CEDAR FALLS - The University of Northern Iowa basketball team is first in the standings but last at the gate.

Heading into Wednesday night's Missouri Valley Conference showdown with second-place Bradley at the McLeod Center, the Panthers are drawing a league-low 3,488 fans per game - more than a 31 percent dip from a year ago.

The reason?

"Weather has been a big factor," UNI director of athletics Troy Dannen said Monday. "Two of our first three Valley games we've had bad ice. The actual number of tickets sold double the people in the building."

That, coupled with a struggling economy, is to blame for the vast number of empty purple seats.

Iowa is the only program among the Big Four in the state to see an increase. Drake and Iowa State are down, but only 1.1 and 7.5 percent, respectively.

Those factors aside, attendance is up at four of the other nine conference schools.

"It's not as intimidating when you come out here and the whole section of the bleachers is empty," UNI guard Ali Farokhmanesh said. "We still make it a homecourt advantage by the way we play and with the loud fans we have that come. But if we pack the place, the McLeod Center could get really loud."

Head coach Ben Jacobson and forward Adam Koch witnessed that two years ago. In the building's first season and with UNI off to a 12-2 start, the Panthers had more than 6,700 against Southern Illinois for a Saturday afternoon game.

"The last 10 minutes of that game, I don't think anybody sat down," Jacobson said. "Everybody in the building had fun that day. It can be a tremendous homecourt and a huge advantage for our guys."

The Panthers (12-6, 6-1 MVC) have played in front of hostile crowds this season, most notably at Creighton, Southern Illinois and Drake.

"When you go into situations like that, you can tell it's a whole different atmosphere and intensity level," Koch said. "To have that here and the fans on our backs would be huge. I know we can do it because it's been done before.

"It's one of the loudest places I've been in when it's been packed."

UNI has had fewer than 3,500 spectators for seven of its nine home games, including a season-low 2,359 against South Dakota State.

The Panthers drew a season-best 5,558 versus Iowa State - still more than 1,500 short of capacity. Much of that stemmed from a premium ticket price of $42.

The number of empty seats can also be traced to the team's slow start. UNI was 6-5 in the non-conference and lost its conference opener to Indiana State at home. Now with six straight wins, including four on the road, the outlook has changed.

"Historically, that's the market we live in," Dannen said. "Competitive success is important in our market. There are too many alternatives, and we're not the only game in town."

Other league venues in larger markets don't fight that.

Creighton is attracting more than 16,000 at the Qwest Center. Wichita State, which was 0-6 in the MVC entering Saturday's home game versus Creighton, drew 10,502 at Koch Arena.

"We don't have exactly the 40 and 50 years history of basketball success that's happened at Wichita State," Dannen said. "Generations of people have grown up with Wichita State basketball.

"Most of our history is with Eldon (Miller) in the early 1990s and the last five to seven years. We're building it."

The most alarming concern for Dannen has been the lack of student turnout. Aside from the Iowa State game, the students haven't jumped on board, leaving the south wooden bleachers mostly bare.

"One of my goals is to sit down with student groups this spring and ask, 'What does it take to get students to our games?'" Dannen said. "It doesn't drive anything from a revenue standpoint, but it drives the atmosphere.

"As a fan, it's nice to come over to a loud and passionate student group. It's of very high importance."

With students back in class, the team playing well and the game not televised, Dannen expects to see a hike in the numbers starting Wednesday.

"The way we look at our team now in January is different than the way we looked at ourselves at the end of December," Dannen said. "I think the fans look at the program differently, too.

"This is a different team now. It's a spectator-friendly team to watch."

The team has started to do its part. Will the fans follow?

"If we could get it packed in here," Koch said, "that would be another great step for us."

Contact Matt Coss at (319) 291-1468 or matt.coss@wcfcourier.com