With the Missouri Valley Conference title in the bag the 24th ranked U.N.I. Panthers try to boost the national stature tonight when they host Old Dominion as part of the “Bracket Busters”, a series of games involving teams from mid-major conferences. Old Dominion is 21-7 overall and 13-3 in the Colonial Athletic Conference.

U.N.I. coach Ben Jacobson says they are an experienced team and a big team and he says there isn’t another national game on TV, so they’ll get a lot of exposure. Jacobsen says the Monarchs will provide a tough test. He says they beat Georgetown at Georgetown, a team that has been ranked all year. Jacobson says the Colonial Conference has five or six teams that are going to be in the NCAA tournament.

Senior guard Ali Farokhmanesh says the Panthers are excited about the chance to get national exposure. He says it will be a fun game and he hopes for a big crowd to see the game.

U.N.I. is 23-3 overall.