GAME NOTES: After opening-weekend wins, the Northern Iowa Panthers and the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks will clash in the ESPN 24-hour College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon on Tuesday morning in non-conference action at Williams R. Johnson Coliseum.

Northern Iowa cruised through the preseason with exhibition wins over Upper Iowa and Bemidji State, then won in the team's season-opener against North Dakota, 64-52. The Panthers were a popular pick in the preseason to challenge Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Stephen F. Austin started the 2014-15 campaign over the weekend with a convincing 75-49 victory over Mississippi College, which seems to be a continuation of the Lumberjacks' dominance from last season. SFA finished with a perfect 18-0 Southland Conference record in 2013-14.

The two programs have met just twice on the court in the all-time series, with Northern Iowa taking both of the decisions. The last time the programs played against each other was back in the 1990 season, in which UNI came away victorious, 120-96.

Northern Iowa on paper in the preseason looked to be just about as strong as any team in the Missouri Valley Conference, bringing back all five starters from a season ago, including senior forward Seth Tuttle - the MVC's active leader in scoring and rebounding. He's joined by talented players Deon Mitchell (12.1 ppg in 2013-14), Nate Buss (10.6 ppg), Matt Bohannon (9.9 ppg) and Wes Washpun (8.3 ppg) in the lineup. Coming off a season in which the Panthers went 16-15 with an impressive 11-2 mark at home shows signs of promise for the upcoming season.

The Panthers held just a two-point lead at halftime over North Dakota in Saturday's victory, but UNI made sure to create a bit more distance in the second half for the 12-point win. Tuttle was stellar on opening night, netting 24 points with nine rebounds and two assists for UNI, while Washpun (15 points) and Buss (12 points, six rebounds) also chipped in with double-digit scoring figures. The Panthers shot 44.3 percent from the floor in the contest.

Stephen F. Austin finished the 2013-14 campaign as the most dominant in- conference team in the country, finishing with a perfect 18-0 mark in the Southland and a 32-2 overall mark. The Lumberjacks went on to defeat VCU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and would bow out to UCLA in the next round. This year may not be an undefeated one in league play for Stephen F. Austin, but the Lumberjacks get a ton of power back from last year's squad, including Southland Player of the Year Jacob Parker (14.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 19 blocked shots, 48 steals). The team also returns talented juniors Thomas Walkup (13.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Trey Pinkney (3.0 ppg, 121 assists), and second-year coach Brad Underwood (who signed an eight-year deal following last season's run) will get to see what Samford transfer Clide Geffrard can do.

Parker netted 14 points in the team's opening win over Mississippi College, while Walkup notched a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Dallas Cameron contributed 11 points in the blowout win, where no player on the Lumberjacks roster played more than 28 minutes. Still, SFA shot 45.9 percent from the field, but missed nine free-throw attempts in the contest.

The Lumberjacks were a popular sleeper pick in the NCAA Tournament last season, and have mostly the same team back to make another run through the Southland. But Northern Iowa, which plays in a tough Missouri Valley Conference, has a stellar lineup of its own. Expect a very close one in Nacogdoches.