Murray State visits Northern Iowa following Goebel’s 32-point showing

By Canadian Press on January 22, 2026.

Murray State Racers (16-2, 7-0 MVC) at Northern Iowa Panthers (9-8, 5-2 MVC)

Cedar Falls, Iowa; Friday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Northern Iowa hosts Murray State after Ryley Goebel scored 32 points in Northern Iowa’s 73-70 victory over the Bradley Braves.

The Panthers have gone 3-3 in home games. Northern Iowa is 4-7 against opponents with a winning record.

The Racers are 7-0 in MVC play. Murray State is the MVC leader with 27.2 defensive rebounds per game led by Sharnecce Currie-Jelks averaging 9.4.

Northern Iowa is shooting 40.3% from the field this season, 2.9 percentage points lower than the 43.2% Murray State allows to opponents. Murray State averages 7.6 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.5 more makes per game than Northern Iowa allows.

The Panthers and Racers face off Friday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bri Robinson is averaging 9.5 points for the Panthers. Goebel is averaging 16.3 points and 8.9 rebounds while shooting 61.0% over the last 10 games.

Halli Poock is shooting 29.5% from beyond the arc with 2.0 made 3-pointers per game for the Racers, while averaging 20.3 points and 3.9 assists. Currie-Jelks is averaging 18.9 points, 14.3 rebounds, two steals and 1.8 blocks over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 6-4, averaging 69.4 points, 34.6 rebounds, 14.8 assists, 7.4 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 42.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.8 points per game.

Racers: 10-0, averaging 85.4 points, 38.9 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 7.8 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 43.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.6 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press

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