The Northern Iowa Panthers are on the road in Missouri Valley Conference action to take on Illinois State. The Panthers are 2-1 in the league race after a loss at Indiana State and take on a Redbird team that is off to a 3-0 start in the Valley.

Panther coach Ben Jacobsen says Illinois State is playing well on both ends of the court. he says the film shows they are very good on the offensive end, but he says they also showed they can get it done on the defensive end of the floor.

Illinois State is 11-3 overall under first year coach Tim Jankovich, who says things have gone better than they could have hoped for. But Jankovich says it’s a long season. Illinois State is coming off a win at home against Southern Illinois. He says when you look at the numbers, you can tell UNI will be a great test, as tough a game as they will face.