Preview: ISU vs UNI

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(Photo courtesy of www.gosycamores.com)

The Indiana State University Sycamores (21-8, 12-5 MVC) will play the University of Northern Iowa Panthers (15-14, 9-8 MVC) this Saturday, February 29, 2014, at The Hulman Center at 1:05 p.m. (ET). (Television ESPNU) It will be Senior Day honoring four very popular seniors. Jake Odum, Manny Arop, Lucas Eitel, and Dawon Cummings will be playing their final game in front of the Sycamore Nation.

This game has many interesting pieces to it. Northern Iowa is playing for a 3 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tourney and a win over the Sycamores would secure the third seed. Coach Ben Jacabson can tie the all-time number of wins for a coach at Northern Iowa if the Panthers beat the Sycamores. Obviously, Senior Day and this game will be in front of a national audience, and it is important for the four seniors to go out with a win. Indiana State needs to snap a two game losing streak and gain some momentum for the MVC Tourney. The stakes are high and this game should prove to be a quality MVC match-up.

The Coaches:

INDIANA STATE: Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990)
- at Indiana State: 77-52 (Fourth Season)
- Overall: 77-52 (Fourth Season)
- vs. Illinois State: 5-2
- vs. MVC: 41-30

NORTHERN IOWA: Ben Jacobson (University of North Dakota, 1994)
-at Norther Iowa: 165-100 (8th Season)
-Panther head coach Ben Jacobson needs one more win to move into a tie for the all-time coaching wins mark at UNI. O.M. “Hon” Nordly won 166 games from 1938-43 and 1946-54

ALL-TIME SERIES
Indiana State leads the all-time series vs. UNI, 26-21.
Indiana State has won five of the last six meetings between the two schools.
UNI is 6-16 all-time at the Hulman Center. However, UNI is 6-6 in its last 12 games at the Hulman Center.
UNI’s last win in the Hulman Center came on Jan. 24, 2010, when the Panthers posted a 67-58 win over the Sycamores.

Key Players:

Indiana State - Jake Odum, Justin Gant, Khristian Smith and Dawon Cummings

Northern Iowa - Seth Tuttle, Nate Buss, Deon Mitchell, and Matt Bohannon

Keys to Winning:

Indiana State: Indiana State needs to improve their defensive intensity and shooting percentage if they are going to defeat the Panthers. The Sycamores have really been in a funk the last two games and they need to raise the intensity in the friendly confines of The Hulman Center. The Sycamores have lost only once at home this year and they can’t afford to lose this one going into next week’s Arch Madness. The Trees need to contain Tuttle on the inside. Interior defense lacked in the last game with ISU’s Lynch wreaking havoc in the paint. Tuttle has more experience than Lynch and it should be an interesting battle on the boards. Kitchell and Gant need to bring their “A” game. Jake Odum must lead his team on Senior Day and help his team regain that style of play that has made this a successful season.

Northern Iowa: The Panthers will have to contain Odum and Cummings on the perimeter. Tuttle will need to get as many touches in the paint as possible. Northern Iowa will have plenty of motivation for this game and will have to play their best to beat the second place Sycamores. The Panthers have not been great on the road this year and this game will prove to be one of the toughest road games on their schedule.

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