Southern Illinois Salukis @ Northern Iowa Panthers
Northern Iowa stays perfect at home with 64-52 win
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Austin Phyfe had 17 points, 18 rebounds and five assists to help lift Northern Iowa to a 64-52 win over Southern Illinois on Sunday, the Panthers' 15th consecutive home victory.
The Panthers (23-5, 12-4) have a one-game lead over Loyola Chicago in the Missouri Valley Conference with two games remaining. The Salukis (16-13, 10-6) dropped into a third-place tie with Bradley.
Isaiah Brown added 15 points for Northern Iowa (23-5, 12-4 Missouri Valley Conference).
Southern Illinois led 34-26 at halftime but scored a season-low 18 points in the second half when Northern Iowa used a 20-0 run to take control at 60-43 with four minutes left.
Barret Benson had 11 points for the Salukis (16-13, 10-6) as did Eric McGill. Lance Jones had 10 points.
The Panthers leveled the season series against the Salukis with the win. Southern Illinois defeated Northern Iowa 68-66 on Jan. 22.
Northern Iowa matches up against Evansville at home on Wednesday. Southern Illinois takes on Indiana State at home on Wednesday.
---
For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP-Top25
---
Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
Game Information
Cedar Falls, IA
Referee:Don Daily
Referee:James Durham
Referee:Brooks Wells
2025-26 Standings
| Missouri Valley ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont | 16-4 | - | 26-6 |
| Bradley | 13-7 | 3 | 21-13 |
| Illinois State | 12-8 | 4 | 23-13 |
| Murray State | 12-8 | 4 | 20-13 |
| UIC | 12-8 | 4 | 19-16 |
| Northern Iowa | 11-9 | 5 | 23-13 |
| Valparaiso | 11-9 | 5 | 18-15 |
| Southern Illinois | 10-10 | 6 | 16-16 |
| Drake | 6-14 | 10 | 14-20 |
| Indiana State | 4-16 | 12 | 11-21 |
| Evansville | 3-17 | 13 | 7-25 |
Men's College Basketball News

UConn's Solo Ball to have wrist surgery, miss all of next season
3h

Florida center Rueben Chinyelu to test NBA draft waters
4h

Val Ackerman, who guided Big East after team exodus, to retire
3h

