CEDAR FALLS - During Ben Jacobson's initial season as head coach two years ago, the University of Northern Iowa basketball team won six of its first eight Missouri Valley Conference games.

What followed was a dreadful stretch of eight losses in nine games that all but eliminated the team's hopes for a postseason berth.

Once again, UNI (12-6, 6-1 MVC) is off to a sizzling start in the Valley going into today's 7:05 p.m. contest against Bradley (11-7, 5-2) at the McLeod Center. The question becomes, can the Panthers sustain it?

"This group is deeper, and I think that's going to help us," said Jacobson, whose team has won six straight. "We've got good depth on this team. Two years ago, we relied on three or four guys to do a lot for us. If we had to play them 39 minutes, we were going to play them 39 minutes.

"Our bench is really good."

UNI doesn't have any player logging more than 30.7 minutes this season. In the 2006-07 campaign, the five starters accounted for 149 of the 200 minutes per game - including 35 a contest from Brooks McKowen.

Now, the Panthers are depending more on their bench. Lucas O'Rear, Kerwin Dunham, Travis Brown and Brian Haak are all registering more than 10 minutes a game. Adam Rodenberg isn't far off at 8.6.

"This bench is as good as we've had since we've been here," junior forward Adam Koch said. "It's a big reason of where we're at right now. It's nice to know you can go hard and when you're tired, the next guy comes in and does the exact same thing."

The biggest difference is experience. Four of the five reserves are at least in their second year with the program, and Rodenberg, a junior, played at UC-Irvine last year.

"That's huge," O'Rear said. "Every night last year I went out and was like, 'Oh gosh, what's going to happen tonight?' You just get more confidence, and a year of experience makes a complete difference."

Jacobson was relying on three freshmen - Koch, Jordan Eglseder and Kwadzo Ahelegbe - along with junior Adam Viet, who lacked significant game experience, two seasons ago.

"Our team is confident, and I'm confident as our head coach that they can play at any point in the game," Jacobson said of this year's group. "I don't feel like I have to hurry up and get a certain guy back in the game."

The versatility is also a plus. Brown and Dunham, 6-foot-3 and 6-6, respectively, provide a different look than Johnny Moran (6-1) and Ali Farokhmanesh (6-0) because of their size and strength. Both are capable of giving UNI an offensive boost, too.

Dunham poured in 11 points at Southern Illinois. Brown buried two critical 3-pointers at Evansville.

"Three or four of those guys could probably start at other places," Farokhmanesh said. "We have a nice mixture, and teams have to adjust to that."

Meanwhile, undersized forwards O'Rear and Rodenberg add toughness inside. O'Rear is averaging just more than seven points and close to six rebounds per game in the past two weeks.

Haak, a guard, doesn't provide as much scoring, but Jacobson admires his energy and communication on defense.

"All the people coming off the bench are energy players," O'Rear said. "We all go 100 percent and get after it."

Because of that, UNI believes it's better equipped for the rigors of late January and February.

"We have enough bodies to keep it fresh," Koch said.

"Our starters are fresh at the end of games now because of our bench," Jacobson said. "I think it will only continue to help us as we go further along in the year."

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

GAME TRACKER

Men's basketball

Bradley (11-7, 5-2) at

Northern Iowa (12-6, 6-1)

When: Today, 7:05 p.m.

Where: Cedar Falls (McLeod Center)

TV: none

Radio: KXEL (1540 AM)

Line: UNI by 6 1/2

RPI: Bradley 75, UNI 88

Last time out: Despite 22 points and 16 rebounds from Theron Wilson, Bradley dropped a 68-62 decision at Southern Illinois Sunday. UNI matched a season high with 11 3-pointers during an 81-59 victory at Drake Saturday.

Last meeting: The Braves, who hold a 25-12 advantage in the series, won last season in the McLeod Center, 75-73. In fact, the road team has won four of the last five encounters.

Need to know: In MVC games, UNI is first in the league in scoring offense (72.4 ppg.) and Bradley leads in scoring defense (60.4 ppg.). The two teams also rank 1-2 in field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense. … Theron Wilson has scored at least 12 points in 17 of Bradley's 18 games, while ex-Iowa State player Dodie Dunson is second in the MVC among reserves in scoring at 11 points per game. … UNI, the only team in the Valley with five players averaging double figures, has an average margin of victory at nearly 14 points per game during its six-game winning streak. … Freshman Johnny Moran took an elbow to the mouth from teammate Anthony James during practice Monday and needed five stitches. He returned to practice later in the day.

Chalk talk: "(UNI) is such a good offensive team and has a number of guys that can go off and have a big night. We have to be sound defensively, and we have to do a better job of attacking the paint offensively. Our post players have to get physical for us."

- Bradley coach Jim Les

Starting lineups

Bradley Ht. Yr. Ppg. Rpg.

Wilson 6-5 Sr. 14.3 7.4

Collins 7-0 Sr. 3.9 3.5

McCain 5-11 Fr. 5.9 x-3.4

Roberts 6-4 Jr. 8.8 4.5

Maniscalco 6-0 So. 10.6 2.3

Northern Iowa Ht. Yr. Ppg. Rpg.

Koch 6-8 Jr. 10.9 4.9

Eglseder 7-1 Jr. 10.2 6.4

Farokhmanesh 6-0 Jr. 10.4 1.8

Ahelegbe 6-2 So. 11.4 x-3.4

Moran 6-1 Fr. 10.3 3.9

Next up: UNI travels to Missouri State for a 6:05 p.m. tip Sunday.

- Compiled by Matt Coss, Courier Sports Writer