Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball

Northern Iowa Panthers
Northern Iowa Panthers
	2023–24 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team
University	University of Northern Iowa
Head coach	Ben Jacobson (18th season)
Conference	Missouri Valley
Location	Cedar Falls, Iowa
Arena	McLeod Center ; (Capacity: 7,018)
Nickname	Panthers
Student section	Panther Mayhem
Colors	Purple and old gold;
Uniforms
Home	Away ;
NCAA tournament Final Four
	1964*
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
	1964*
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
	1962, 1964, 1979*, 2010
NCAA tournament round of 32
	1962, 1964, 1979*, 1990, 2010, 2015, 2016
NCAA tournament appearances
	1962, 1964, 1979, 1990, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016; at Division II level
Conference tournament champions
	1990, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016
Conference regular season champions
	1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1962, 1964, 1969, 2009, 2010, 2020, 2022

Last updated July 17, 2024

The Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represents the University of Northern Iowa located in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI is currently a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Postseason results

NCAA Division I Tournament

Northern Iowa has made the NCAA tournament eight times. The Panthers have a record of 5–8.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1990	#14	First round Second Round	#3 Missouri #6 Minnesota	W 74–71 L 78–81
2004	#14	First round	#3 Georgia Tech	L 60–65
2005	#11	First round	#6 Wisconsin	L 52–57
2006	#10	First round	#7 Georgetown	L 49–54
2009	#12	First round	#5 Purdue	L 56–61
2010	#9	First round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#8 UNLV #1 Kansas #5 Michigan State	W 69–66 W 69–67 L 52–59
2015	#5	First round Second Round	#12 Wyoming #4 Louisville	W 71–54 L 53–66
2016	#11	First round Second Round	#6 Texas #3 Texas A&M	W 75–72 L 88–92 (2OT)

NCAA Division II Tournament

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1962	Regional semifinals Regional Finals	Hamline Nebraska Wesleyan	W 81–68 L 77–78
1964	Regional semifinals Regional Finals Quarterfinals Semifinals Third-place game	Washington-St. Louis Mankato State Southeast Missouri Evansville North Carolina A&T	W 71–56 W 71–64 (OT) W 93–85 L 67–82 L 72–91
1979	Regional semifinals Regional Finals	Nebraska-Omaha Wisconsin-Green Bay	W 84–72 L 50–56

NIT Tournament history

Northern Iowa has made the NIT twice, with a record of 2-2.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
2012	#7	First round Second Round	#2 Saint Joseph's #3 Drexel	W 67–65 L 63–65
2022	#6	First round Second Round	#3 Saint Louis #2 BYU	W 80–68 L 71–90

CIT Tournament history

Season	Eliminated Round	Teams Defeated	Lost to
2011	Quarterfinals	Rider	SMU
2013	Semifinals	North Dakota UIC Bradley	Weber State

Other tournaments

NAIA National Tournament appearances: 1946, 1948, 1949, and 1953 (2–4 combined tournament record)
Competed in the 2007 World University Games as Team USA (finished ninth)^[2]

Coaching history

Ben Jacobson era

Jacobson's biggest coaching accomplishment to date was in the 2009–10 season, when the Panthers made a run into the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament highlighted by an upset of top national seed Kansas. ESPN.com columnist Pat Forde called the Panthers' win "the biggest tourney upset in years," and called the clinching shot by Panthers guard Ali Farokhmanesh "the gutsiest early-round shot in NCAA tournament history."

Jacobson also coached UNI as it became the first college program ever to represent the United States of America at an international basketball competition. In August 2007, UNI was chosen to be Team USA at the World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Donning the Red, White and Blue, UNI went 5–1 in the tournament, losing only to eventual gold medalist Lithuania, while posting wins over Angola, Turkey, China, Finland and Israel.

On November 15, 2014, Jacobson became the all-time win leader for a coach in UNI Men's basketball history. After recording a win over his alma mater University of North Dakota, he notched his 167th UNI victory. Additionally, in the 2014–15 season, Jacobson led the Panthers to their highest ranking in school history (#10) in the AP and (#9) in the Coaches Poll. UNI also in that season achieved the most wins in the school's history with 31. Jacobson has also been awarded the Missouri Valley Conference coach of the year award in 2009, 2010, and 2015.

On November 21, 2015, Jacobson led UNI to a victory over #1 North Carolina. The win was one of the biggest in program history and came in just the first meeting of the two basketball programs. Just four days later the coach hit another career milestone. After defeating the University of Dubuque in convincing fashion, the coach recorded his 200th victory at the university.

In the first round of the MVC tournament, Jacobson notched his 250th Northern Iowa career win against Evansville on March 1, 2018.

On February 27, 2021 he earned his 300th win as coach in the regular season finale against Illinois State.

Notable players

A. J. Green
Darian DeVries
Ali Farokhmanesh
Jon Godfread
Paul Jesperson
Adam Koch
Greg McDermott
Nick Nurse - Coached Toronto Raptors to 2019 NBA Championship and named NBA Coach of the Year in 2020.
Seth Tuttle
Wes Washpun
Eric Coleman
John Little
Grant Stout

Rivalries

The school has several statewide and national rivalries. In Iowa, UNI used to play two, if not three of its Iowa neighbors for the Iowa Big Four men's college basketball mythical championship. The university also used to play either the University of Iowa or Iowa State University in the Hyvee Big Four Classic held at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. UNI’s MVC rivals are UIC, Bradley, Drake, and Missouri State.

Related Research Articles

The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 90 majors across five colleges. The fall 2023 total enrollment was 9,021 students.

The Northern Iowa Panthers are the athletic teams of the University of Northern Iowa. The university is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and competes in NCAA Division I.

Ben Scott Jacobson is an American basketball coach. He is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Northern Iowa, a position he has held since 2006. He served as an assistant at North Dakota, North Dakota State, and Northern Iowa before taking over as head coach at Northern Iowa in 2006.

The Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. The program is best known for making the 1969 Final Four. The Bulldogs have appeared seven times in the NCAA tournament, making their most recent appearance in 2024.

The 2008–09 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represents University of Northern Iowa in the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, which plays in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), is led by third-year head coach Ben Jacobson. In 2007–08, the Panthers finished 18–14.

The Bradley Braves men's basketball team represents Bradley University, located in Peoria, Illinois, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They compete as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Braves are currently coached by Brian Wardle and play their home games at Carver Arena.

The 2009–10 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa in the 2009-10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, which plays in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), was led by fourth-year head coach Ben Jacobson and played their home games at the McLeod Center. They went 15–3 during the regular conference season to win the regular season championship. The Panthers also won the 2010 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament to earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They earned a 9 seed in the Midwest Region where they defeated 8 seed UNLV in the first round and upset the overall 1 seed Kansas in the second round to advance to the Sweet Sixteen at Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali Farokhmanesh</span> American basketball player

Ali Fredrick Farokhmanesh is an American former professional basketball player and current Colorado State Rams men's basketball assistant coach.

Adam Koch is an American former professional basketball player. He was an All-American player as a collegian at University of Northern Iowa and led the Panthers to a memorable upset of top-seeded Kansas in the 2010 NCAA tournament.

The 2015–16 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by tenth year head coach Ben Jacobson, played their home games at the McLeod Center and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the 23–13, 11–7 in Missouri Valley play to finish in a tie for fourth place. The Panthers defeated Southern Illinois, Wichita State, and Evansville to win the Missouri Valley tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a No. 11 seed, they defeated Texas in the first round to advance to the second round, where they lost to the Texas A&M Aggies in double overtime after suffering the greatest collapse in NCAA Tournament history, blowing a 12 point lead with 35 seconds left in regulation.

The Northern Iowa Panthers women's basketball team represents the University of Northern Iowa, located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. UNI is currently a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Darian Dale DeVries is the head men's basketball coach at West Virginia University. He was most recently the head coach at Drake University.

The 2018–19 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by 13th-year head coach Ben Jacobson, played their home games at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 16–18, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 6 seed in the MVC tournament, they beat Southern Illinois and Drake before losing to Bradley in the championship.

AJ Green is an American basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Northern Iowa Panthers.

Jacqui Kalin is an American-Israeli former college and professional basketball 5-foot-8 point guard. In college at the University of Northern Iowa, she set the free throw percentage NCAA Division 1 career record, and was twice named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. She played two years of professional basketball in Israel, and played for the Israel women's national basketball team.

The 2020–21 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by 15th-year head coach Ben Jacobson, played their home games at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Panthers finished the season 10–15, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Illinois State in the first round before being forced to forfeit their quarterfinal game against Drake due to positive COVID-19 tests.

The Drake–Northern Iowa rivalry is the American collegiate athletics rivalry between the Drake Bulldogs sports teams of Drake University and Northern Iowa Panthers sports teams of the University of Northern Iowa.

The 2021–22 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by 16th-year head coach Ben Jacobson, played their home games at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

The 2022–23 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by 17th-year head coach Ben Jacobson, played their home games at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 13–17, 9–11 in MVC Play to finish in 8th place. In the MVC tournament, they defeated Illinois State in the opening round before losing to Bradley in the quarterfinals.

The 2023–24 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represents the University of Northern Iowa during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by 18th-year head coach Ben Jacobson, play their home games at the McLeod Center located in Cedar Falls, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

References

↑ University of Northern Iowa Athletics Style Guide (PDF). January 25, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
↑ Katz, Andy (July 10, 2009). "U.S. to play Israel for bronze". ESPN.com . Retrieved July 10, 2009.

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[1] University of Northern Iowa Athletics Style Guide (PDF). January 25, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2023.

[2] Katz, Andy (July 10, 2009). "U.S. to play Israel for bronze". ESPN.com . Retrieved July 10, 2009.

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v t e Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball
Venues	UNI-Dome (1976–2006) McLeod Center (2006–present)
Rivalries	Drake Iowa "Big Four"
Culture & lore	2007 Summer Universiade
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

v t e University of Northern Iowa
Athletics	Men's Basketball Football Wrestling Women's Basketball Venues McLeod Center O. R. Latham Stadium UNI-Dome People Mark Farley Ben Jacobson Doug Schwab Tanya Warren
Campus	University of Northern Iowa Gallery of Art
Media	KICJ KULT 94.5 North American Review The Northern Iowan
Related	Camp Adventure

v t e Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball
Teams	Belmont Bruins Bradley Braves Drake Bulldogs Evansville Purple Aces Illinois State Redbirds Indiana State Sycamores Missouri State Bears Murray State Racers Northern Iowa Panthers Southern Illinois Salukis Valparaiso Beacons UIC Flames
Tournament & awards	MVC Basketball Tournament MVC Coach of the Year Larry Bird Player of the Year
Seasons	1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23