Coming into this powerful mid-major matchup (could you really call it mid-major at this point?), the Northern Iowa Panthers knew what they would have to do to knock off the defending Missouri Valley champion Wichita State Shockers: use Seth Tuttle the the fullest. The big man had led them all year with his work ethic, keeping them in games and rattling the rim. Today, in front of a sellout crowd of 7,050 in the McLeod Center, Tuttle exploded for 29 points to lead his Panthers to the lead in the conference, potentially a changing of the guard for the once dominant Shockers.
The first 7 points for UNI were scored by Tuttle, setting the tone for the day. He was 9-13 inside, while nailing numerous free throws down the stretch, using his imposing 6 foot 8 inch frame to strike fear into the Shockers' hearts. He wasn't the only star of the night, of course, as Wes Washpun hit some key jumpers to keep the Panthers consistently out front. A 13-3 run led entirely by Washpun and Tuttle in the final 5 minutes of the 1st half drove the lead to 37-24 at the break, as the Northern Iowa fans were raucous.
Tuttle gave UNI another auspicious start coming out of the break, scoring their first 8 points in the 2nd half. Wichita State's Fred Van Vleet was aggressive in getting to the paint and getting easy trips to the charity stripe, but it wasn't enough for the Shockers, as Wooden Award candidate Ron Baker struggled mightily shooting. Exceptionally poor offense under the basket was killer for the Wheatshockers, dooming them to a 70-54 loss to their newfound rival.
This was a massive disappointment for Wichita State, a team that had an undefeated regular season last year before losing in the NCAA tournament to championship runner-up Kentucky. Their bench only contributed 7 total points, mostly from forward Shaquille Morris. Darius Carter and Tekele Cotton were both expected to be massive contributers today, but both failed miserably at their tasks. As a sign of desperation, the Shockers instituted the full-court press often, but were still ripped to shreds by the efficient and quick-minded Panthers.
As for Northern Iowa, they are Wichita State's first loss to a Missouri Valley opponent since losing to Creighton in the Missouri Valley championship game 2 years ago, before their Final Four run in 2013. Seth Tuttle has established himself as one of the best big men in the country, while he has an impressive cast around him. Watch for the Panthers to potentially make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.
The Shockers will try to patch their leaky holes when they head to Bradley on Wednesday, while the Panthers, who will surely rise high in the AP poll this week, will journey to Indiana State on Tuesday.