OMAHA, Neb. - Travis Brown was able to cross one item off his "to-do" checklist last week.

Seven days later, the University of Northern Iowa basketball player has another milestone in sight.

Entering his senior year, Brown had never witnessed a UNI victory at Southern Illinois. Mission accomplished, 59-51.

The next hurdle is beating Creighton, which owns nine straight wins over UNI going into today's 7:05 p.m. Missouri Valley Conference tilt at the Qwest Center.

"It's something that eats at me a lot," Brown said. "It'd be huge for us to get this done."

In fact, the skid is the longest active streak between any two MVC schools. The Panthers haven't upended the Bluejays since January 2004, when current graduate manager Brooks McKowen was a freshman point guard, head coach Ben Jacobson was in his third season as Greg McDermott's assistant and UNI played in the UNI-Dome.

"I've heard about it quite a bit in the last day," junior college transfer Ali Farokhmanesh said. "It's kind of an amazing feat for them."

The series is even more lopsided on Creighton's home court. The Bluejays (12-3, 2-1 MVC) have captured 16 of the 18 meetings here, including 12 straight. Coach Dana Altman's club has nearly a 14.5-point average margin of victory in the last eight games played against UNI in Omaha.

Unlike any other league venue, the Qwest Center seats more than 17,000. The $291 million facility is like an NBA arena compared to a mid-major gymnasium that typically has spectators crammed near the playing floor.

"It's a lot different," junior forward Adam Koch said. "It's like what we have at Arch Madness (conference tournament in St. Louis). It's real open and big."

Recently, UNI's most significant problem against Creighton has been scoring. The Panthers, who haven't reached 60 points in any of their last six encounters, shot 40 and 37 percent, respectively, last season.

"Their ability to change defenses and change their presses makes them a little different than some of the other league opponents," Jacobson said. "You have to be really sharp for 40 minutes in all areas.

"The ballhandling has to be very, very good, and you have to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves, whether that's in transition or against the press."

Jacobson believes his team is better equipped to handle that with three reliable ballhandlers in Kwadzo Ahelegbe, Johnny Moran and Farokhmanesh. UNI is first in the MVC in fewest turnovers per game at 11.9. Also, this Panther team is much deeper, with 10 players logging 10 minutes or more each game.

"They throw a lot at you, but I think we're going to be able to handle it," Koch said. "We just need to come out and play hard right away. We need to set the tone at the start."

UNI (8-6, 2-1) is eyeing a season-high third straight victory. Creighton, meanwhile, is coming off a 22-point loss at undefeated Illinois State that snapped its nine-game winning streak.

"It just adds fuel to the fire for them when you come off a loss like that," Farokhmanesh said. "They'll be ready."

Winners of 14 straight at home, Creighton - the preseason conference favorite - is 8-0 at Qwest this season with seven of those victories by double figures. That just adds to the difficulty for UNI tonight.

"Obviously, they're going to have a lot of fire, and the crowd is going to be into it," Brown said. "The crowd gets into you there and tries to upset the opposing players. In a lot of cases, it seems to work.

"It's a tough place to play."

But it's a challenge the Panthers are eager to tackle.

"It's a great opportunity for us," Farokhmanesh said. "Hopefully, we'll be up to the challenge."

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

GAME TRACKER

Men's basketball

Northern Iowa (8-6, 2-1)

at Creighton (12-3, 2-1)

When: Today, 7:05 p.m.

Where: Omaha, Neb. (Qwest Center)

TV: none

Radio: KXEL (1540 AM)

Line: Creighton by 12

Last time out: Fueled by a 50-point second half, UNI posted its most lopsided win of the season with a 78-54 drubbing of Wichita State. Creighton saw its nine-game winning streak snapped with an 86-64 defeat at unbeaten Illinois State.

Last meeting: P'Allen Stinnett had 24 points and the Bluejays rolled to a 74-50 victory last February in Omaha. Creighton has won 20 of the last 23 meetings, including 12 straight in Omaha.

Need to know: Creighton guard Booker Woodfox, third in the Valley in scoring at 17.1 points per game, is shooting better than 50 percent from the field, has made a conference-best 45 3-pointers and is working on a streak of 34 consecutive free throws. Like UNI, Creighton relies on its depth. The Bluejays have 10 players registering 11 1/2 minutes or more per game and none logging more than 25.3. Creighton is second in the MVC in offense (75.6 ppg.) and 3-point shooting (39.8 percent). Rebounding has been Creighton's biggest sore spot, ranking ninth in the MVC and outrebounded by 10 or more in seven of its 15 games … UNI guard Ali Farokhmanesh has made 12 of his last 19 3-point attempts, while the Panther bench is averaging 21 points and nearly 14 rebounds per game the last two weeks.

Chalk talk: "They have the ability to score in a lot of ways and they have the ability to score quickly. Their versatility offensively, starting with the three guards, is really big for them."

- UNI head coach Ben Jacobson on Creighton

Starting lineups

Northern Iowa Ht. Yr. Ppg. Rpg.

Koch 6-8 Jr. 10.6 4.4

Eglseder 7-1 Jr. 10.9 7.1

Farokhmanesh 6-0 Jr. 9.8 1.9

Moran 6-1 Fr. 9.4 3.8

Ahelegbe 6-2 So. 11.4 x-3.4

Creighton Ht. Yr. Ppg. Rpg.

Stinnett 6-3 So. 12.6 3.1

Carter 6-4 Jr. 7.2 4.6

Lawson 6-9 So. 8.6 4.9

Dotzler 6-1 Sr. 3.0 x-3.1

Woodfox 6-1 Sr. 17.1 3.3

x - assists per game

RPI: UNI 185, Creighton 61

Next up: UNI returns home to play Missouri State at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.

- Compiled by Matt Coss, Courier Sports Writer