CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – An elbow jump shot by Johnny Kinziger with 12 seconds left in the game pushed Illinois State ahead for good in a 71-69 win on Wednesday night, securing the season sweep of the Northern Iowa Panthers – ISU's first sweep in the series since 2016-17.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In a defensive-minded first half, the Redbirds led for most of the period – 15:06 in all over the opening 20 minutes – with ISU leading by as many as five with 9:12 to play in the half. The Redbirds forced the Panthers into nine straight misses as part of a six-minute scoreless stretch in the middle of the period. Northern Iowa took their first lead of the game as part of a stretch where the hosts made five consecutive shots, as the Panthers pushed ahead to a four-point lead with 5:33 to play in the first half. Over the final five and a half minutes of the first half, ISU outscored the hosts 14-5 to take a five-point, 28-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Redbird lead grew to its high mark of seven points, two minutes into the second half, before the hosts ran off an 18-6 run, extending the lead to eight, as the Panthers made their first seven three-point shots of the second half. Trailing by seven, ISU ran off nine consecutive points, bookended by three-pointers from Jack Daugherty and Johnny Kinziger, to re-take the lead for the Redbirds at 50-48. The Panthers got a lay-up with 23 seconds remaining to push ahead by one at 69-68, before Kinziger answered back with a jumper with 12 seconds to play to put the Redbirds back ahead at 70-69. The Redbirds forced a turnover on Northern Iowa's next possession, and a made free throw by Kinziger secured the result for the Birds.
KEY STATISTICS / NOTES
- The Redbirds opened with the starting lineup of 3 Mason Klabo, 4 Landon Wolf, 11 Johnny Kinziger, 14 Boden Skunberg, and 35 Chase Walker
- This is ISU's fourth game with this starting lineup
- ISU wore its throwback red uniform
- Illinois State won the opening tip
- ISU's first points of the game came from Mason Klabo on a three-pointer with 17:56 on the first half clock
- This game was the third time that he has scored the Redbirds' first points
- Illinois State led 28-to-23 at halftime
- With the win, the Redbirds even the all-time series with Northern Iowa, each school with 47 wins, while the Redbirds
- Boden Skunberg scored in double-figures with 14 points, the 16th time scoring in double-digits this season for the graduate student
- He pulled down eight rebounds, the seventh time he has grabbed 7+ rebounds in a game this season, and the seventh time he has led the Redbirds in the statistic
- After missing three games with an injury, Chase Walker came back with 13 points, his 18th game scoring in double-digits this year
- He dished out a game-high five assists, the fourth time this season he has led the Redbirds
- Walker tied his career-high with three steals
- Johnny Kinziger made 4-of-7 shots in the second half – 3-of-5 from long range – as he scored 14 points, his 21st time scoring in double figures this season
- The Redbirds are one of 24 schools in NCAA Division I this season to win a game against a NCAA Division I opponent that made 56.3 percent or better from long range
NEXT UP
The Redbirds return home to close out the 2025-26 regular season, when ISU hosts the Belmont Bruins in a 4 p.m. tip-off for senior day for the Birds.
