There are five teams with two losses in the Missouri Valley Conference race and two of them meet tonigh when UNI visits Missouri State. The Panthers are 4-2 in the Valley and have not played since last Friday’s loss to Creighton. Missouri State is 5-2 in the league race.
UNI coach Ben Jacobson says the Bears are very experienced with mostly juniors and seniors in their top eight. Jacobson says they’re balanced and that makes it hard to focus on any one player. Over the years Missouri State has been tough to beat at home but a victory Thursday night would be the Panther’s third straight in Springfield.
Jacobson says the three guys who have been on those winning teams have some confidence to go there and play well, but he doesn’t know if that will impact the rest of the team. Missourui State coach Barry Hinson says the Bears are not well aware of UNI’s winning streak. Hinson says they’ve had "their tails whipped" the last few times they’ve played the Panthers. He says they hope to make it less comfortable for UNI this time.
Hinson says they expect to matchup with a confident Panther squad. He says they’ll probably have more confidence than his team based on the past games. UNI is 13-4 overall. Missouri State is 14-4.