(St. Louis, MO) – For five Northern Iowa seniors, Sunday couldn’t come soon enough. This group had never won and Missouri Valley Conference tournament game prior to this tournament, and now they are the Arch Madness champions.
Player of the Year Seth Tuttle and his class mates endured the dark side of ‘one and done’ every year of their Panther careers, but those bitter memories faded away as they lifted the trophy and cut down the nets at Scottrade Center.
A dominating first half, played at Redbird speed, saw Illinois State build a 14 point lead (36-22) behind the offensive work of Daishon Knight and three blocked shots by Reggie Lynch. Sometimes the worst thing to happen to a team is half time.
Player of the Year Seth Tuttle came out of the Scottrade Center locker-room, like Superman out of a phone booth, and his Panther teammates followed suit. Roaring to a 25-4 run in the first nine minutes of the second half and the battle was on.
A 7-0 run by the Birds got it close again, but all tournament performer Nate Buss and Tuttle would not be denied. Buss scored eight second half points to finish with 15 and Tuttle, held to five first half points, became his Larry Bird Trophy winning self with 10 in the second frame. The seniors pushed them to a 69-60 win and the title.
After that brief ISU run, Jeremy Morgan hit two big threes that crushed the hearts of Redbird fans and stunted the momentum Dan Muller’s team was trying to gain.
Tuttle, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player, finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists says the big physical Redbirds had them a little out of rhythm in the first half, but now they have accomplished at least part of their team goals.
Morgan finished with nine points, all on three point baskets and also snatched three important steals. The sophomore wing thought the defensive stops were the key to the comeback. Buss was instrumental in keeping the team in the game in the first half. He says this weekend was something of a fresh start for him, because his personal season hasn’t been all that he had hoped.
The Northern Iowa seniors had never won a game in St. Louis and now they’ve won three and are heading to the NCAA tournament. That losing streak was motivation for the veterans, and now they have completely exercised the demons and are dancing for the first time in their careers.
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As we near the closing of the portal window, we've reached 1900. Some of them never to play college basketball again, earn a college degree and some to play at a much lower level than they did last season.
I guess we'll be seeing this in a @RacersHoops uniform this year. Glad AJ is staying in the @ValleyHoops.
