Thriller in the Valley - Northern Iowa Returns the Favor

Last month it was Missouri State star Kyle Weems hitting the buzzer beater to give the Bears a one-point win at Northern Iowa.  Tonight, the Panthers returned the favor with two free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining to get the one-point win down in the Ozarks.

Weems nearly had his second game-winner.

Weems nearly served up an identical result when he hit a contested 18-foot baseline jumpshot to give the Bears the one-point lead with 18.2 on the clock.  However Northern Iowa's star Jake Koch, who had himself hit the go-ahead basket thirty seconds earlier, go a clean look from three.  The shot rimmed out, and Weems did a great job checking out a bigger man underneath, but it left 6'1'' Johnny Moran free to swoop in from the baseline corner to get a tip attempt.

Weems blocked the tip attempt, but committed the foul in the process.  Moran calmly stepped to the line and knocked home two clutch free throws that dramtically altered the future possibilities for the Panther's season.

Had Missouri State won the game, they would have moved to 10-1 in the MVC, three full games ahead of Northern Iowa.  Instead the Panthers pull even with Wichita State, with both now just one game behind Missouri State for the conference lead - and a near-certain NCAA at-large bid. 

In my projections the Valley is a two bid league, but without many marquee non-conference wins, it is very unlikely a three-bid league.  That makes tonight's dramatic win absolutely enormous for Northern Iowa and their chances to have once again conjure up some March Madness magic.  Fans in the Iowa plains are thrilled; Kansas Jayhawk fans perhaps not so much...

.
.