The UNI men open the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament today in St. Louis against Bradley. The Panthers are the fifth seed in the tournament and after struggling during the second half of the season the Panthers head into the tournament with a two game winning streak.

UNI coach Ben Jacobson says that’s huge as he says they had played very hard and practiced hard, but were losing games. Jacobson says having a week to prepare has been beneficial.

The Panthers won both regular season matchup with the Braves, including a victory last week in Peoria. Bradley finished 10-8 in the Valley and 20-11 overall. The Panthers are 18-12 overall.