The UNI men traveled to Honolulu this past week to play in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. They lost two games in heartbreaking fashion, falling to Liberty 76-74 and Wyoming, 71-69.

After their first two contests, they were set to play the host of the tournament, the University of Hawai'i. According to an email from the Panther athletic department, "The Rainbow Warriors have a limited number of players available for the game as a result of injuries and COVID-related issues."

Following this cancellation, the Panthers' next game was scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 29 against Wartburg College in the McLeod Center.

The matchup would have been another opportunity for the Panthers to right the ship, as they've started the season with a 4-7 record despite high expectations. The game would have counted for UNI's record, but for the Knights, it would go down as an exhibition.

As of this morning, this contest was canceled as well. Wartburg has a limited number of players available for the game as a result of COVID-related issues.

Now, the purple and gold won't play again until January 2, when they'll take on Evansville at home. This will be their first Missouri Valley Conference home game of 2021-2022.

The Purple Aces are 4-8 so far this season, currently ranking last in the MVC standings. They have the worst scoring margin (-4), field goal percentage (41%), field goal percentage allowed (46.4%), and rebounding margin (-3.4) in the conference. They also have the fewest assists (124).

Though UNI has had no reported COVID cases of their own this season, they have had health issues disrupt their rotation.

Trae Berhow and assistant coach Seth Tuttle both came down with an illness that kept them stateside while the team played in Hawai'i, Antwan Kimmons wasn't able to go much of their time out west, and Austin Phyfe has had lingering health problems due to contracting COVID earlier in 2021.

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