CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Northern Iowa alum Kurt Warner is playing in the Super Bowl again. That's big news this week around the frozen tundra in these parts. | Gameday glance | MVC scores, stats

However, another team is flying high besides Warner's Cardinals and, finally, starting to attract attention of the locals.

The surprising UNI basketball team has zoomed to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference with an eight-game winning streak. The Panthers (14-6, 8-1 Valley) can separate themselves even further when they entertain Illinois State (17-3, 6-3) at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at the McLeod Center.

"They're really good at every position and their chemistry is great," said ISU coach Tim Jankovich. "There's not a guy you don't like when you watch them, and it all fits together."

UNI fans have been slow to embrace the Panthers. The school ranks last in the Valley in attendance with an average crowd of 3,654 for 10 home games. The biggest turnout was 5,558 against in-state rival Iowa State and former UNI coach Greg McDermott.

Wednesday's crowd could be near a sellout at the 7,000-seat McLeod Center.

With the Valley season at the halfway point, UNI is the lone league team that ISU has not played. If the Redbirds, who are tied for second place with Bradley, want to challenge for the Valley title, they can't afford to fall three games behind with eight left.

Still, Jankovich isn't calling tonight a "must" game. The Redbirds have lost three straight road games in which they've shot 41.1 percent from the field and 28.7 percent from outside the arc.

"Everybody when they play the team in first place has a great deal of urgency," said Jankovich. "I don't like our guys ever to feel like we have a weighted average on a certain game, that one is more important than another. They do all count the same."

UNI is shooting for its best-ever winning streak since joining the Division I ranks for the 1980-81 season. The last nine-game streak came when the Panthers were a Division II team in 1964 coached by Norm Stewart.

Blame Southern Illinois for UNI's resurgence. The Panthers were 6-6 on Dec. 31 when they headed to Carbondale, a place they hadn't won in 12 years. UNI prevailed, 59-51, and haven't lost again.

"The first half we played at Southern Illinois was the best 20 minutes we played all year," said third-year UNI coach Ben Jacobson of a 33-24 lead. "Southern played a very good second half, and we had to rally back and find a way to win that game.

"That gave this team some confidence, and they've been able to build on that."

Improved perimeter shooting has been the key to UNI's improvement, led by the three-guard tandem of Kwadzo Ahelegbe, Ali Farokhmanesh and Johnny Moran. The Panthers lead the Valley during league games in field goal percentage (.491), 3-point percentage (.432) and scoring (72.3 points per game).

UNI's offensive balance is stunning. The starters' scoring averages range from forward Adam Koch's 11.9 to 7-foot-1 center Jordan Eglseder's 9.6. Every starter has scored 20 points at least once.

Defensively, the Panthers have tightened things up. They've held the leading scorers of their last four opponents to a combined 19 points. UNI is second in the Valley in opponent's field goal percentage (.432) and scoring defense (61.8 ppg).