job of moving guys around and I’ve got to do a better job of helping our guys get in spots where they can have some confidence,” he said. “We’ve got to keep finding ways to involve (Koch) and have teams have to defend the low block.”

There are mitigating factors to UNI’s slide.

The Panthers played in Hawaii over Christmas, often a trip that saps a team. Before Hawaii, they played two games in Virginia and at New Mexico. Since Dec. 5, they’ve played 10 of 12 games away from the McLeod Center. Monday, at his weekly news conference, Jacobson told reporters he wouldn’t force that travel on his teams in the future.

Statistically, the Panthers aren’t in as much trouble as their record might indicate.

They are holding MVC opponents to 57.8 points, second in the conference and is scoring margin is plus-7, ranking third. They rank second in turnover margin (plus-4.50) and assist-to-turnover margin (1.3). UNI lost by two points at Southern Illinois (75-73) and one at Missouri State (59-58).

The problems worsened in the second half of a 74-60 loss at Indiana State. UNI shot 26.9 percent in those 20 minutes, which led into the issues against Loyola.

Now the Panthers get the Shockers, who are on a seven-game win streak. Jacobson watched the Shockers struggle in November when a strained left hamstring sidelined guard Fred VanVleet.

“Nationally, their name goes away a little bit,” Jacobson said. “For all of us that have coached and played in this league … know exactly who they are and exactly how good they are. They look a lot like we thought they would look like, and that’s a top-25-type team.”

The Shockers looked that good in Sunday’s 82-62 win over Indiana State at Koch Arena. VanVleet scored a career-high 29 points and showed some burst and bounce that the hamstring robbed him of earlier.

VanVleet said the hamstring no longer is painful. Now he is working harder in practice to return to his old habits and break free of the mental barrier of worrying about the potential of another injury.

“I’m being more aggressive in practice, really trying to explode and really trying to accelerate to the rim, trying to finish through contact,” VanVleet said. “I’m trying to push myself on defense. It’s hard to keep turning that on and off. It’s a confidence thing. It’s a trust thing.”

This story was originally published January 19, 2016 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Northern Iowa searches for answers to MVC shooting slump."