Although Christmas break is over, the NIU men’s basketball team will be looking for two more breaks tonight.

The Huskies will try to break their seven-game losing steak in Cedar Falls against Northern Iowa at 7:30 p.m., while concurrently trying to break the Panthers’ six-game winning steak at home.

Although it will be a small vacation from the cornfields of DeKalb, maybe the trip to the cornfields back home will break a streak of luck to NIU coach Jim Rosoborough and company. The Huskie boss is an alumnus and former assistant coach at the University of Iowa in nearby Iowa City.

The Huskies are at a disadvantage recordwise to the 9-4 Panthers.

The recent turndown of NIU from the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (which voted against expansion) along with the Huskies’ losing record – half of last season’s final 8-20 – should have the Huskie boss pacing the floor in despair. Yet, Rosoborough and crew remain optimistic for the Panther game.

“We’ve worked hard,” Rosoborough said, “and the kids are still able to laugh. Their spirits are good. We just hope to get off on the right foot this semester.”

To do this, the Huskies need to use both feet and get their shooting down pat. Rosoborough said part of the problem has been NIU’s shooting percentage.

“We haven’t been shooting the ball well lately – we’re not putting it in the hole,” Rosoborough said.

Although the Panthers lead the series 8-5, NIU swept the season series last year, making out with two wins. The Huskies won 85-66 at home, followed by an 84-83 victory at Northern Iowa.

“It’s been a good series,” Rosoborough said. “It’s one I’ve enjoyed personally.”

The Panthers will stalk on the court with 6-8 Jason Reese, who leads the team in scoring with 23.1 points per game.

“He’s a big, tough, strong kid,” Rosoborough said of the junior center. “He’s caused us come problems in the past.”

The Panthers will look for leadership from their only senior, Nick Nurse.

“He’s a good, hard-nosed competitor,” said Rosoborough of the 6-1 guard.

Stacy Arrington will return to join the original starting lineup for the Huskies. Arrington, who missed four games over Christmas Break for disciplinary purposed, had contributed 15.5 ppg, second highest on the team before his 16-day absence.

The Huskies will look to sophomore JoJo Jackson and freshman Mike Hidden as first reliefs from the bench in place of former sixth man Randy Fens. Fens was redshirted on a medical hardship because of a recurring pain in his injured right knee.

Although Rosoborough is returning to his home state and will be observed by some of his former coaching partners, he doesn’t have a different outlook on the game.