The Northern Iowa men open the Missouri Valley race on Wednesday night at home against Belmont. The Panthers are 2-4 and after losses to North Carolina and Texas Tech closed the Battle 4 Atlantis with a lopsided win over Stanford.

That’s UNI Ben Jacobson who likes the progress his team made during the tournament.

Belmont enters the Valley race with a record of 4-3.

Jacobson says the Bruins are difficult to defend.