ESPN2 To Showcase UNI’s Game At North Carolina

The UNI men's basketball team will be showcased on ESPN2 when the Panthers make their first trip to North Carolina next season.

UNI toppled the No. 1-ranked Tar Heels at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, 71-67, last season. The second meeting between the two teams will be played at the Dean E. Smith Center -- also known as The Dean Dome -- in Chapel Hill, N.C., at 6 p.m. (CT) on Dec. 21, 2016.

The Tar Heels, under head coach Roy Williams, finished second to Villanova in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. North Carolina lost the national championship game on a last-second shot, falling 77-74.

UNI returns five letterwinners and two starters from a 2015-16 team that won 23 games and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. UNI is one of 13 teams to have won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament and accumulate 54 combined wins over the past two seasons (UNI, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oregon, Villanova, Wichita State, Wisconsin and Virginia).

The Panthers have had 12 20-win seasons in program history – 10 of those 20-win seasons have come since 2003-04. UNI head coach Ben Jacobson is entering his 11th season at the helm of the Panther program having posted a career mark of 220-118.

December's game will mark the 25th time the Panthers have appeared on ESPN2 since the 2004-05 season. UNI made two appearances on the network last season, coming away with a home court victory over Stephen F. Austin and a road win at Wichita State.