The McLeod Center in Cedar Falls hosts the first intrastate men’s basketball matchup of the season as UNI hosts Iowa State. The Cyclones are off to a 4-1 start and will be looking to snap a ten game losing streak on the road.

The Panthers are 4-2 after a win over Auburn and coach Ben Jacobsen says his team needs to get better at the defensive end. Jacobsen says they have to find a way to get better defensively and rebound better. Jacobsen says if they can force teams to go to their second and third option and have longer possessions, then he says they can make some progress.

UNI won last year’s matchup in Ames but Jacobsen says this is a more experienced Cyclone squad. Jacobsen says the key for the Panthers will be defense and rebounding, as he says they’ve lost when they haven’t done those things well. The Panthers have won the last two games in the series that Iowa State leads 34-9.