GAME NOTES: The Northern Iowa Panthers hope to bounce back from their first loss of the season when they face in-state rival Iowa on Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Iowa State and Drake will play the opener of the Big Four Classic, and the Panthers and Hawkeyes will tip things off 30 minutes after its completion.

The game cannot come soon enough for Northern Iowa, which dropped a heartbreaking 93-87 loss to VCU in double-overtime last Saturday. The Panthers rallied from an 11-point deficit with just over six minutes left in regulation and had a late lead, but Treveon Graham forced overtime with a layup.

Graham also made the go-ahead 3-pointer in the second OT as Northern Iowa had its season-opening, nine-game win streak come to an end. The loss also dropped the Panthers out of the Top-25.

Wes Washpun poured in a career-high 27 points, while Matt Bohannon added 18 for UNI, which turned it over 16 times and made just 14-of-23 (.609) at the free-throw line.

Even though the best start in school history is over, the Panthers have a lot to hang their hat on. They boast a balanced scoring attack and have a bench that ranks 12th in the country by averaging 32.4 points per game.

Seth Tuttle, who was limited to five points in 21 minutes against VCU, leads the way with 14.8 ppg and 6.4 rpg, while Washpun checks in with 12.2 ppg and 3.3 apg. Deon Mitchell, who netted his 1,000th career point the last time out, has struggled shooting the ball (.286), but still ranks third on the team in scoring at 7.0 ppg.

The Hawkeyes also had a win streak abruptly halted, as Iowa State laid down a 90-75 beating on them last Friday. Aaron White scored 18 points and Peter Jok netted 14 as Iowa had its win streak snapped at six games.

Iowa State scored 18 straight points early in the second half and held a comfortable 25-point lead at one point. Iowa led for only 49 seconds.

The Hawkeyes have done a terrific job at the defensive end, the setback to Iowa State notwithstanding. They are allowing a mere 58.1 points per game, while opponents are shooting just 35.6 percent from the field and 28 percent from 3-point range.

Aaron White and his 15.8 ppg on 55.4 percent shooting paces Iowa on the offensive side. His frontcourt mate, Jarrod Uthoff, is the only other player in double figures with 11.1 ppg. The two combine to average nearly 12 rpg. Despite shooting 30 percent from long range, the Hawkeyes are putting up 72.3 ppg.

Iowa leads the all-time series with UNI, 34-9, but the teams have split the last 12 meetings. The Panthers are steaming from blowing a winnable game against VCU, and the rival Hawkeyes will get the brunt of that frustration.