Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball

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Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball
Basketball current event.svg 2024–25 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team
Northern Iowa Panthers wordmark.svg
University University of Northern Iowa
Head coach Ben Jacobson (19th season)
Conference Missouri Valley
Location Cedar Falls, Iowa
Arena McLeod Center
(capacity: 7,018)
Nickname Panthers
Student section Panther Mayhem
ColorsPurple and old gold [1]
   
Uniforms
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Home
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Away


NCAA tournament Final Four
1964*
Other NCAA tournament results
Elite Eight1964*
Sweet Sixteen1962*, 1964*, 1979*, 2010
Appearances1962*, 1964*, 1979*, 1990, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016
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

* at Division II level

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. The Panthers have appeared eight times in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, most recently in 2016.

Contents

Postseason results

NCAA Division I tournament

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

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

NCAA Division II tournament

YearRoundOpponentResult
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 history

Northern Iowa has made the NIT three times, with a record of 2-3.

YearSeedRoundOpponentResult
2012 #7First round
Second Round
#2 Saint Joseph's
#3 Drexel
W 67–65
L 63–65
2022 #6First round
Second Round
#3 Saint Louis
#2 BYU
W 80–68
L 71–90
2025 #8First round#1 SMUL 63-73

CIT history

SeasonEliminated
round
Teams defeatedLost to
2011 QuarterfinalsRiderSMU
2013 SemifinalsNorth Dakota
UIC
Bradley
Weber State

Other tournaments

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

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.

References

  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.