Northern Iowa @ Wisconsin-Milwaukee

[BradleyBrave]

We are not currently a top 3 team in the Valley.

Maybe some of the Top 3 Valley teams this year will suck. Starting to look possible. Not everybody can play on Thursday night.

I think this is correct. 2-7 or even 2-8 is going to be a mish-mosh of average to below average I am afraid. Sorry Trees, that includes you too.

[PantherSigEp]

At this moment, if UNI played the MVC season like they played that 2nd half then we might actually get to familiarize ourselves with Thursday night for the first time in what seems like forever. If they manage to figure out some of those offensive issues where everyone forgets what a basket is for 5 straight minutes and can begin to cope with the way most games are going to be called on defense then I think we will be just fine. However, I'd rather be a lot better than "just fine". The Panthers have one thing that none of the other potential Thursday night teams have, Ben Jacobson. That alone gives me the confidence that things will begin to shape up as the season progresses.

The lack of size in the post is really starting to irk me though. I really hoped that Friedman was more prepared for the game considering that all indications from summer practices were that he was just as effective on offense and defense in the post as Tuttle. I wasn't expecting a 2nd Tuttle, but I was hoping for a recordable stat besides personal fouls.

[Cdizzle]

The Panthers have one thing that none of the other potential Thursday night teams have, Ben Jacobson. That alone gives me the confidence that things will begin to shape up as the season progresses.

I've always thought Jacobson was a pretty good coach, but my belief is fading pretty quickly at this point. Not much going on in Cedar Falls the past 3+ years.

[m-v-c]

The Panthers have one thing that none of the other potential Thursday night teams have, Ben Jacobson. That alone gives me the confidence that things will begin to shape up as the season progresses.

I've always thought Jacobson was a pretty good coach, but my belief is fading pretty quickly at this point. Not much going on in Cedar Falls the past 3+ years.

Think he's a good coach, but think it's becoming fair to question if they can bring in enough talent to the program. UNI never plays a pretty style, but in the past it had enough firepower to be a top 2-3 team regularly. That has started to slide...they're still going to be a tough out at home most of the time, but not enough there to win consistently anywhere.

[Ricardo del Rio]

I am most surprised.

The Cats have always been so tough.

I know their style like the back of my hand.

[UNIFanSince1983]

The style is different this year. You will notice our games have been more high scoring. We try to get out in transition more. However, we have not been good rebounding or playing defense which makes it hard to get transition buckets. Both Deon and Wes are really good in the open court, but we haven't been getting in the open court recently due to a lack of rebounding.

I think we are young and CAN get it turned around. Problem is we will pull one of the classic do poorly in OOC but finally put it together in conference to screw some teams over.

[Ricardo del Rio]

The style is different this year. You will notice our games have been more high scoring. We try to get out in transition more. However, we have not been good rebounding or playing defense which makes it hard to get transition buckets. Both Deon and Wes are really good in the open court, but we haven't been getting in the open court recently due to a lack of rebounding.

I think we are young and CAN get it turned around. Problem is we will pull one of the classic do poorly in OOC but finally put it together in conference to screw some teams over.

If the current style is not working out, maybe a return to your previous style might not be all bad.

Still it is hard to believe that you are 2-4 in D-1 games.

[2livewu]

Sadly, 2-4 might look pretty good at the end of December for the Panthers.