Only one other UNI men's basketball team has had the kind of start the current one has had through the first 25 games. The 13th-ranked Panthers equalled the best start in program history with an 83-64 victory over Illinois State Wednesday night (February 11, 2015).

Seth Tuttle (Sheffield, Iowa) scored a game-high 23 points and Deon Mitchell (Pflugerville, Texas) added 12 as UNI extended its winning streak to 12 games. The victory was also the Panthers' 16th-straight at home dating back to last season.

UNI Basketball - Paul Jesperson
Photo By: Elwin Huffman - Waterloo Broadcasting
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The only other time UNI (23-2 overall, 12-1 MVC) had a start this good was 52 years ago. The 1963-64 team also began the season 23-2.

The Panthers dominated Illinois State Wednesday night, taking control of the game early with a pair of first-half runs. The first, a 13-2 stretch, broke a 13-all tie and extended UNI's lead to 26-15 at the 12:32 mark. Later, an 11-2 run grew the margin to 43-24 with 3:19 left.

UNI's first-half lead grew as large as 20 points before the half ended. The Panthers went to the lockerrom with a 50-33 advantage and built their edge to 25 points in the second half. They drained a season-high 12 three-pointers in the win.

The loss was Illinois State's ninth-in-a-row in cedar Falls. The Redbirds (15-10 overall, 7-6 MVC) are one of three Missouri Valley Conference teams still winless at the McLeod Center.

Wednesday's game between UNI and Illinois State played out much differently than the teams' earlier meeting in Normal, Ill. On January 25th, Nate Buss' three-pointer with :05.2 lifted the Panthers to a 54-52 victory at Redbird Arena. The Panthers closed that the game with a 15-2 run as they rallied from a 12-point deficit, their largest of the season.

UP NEXT: UNI plays at Missouri State at 3 p.m. Sunday. The game will be televised by ESPNU.

NOTES: Deon Mitchell was a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range ... UNI's bench scored 36 points - marking the 12th time this season that UNI's bench has scored 30 or more points in a game ... UNI head coach Ben Jacobson won his 99th MVC game on Wednesday ... Jacobson will look to become the eighth coach in MVC history to win 100 league games on Sunday vs. Missouri State.

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