FINAL: Northern Iowa 69, UNLV 66

Wow. What a finish. Again. Hyperbole warning: This is the greatest first day ever in the history of the NCAA Tournament. UNI fans are chanting "Ali! Ali!" This must be what it felt like when Ali fought in the Garden. Except not even close.

2nd Half, :0.7 left; Northern Iowa 69, UNLV 66

Down goes Frazier! Ali with the knockout punch! Seriously, though. Ali Farokhmanesh just nailed a bomb from NBA range. Rebels have a prayer, but that's about it.

2nd Half, :35.0 left; UNLV 66, Northern Iowa 66

Huge three by Bellfield! Tie ball game. Could be looking at our second overtime game o the day. UNI playing for last shot.

2nd Half, 1:22 left; Northern Iowa 66, UNLV 63

UNLV's going to have to get a couple stops here and find some way -- any way -- to get inside the stifling Northern Iowa defense. On the floor for the Panthers: Kwadzo Ahelegbe, Ali Farokhmanesh, Johnny Moran, Lucas O'Rear and Adam Koch.

2nd Half, 3:37 left; Northern Iowa 62, UNLV 61

Alright, so the Rebels are scoring at will now. It's not my fault they're hitting guarded shots. Seriously, though, UNLV is hitting everything right now. Four players are in double figures for the Rebels, to just two for Northern iowa. Jordan Eglseder has disappeared offensively this half.

2nd Half, 5:03 left; Northern Iowa 60, UNLV 56

Alright, so it took the Rebels like a minute-and-a-half to score another four points. The original argument stands though, that the Panthers are playing hellacious defense right now.

Photo Gallery

NCAA: Day 2 Game Photos

Photos from the first three games on Thursday afternoon from Oklahoma City, Okla.

2nd Half, 7:43 left; Northern Iowa 53, UNLV 49

It's starting to feel like Northern Iowa's ball game. Not because they're going to score more than UNLV from here out. Because UNLV might not score four points over the next eight minutes. The Panthers' defense is really tightening up.

2nd Half, 10:19 left; Northern Iowa 50, UNLV 48

UNLV is still pushing the tempo, but Ali Farokhmanesh is having a day from beyond the arc. He just hit a clutch three to answer one from UNLV's Oscar Bellfield. Bellfield had a hand in Farokhmanesh's face but didn't get enough of it apparently. UNI is stifling the paint, but the Rebels are still hitting from outside to keep themselves in it.

2nd Half, 15:46 left; Northern Iowa 39, UNLV 38

It wasn't one of their patented shutout runs, but the Panthers held UNLV scoreless for the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second half, establishing a three point lead for themselves. Anthony marshall ended the run with a put back dunk, but it was a microcosm of what Northern Iowa can do defensively.

2nd Half, 18:44 left; Northern Iowa 37, UNLV 36

Perfect start to the half for UNI. They come out, get a stop, use the entire shot clock and Adam Koch gets a bucket. They didn't control the tempo in the first half and they still came out of it down just one. Koch, the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year, had just four points. If Koch starts going and the Panthers can keep this at a relatively slow pace, this game could start to go really well for UNI.

HALFTIME: UNLV 36, Northern Iowa 35

UNLV scored the last five points of the half to pull back in front of the Panthers. Matt Shaw and Trevon Willis have both been electric for the Rebels, combining for 23 of the team's 36 points. Those two are the only scorers in double figures, but UNI's Jordan Eglseder (9) and Ali Farokhmanesh (8) aren't far away.

1st Half, 1:02 left; Northern Iowa 35, UNLV 31

Johnny Moran, UNI's backup point, just left the game with what appeared to be cramps. He's been having a good game for the Panthers, though, so his injury could play a major role in this game.

1st Half, 3:25 left; UNLV 31, UNI 29

Northern iowa took a brief 29-26 lead, but on the strength of a huge Matt Shaw dunk, the Runnin' Rebels are now back in the lead. Jordan Eglseder has been doing most of the dirty work for the Panthers, with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting. For UNLV, Shaw has come off the bench to lead the team with 12.

1st Half, 7:29 left; UNLV 24, UNI 20

The Rebels have a surprisingly rabid fan base here to go along with maybe the creepiest mascot I've ever seen. The funny thing about their fan base -- in Oklahoma City, at least -- is that I haven't seen a single college kid. It consists entirely of middle-aged people, some of whom paint their faces and cheer just as devoutly as most students.

Does this say something about Vegas? I don't know.

1st Half, 10:18 left; UNLV 18, UNI 12

If Northern Iowa doesn't start figuring this out quickly, it could get ugly in a hurry. The Runnin' Rebels are just controlling the game right now, with six unanswered points and possession, after flustering the Panthers into a turnover on the inbounds.

1st Half, 11:24 left; UNLV 12, Northern Iowa 10

The Panthers are starting to do a much better job of playing to their own strengths, but UNLV has been effectively using a full court press to goose the tempo a little bit. UNI will be going to the line once this media timeout ends with two shots to tie it.

1st Half, 16:44 left; UNLV 6, Northern Iowa 3

Northern Iowa is settling for a lot of quick shots right now, but coach Ben Jacobson should be able to get his team to slow it down. UNLV is playing to their pace exceedingly well, and they've gotten a couple quick buckets in transition.

Pregame; 5:00 to tip

This game is going to come down to which team controls the tempo. If Northern Iowa can play to its agonizingly slow pace, the Panthers will be able to control the game with their solid post play. If UNLV has success running the floor, though, it will be a different story.