After earning a pair of hard-fought victories in its last two Missouri Valley Conference games, Northern Iowa could have an easier time with Southern Illinois in town.
The No. 24 Panthers look to maintain their comfortable lead atop the conference standings with a seventh consecutive home victory over the Salukis on Saturday.
Four days after rallying to win 55-54 at Missouri State, Northern Iowa (20-2, 11-1) overcame a 38.0-percent shooting effort to beat visiting Wichita State 59-56 on Wednesday.
While their latest victory avenged the Panthers' only league loss, it also extended their lead in the MVC to three games over the second-place Shockers. Northern Iowa has won four in a row since that defeat at Wichita last month, and remains in good position to claim its second straight conference title.
As has been the case throughout the season, the Panthers' defense had a hand in the victory. Ranked third in the nation allowing 55.1 points per contest, Northern Iowa held Wichita to four points during a 9 1/2-minute stretch in the first half and thwarted the Shockers' late rally to hold on for their 11th straight home win.
"We just talk about being more aggressive in everything we do,'' said Panthers coach Ben Jacobson, whose team allowed an opponent to shoot at least 40 percent for the second time in nine games.
Kwadzo Ahelegbe had 15 of his 18 points in the second half and leading scorer Jordan Eglseder added 15 as the Panthers prevailed despite shooting less than 40 percent for the first time since winning 61-49 at Southern Illinois on Jan. 6.
Northern Iowa shot 38.8 in that contest, but held the Salukis (13-9, 5-7) to their fewest points of the season on 34.6 percent shooting to claim its fourth consecutive victory overall in the series. SIU is shooting 35.6 percent and averaging 51.0 points in those four defeats.
The Panthers have fared better offensively during their six-game home winning streak over the Salukis, averaging 70.2 points on 47.0 percent shooting during that span.
Eglseder, averaging 12.7 points and 7.9 rebounds this season, had 17 with 14 boards last month against the Salukis. The senior 7-footer has scored 17 points in each of last his last two contests against SIU while posting 23 rebounds in those games.
The Salukis should have the full services of leading scorer Kevin Dillard for this contest after he didn't start the teams' last meeting for violating team rules. The sophomore was held to six points in a season-low 23 minutes in that game.
Averaging a team-leading 13.7 points this season, Dillard will likely need to break out after scoring 21 combined in his last two games overall.
Gene Teague had a career-high 16 points with eight rebounds in SIU's 73-67 home win over Missouri State on Wednesday. The 6-foot-9 freshman is averaging 5.1 points and 4.1 rebounds this season but 12.3 with 9.2 boards in his last four contests as a starter.
"The big man gives us a chance every possession, either with a basket or a foul," coach Chris Lowery told the Salukis' official Web site.
SIU has lost two in a row against ranked opponents since beating No. 14 Drake 65-62 on Feb. 13, 2008.
