GAME NOTES: The Northern Iowa Panthers take to the road to do battle with the Indiana State Sycamores in a Missouri Valley Conference tilt at the Hulman Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers have won four of their last five games, including their last two. On Wednesday night, they downed Southern Illinois at home, 73-54. They are tied for third place in the MVC with Illinois State and Missouri State.

Indiana State has locked up second place in the conference. The team recently fell to Illinois State in a 77-59 final also on Wednesday night. That was the second straight loss for the Sycamores, who before that had won four in a row.

Indiana State owns a 26-21 edge in the all-time series with Northern Iowa, including wins in the last three matchups dating back to last season. The Sycamores have won six of the last seven encounters with the Panthers, and they are seeking their third season series sweep in the last four years.

Seth Tuttle scored 19 points on 6-of-8 field goal shooting to go with seven rebounds and seven assists, as the Panthers handled the Southern Illinois Salukis earlier in the week. Matt Bohannon scored 17 points and Jeremy Morgan added 15 for the Panthers. Northern Iowa led 32-25 at the break and the Panthers connected on 53.8 percent of their shots from the field in the second period, including 7-of-15 from beyond the arc. The lead was never in question, as the Salukis never got within eight points of the Panthers.

Tuttle tops Northern Iowa in scoring this season with a 15.2 ppg average on 51.4 percent shooting. Tuttle has proven to be one of the more well-rounded players for the Panthers, averaging a team-leading 7.9 rpg and adding 66 assists, 30 blocked shots and 26 steals to his stat line. Deon Mitchell is second on the squad in scoring with 12.4 ppg and adds 101 assists, Buss checks in at third with 10.5 ppg and is shooting even better than Tuttle at 53.4 percent, and Bohannon rounds out the double-digit scorers with 10.1 ppg. Wes Washpun tops the team with 107 assists. As a collective unit, the Panthers are scoring 73.3 ppg, second-best in the MVC, and giving up 69.6 ppg.

Dawon Cummings finished with 12 points for the Sycamores in their recent loss to Illinois State. The Redbirds shot 53.3 percent from the floor in the first period, including 6-of-13 from 3-point range, as they led 42-26 at the half. Indiana State struggled and made 36.7 percent of its field goal tries, missing all eight of its shots from beyond the arc. Despite shooting only 36.4 percent from the field in the second half, the Redbirds felt no pressure from the Sycamores as Illinois State led by 12 or more for the entire frame.

The Sycamores score a healthy 71.4 ppg, third-best in the conference, and they have also been relying heavily on their defensive pressure, which limits opponents to 67.3 ppg. Jake Odum accounts for an even 13 ppg and is first with 130 assists, Manny Arop scores 11.1 ppg, Khristian Smith adds 11.0 ppg and 4.4 rpg to the cause, followed by Cummings with 10.1 ppg.

Both of these squads have potent offenses, so expect a high-scoring affair. The Sycamores have the edge on defense, and they have been almost unbeatable at home while the Panthers have struggled on the road. Taken together, that all adds up to a decided advantage for Indiana State.