Jacobs grad Moran relishing another NCAA opportunity

When University of Northern Iowa men's basketball coach Ben Jacobson was recruiting Johnny Moran of Algonquin three years ago, he told the Jacobs High School star he could expect to make multiple NCAA Tournament appearances if he chose to play college basketball in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Jacobson knew what he was talking about.

Moran and the Panthers will make their second straight appearance in the big dance and fifth in seven seasons when No. 9 Northern Iowa (28-4) plays No. 8 UNLV (25-8) in a first-round Midwest regional matchup at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City tonight at 7:10 p.m.

"I believed in him and so far he's held to his word," said Moran, now a starting sophomore guard for the Panthers. "It's a lot of fun. You couldn't ask for much more than going to the tournament two years in a row."

UNI was the No. 12 seed in the West region last season but was bounced from the tournament in the first round by Purdue, 61-56. The Panthers cut a 14-point second-half deficit to 2 points but were unable to complete the comeback.

With the entire starting five back from that team - Moran, senior Adam Koch (6-foot-8), senior Jordan Eglseder (7-0), senior guard Ali Farokhmanesh (6-0) and junior guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe (6-2) - along with two-time Missouri Valley Conference Sixth Man of the Year, junior Lucas O'Rear (6-6), the Panthers are aiming for better than one and done this time around.

"I think our expectations are a little different this time," Moran said. "We're definitely looking forward to this game and, hopefully, making some noise in this tournament. We got matched up against a pretty good team, but we're definitely looking forward to it."

Moran has started 30 of 32 games this season, sitting only for 2 February games while he healed from rib and ankle injuries. The 6-1 three-guard is averaging 5.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

A two-time Honorary Co-Captain of the Daily Herald All Area Team in the Fox Valley, Moran can still score, as evidenced by his 17-point night in a 70-52 win over Creighton on Feb. 22. However, Moran has focused this season on his defense. He leads Northern Iowa with 33 steals.

"He's been extremely consistent defensively," Jacobson said. "The thing that he continues to add to our team is his toughness: his willingness to take charges and dive for loose balls. He's been doing that since he set foot on campus two years ago and he just keeps bringing it. That has made a huge difference in our program."

Moran is part of the reason the Panthers limit opponents to only 54.3 points per game. UNI has allowed an opponent 70 points just once (in an 84-76 win against Missouri State on Jan. 3).

"Defensive is definitely our strong point," Moran said. "We work on our defense all the time. Toward the end of the year we were ranked second in the country. Defensively, I'm just more comfortable. I learned a lot last year with all the experiences that I had."

The Panthers used defense to win their second straight Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles. Offensively, they average 63.3 points per game, the second-lowest scoring average of any tournament team. Will the Panthers' consistent defense be enough to knock off UNLV, thereby avoiding the program's fifth straight first-round tournament exit?

"We're really going to have to defend," Jacobson said. "and we're really going to have to guard and rebound the ball. Fundamentally, we're going to have to be good at both ends of the floor. We've given ourselves a chance, really, every night this year because of our defensive rebounding."

Moran, whose parents, Jim and Rita, and oldest brother, Jim, will be in Oklahoma City tonight, knows a win would likely mean a second-round matchup on Saturday against No. 1 overall seed Kansas (32-2).

"We're obviously taking it one game at a time, but if we do match up against them I think it would be a great opportunity to play against the best team in the country," Moran said. "I don't think we'd be too intimidated by them. They're definitely a great team, but we think we're one of the better teams in the country this year too."