Who’s Playing
N. Iowa Panthers @ Wash. State Cougars
Current Records: N. Iowa 7-4, Wash. State 9-3
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 4 p.m. ET
- Where: Orleans Arena — Paradise, Nevada
- TV: FloSports
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
What to Know
N. Iowa has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the Wash. State Cougars in a holiday battle at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at at Orleans Arena. The Panthers are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 78.9 points per game this season.
N. Iowa is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Montana, posting a 104-76 victory. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matches by 19 points or more this season.
Leon Bond III had a dynamite game for N. Iowa, going 12 for 15 en route to 37 points plus two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacob Hutson, who went 11 for 15 en route to 24 points.
N. Iowa was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Montana only posted ten.
Meanwhile, Wash. State unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Wednesday. The contest between them and Washington wasn’t particularly close, with Wash. State falling 89-73.
Despite their loss, Wash. State saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Ethan Price, who scored 16 points along with six rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. Another player making a difference was Nate Calmese, who had 21 points in addition to five rebounds.
N. Iowa pushed their record up to 7-4 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. As for Wash. State, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-3.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. N. Iowa hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 78.9 points per game. However, it’s not like Wash. State struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 81.3. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
N. Iowa didn’t have too much breathing room in their matchup against Wash. State when the teams last played back in December of 2015, but they still walked away with a 63-59 victory. Does N. Iowa have another victory up their sleeve, or will Wash. State turn the tables on them? We’ll have the answer soon enough.
Series History
N. Iowa won the only game these two teams have played in the last 9 years.
- Dec 23, 2015 – N. Iowa 63 vs. Wash. State 59
