MOLINE, Ill. — It took a second to get the horses going, but Northern Iowa didn’t need long. A few warm-up minutes and the Panthers were off and rolling.
Backed by a balanced offensive effort and a consistent stream of defensive pressure, third-seeded UNI zoomed into the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinals with Friday’s 56-36 win over sixth-seeded Illinois State at the TaxSlayer Center.
With the win, the Panthers will face second-seeded Missouri State on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Bears knocked off Bradley, 76-68, in the evening's other quarterfinal.
UNI’s defensive prowess showed up with authority in its two regular-season wins over the Redbirds, and Friday was no different.