UNI and Iowa men meet in basketball

Northern Iowa visits Iowa tonight in an in-state college basketball matchup. The Panthers stunned the Hawkeyes a year ago in the UNI-Dome and Iowa coach Steve Alford says his team cannot afford to get outworked in this game. Alford says UNI out-toughed them last year, and that’s something he’s stressed. Alford says the inside duo of U-N-I’s David Gruber and Matt Schniederman is a concern.Alford says while the in-state games always provide added emotion last year’s game should be motivation enough. He says they remember the 78-76 score and want to change that.U-N-I coach Greg McDermott says while Gruber and Schniederman have been productive they need some help as they’ve scored 50-percent of the team’s field goals.McDermott says defending Iowa begins with slowing down senior guard Chauncey Leslie.McDermott was asked if last year’s win over the Hawks gives the Panthers some added confidence. He says both teams are very different, but he says there is some confidence in knowing they did beat Iowa last year.